Ohio 'Drastically' Reduces Inmate Calling Rates
Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) said it negotiated its current contract with Global Tel*Link (GTL) to “drastically reduce” its inmate calling service (ICS) rates effective Wednesday to 5 cents per minute plus applicable taxes and federal USF fees…
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for all calls within the U.S. The rate reduction is meant to comply with the FCC’s 2013 ICS rate cap order, which took effect last year, DRC said Tuesday. The FCC capped interstate call rates at 25 cents per minute for collect calls and 21 cents per minute for debit and prepaid calls. A 15-minute collect call cost would be capped at $3.75 under the FCC’s rules, while a 15-minute prepaid call fee would be capped at $3.15 (see report in the Aug. 12, 2013, issue). A 15-minute inmate call in Ohio cost $17.14 before the rate reduction, DRC said. GTL said it plans to replace all of its more than 2,000 phones in Ohio prisons by the end of the year and will install an additional 500 phones.