The FCC’s July 2024 rules expanded limits on prison and jail communication charges, but the Commission revised that framework in 2025. Compliance with the revised interim rules was due April 6, 2026. As of October 8, 2026, the available information does not establish later changes or the current price at any particular facility, so the 2024 headline figures should not be treated as today’s universal rates.
What the FCC changed—and why the rules changed again
The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 expanded the FCC’s authority over incarcerated people’s communications. It allowed the Commission to regulate intrastate calls as well as interstate calls, and to address video communications. In July 2024, the FCC adopted a broad framework covering audio and video services, including video visitation.
The 2024 order did more than set per-minute rate caps. It addressed ancillary charges, payments to correctional facilities known as site commissions, disability access, consumer disclosures, inactive accounts, and provider reporting. The FCC also preempted state and local laws requiring site-commission payments for these services.
The Commission revised the framework in 2025. Its October 2025 announcement described interim rules that changed the cap methodology, included reported safety and security expenses, added a very small jail tier, and set a separate facility-cost additive. The revised rules were published December 5, 2025, and compliance was due April 6, 2026. The FCC also sought further comment on permanent caps and related issues, so the interim framework should not be mistaken for a final resolution of every question.
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- Up to 415 Domestic Minutes. Dialing Instructions: Dial the appropriate access number from the phone card, when prompted enter PIN number, then your destination number including the country code. Important: do not press talk button after international number, do not call from your phone contacts after dialing pin number or you will be billed at your carrier rates. No reimbursement of such phone company or hotel charges allowed.
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What the 2024 prices do—and do not—tell you
Coverage of the original 2024 order cited projected 15-minute call prices of $0.90 in large jails and $1.35 in small jails. Those were examples of the expected effect of the original order, not guaranteed prices, current universal caps, or a quote for a specific facility. The FCC’s later revision means those figures cannot establish what a person will pay now.
The FCC’s 2025 summary described a uniform $0.02-per-minute interim additive for correctional-facility service-administration costs. That is one component of the rule, not a complete call price. The total depends on the applicable cap and service, as well as the facility category and rule in force.
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- Dialing Instructions: Dial the appropriate access number from the phone card, when prompted enter PIN number, then your destination number including the country code. Important: do not press talk button after international number, do not call from your phone contacts after dialing pin number or you will be billed at your carrier rates. No reimbursement of such phone company or hotel charges allowed.
- Call Africa: Nigeria Ethiopia Egypt Democratic Republic of the Congo South Africa Tanzania Kenya Sudan Algeria Uganda Morocco Mozambique Ghana Angola Ivory Coast Madagascar Cameroon Niger Burkina Faso Mali Malawi Zambia Somalia Senegal Chad Zimbabwe Rwanda Tunisia Guinea Benin Burundi South Sudan Togo Eritrea Sierra Leone Libya Republic of the Congo Central African Republic Liberia Mauritania Namibia Botswana
- Call Europe: Russia Germany Turkey France United Kingdom Italy Spain Ukraine Poland Romania Kazakhstan Netherlands Belgium Greece Czech Republic Portugal Sweden Azerbaijan Hungary Belarus Austria Switzerland Bulgaria Serbia Denmark Finland Slovakia Norway Ireland Croatia Georgia Moldova Bosnia and Herzegovina Armenia Albania Lithuania North Macedonia Slovenia Latvia Kosovo Estonia Cyprus Montenegro Luxembourg Malta Iceland Andorra Monaco Liechtenstein San Marino Vatican City
- Call MidEast: Iran Turkey Iraq Saudi Arabia Yemen Syria Jordan United Arab Emirates Israel Lebanon Palestine Oman Kuwait Qatar Bahrain Call Latin America: Brazil Colombia Argentina Peru Venezuela Chile Ecuador Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay Guyana Suriname FrenchGuiana Falkland Islands
- Call Asia: China India Japan South Korea North Korea Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Singapore Sri Lanka Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
| Figure or measure | What it represents | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| $0.90 for a 15-minute call in a large jail | A projected example reported in coverage of the FCC’s July 2024 action | Historical illustration of the original framework, not a current price quote. |
| $1.35 for a 15-minute call in a small jail | A projected example reported in coverage of the FCC’s July 2024 action | Historical illustration of the original framework, not a current price quote. |
| $0.02 per minute | The FCC’s 2025 interim additive for correctional-facility service-administration costs | A rule component, not an all-in rate. |
Worth Rises, an advocacy group, estimated in 2024 that the original rules would affect 83% of incarcerated people—about 1.4 million—and save at least $500 million annually. That was an estimate of expected reach and savings, reported by Ars Technica; it is not a government measurement of savings actually realized.
Which charges the 2024 order addressed
Per-minute rates and service types
The 2024 order applied rate regulation to intrastate, interstate, and international audio and video incarcerated people’s communications services. It differentiated caps for prisons and jails, with jail tiers based on average daily population. Because the FCC revised the framework in 2025, the 2024 rates and tier structure should be read as part of the rule’s history, not assumed to be the complete current schedule.
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The 2024 order incorporated ancillary-service costs into its rate caps and barred providers from charging consumers separately for those services. It also prohibited site-commission payments for these services and preempted state and local laws that required them. The 2025 revision later sought further comment on the treatment of site commissions and ancillary charges; the available information does not establish the final outcome of that proceeding.
Access, disclosures, accounts, and reporting
The order also revised requirements concerning disability accessibility, disclosures to consumers, inactive accounts, and annual provider reporting and certification. These provisions matter because the cost and usability of a communication service are not captured by its advertised per-minute price alone.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to assess a facility’s price now
There is no reliable single figure in the available information that can answer what every incarcerated person or family pays as of October 8, 2026. To evaluate a posted charge, establish these details before comparing it with an FCC cap:
- Facility and category: Determine whether the facility is a prison or jail and, for a jail, its applicable population tier.
- Service: Separate audio calls from video calls or visitation; different services and rules may apply.
- Charge type: Check the per-minute price and whether a separate fee is being charged for an ancillary service.
- Applicable rule date: The revised interim framework’s compliance date was April 6, 2026; an older price example or disclosure may not reflect the current rule.
- Provider-specific relief: Check whether an FCC waiver applies to that provider and service. A waiver for one company is not a general exception for the market.
In April 2026, the FCC granted Securus a conditional waiver from per-minute pricing requirements for video services through July 6, 2026, to allow implementation of a new video platform. That was a limited, provider-specific exception with a stated end date. The available information does not establish whether the FCC later extended it or granted other relief, so it cannot be used to infer Securus’s present pricing or the rules for another provider.
When the original rollout dates applied
The Federal Register summary of the 2024 rule set out a phased compliance schedule. Those dates explain the original rollout, but they are not a substitute for checking the later-revised framework:
- January 1, 2025, for prisons and jails with average daily populations of at least 1,000 where no legally mandated site commissions were being paid.
- April 1, 2025, for smaller jails where no legally mandated site commissions were being paid.
- July 1, 2025, for facilities where legally mandated site commissions were being paid.
How to raise a concern about a charge
The FCC Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Center lists incarcerated people’s communications among phone-related issues. A complaint is different from sharing a story about a policy or provider: the FCC says a shared story is not served on the provider and will not receive a response. For a dispute about a specific charge, use the center’s complaint process rather than relying on the story-sharing option.
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