Incarcerated People's Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts rules addressing all intrastate, interstate, and international audio and video incarcerated people's communication services (IPCS), including video visitation services. The reforms include adopting permanent rate caps for audio IPCS and interim rate caps for video; prohibiting IPCS providers from making site commission payments associated with IPCS and preempting state and local laws and regulations requiring such commissions; prohibiting IPCS providers from imposing any separate ancillary service charges on IPCS consumers; strengthening the Commission's requirements for access to IPCS by incarcerated people with disabilities; permitting IPCS providers to offer optional alternate pricing plans that comply with the rate caps; strengthening existing consumer disclosure and inactive account requirements; revising the existing annual reporting and certification requirements; facilitating enforcement of the new IPCS rules; and delegating authority to the Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB), and Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA).