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

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION <CFR>47 CFR Part 64</CFR> <DEPDOC>[WC Docket Nos. 12-375, 23-62; FCC 25-75; FR ID 319623]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Incarcerated People's Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Communications Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks additional comment and data from stakeholders on adopting permanent audio and video IPCS rate caps and on whether and how the Commission should refine its IPCS data collections going forward to provide the data needed to ensure rate caps are just and reasonable and fairly compensate IPCS providers. It also seeks comment on how and when the Commission should structure a permanent rate additive to account for the recovery of correctional facility costs incurred in making IPCS available, including an additive that potentially varies by facility type and size. Finally, it proposes to retain the prohibition on ancillary service charges previously adopted by the Commission and seeks further comment on this proposal. In the alternative, it seeks comment on a request to reinstate automated payment fees and third-party financial transaction fees as permissible ancillary service charges. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments are due on or before January 5, 2026; and reply comments are due on or before February 3, 2026. </DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated in this document in WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375 by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Electronic Filers:</E> Comments may be filed electronically using the internet by accessing the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS): <E T="03">https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard.</E> • <E T="03">Paper Filers:</E> Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. If more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. • Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial courier, or by the U.S. Postal Service. <E T="03">All filings must be addressed to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.</E> • Hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary are accepted between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. by the FCC's mailing contractor at 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of before entering the building. • Commercial courier deliveries (any deliveries not by the U.S. Postal Service) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. Filings sent by U.S. Postal Service First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express must be sent to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. • <E T="03">People with Disabilities.</E> To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to <E T="03">fcc504@fcc.gov,</E> or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or (202) 418-0432 (TTY). <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Shabbir Hamid, Pricing Policy Division of the Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-2328 or via email at <E T="03">Shabbir.Hamid@fcc.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> This is a summary of the Commission's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ( <E T="03">FNPRM</E> ), in WC Docket Nos. 12-375 and 23-62, FCC 25-75, adopted on October 28, 2025 and released on November 6, 2025. This summary is based on the public redacted version of the document, the full text of this document can be accessed electronically via the FCC's Electronic Document Management System (EDOCS) website at <E T="03">www.fcc.gov/edocs,</E> or via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) website at <E T="03">www.fcc.gov/ecfs,</E> or is available at the following internet address: <E T="03">https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-25-75A1.pdf.</E> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Synopsis</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</HD> 1. In the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ( <E T="03">FNPRM</E> ), we seek additional comment and data from stakeholders on the following issues: adopting permanent audio and video IPCS rate caps; adopting a permanent rate additive for facility cost recovery, including one that varies by facility type and size; and maintaining the prohibition on ancillary service charges, among other matters. We place particular emphasis on seeking additional data from parties to the extent feasible to enable us to resolve these issues based on objective data and analysis, wherever possible. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Adoption of Permanent Rate Caps for Audio and Video IPCS</HD> 2. Today's Order adopts interim rate caps for audio and video IPCS, reflecting the evolving video IPCS marketplace and resulting anomalies in provider-reported video data, but also in recognition of the limitations of the available data on safety and security costs and of the cost data more generally. Meanwhile, commenters continue to acknowledge a need for permanent rate caps. We agree that permanent caps are necessary for IPCS and, accordingly, we seek further comment on how the Commission could best adopt permanent rate caps for audio and video IPCS which are just, reasonable, and fairly compensatory and the time frame for implementing any such rate caps. 3. <E T="03">Permanent Audio IPCS Rate Caps.</E> The accompanying Order adopts audio IPCS rate caps on an interim basis in light of the need to resolve questions with the current data, and to better refine and analyze safety and security data, among other factors. We invite further comment about how to adopt permanent audio IPCS rate caps, and about the data we need to allow us to do so. The Commission will be receiving more refined data about market rates and demand after recent revisions to the IPCS Annual Reports are implemented, and from a future mandatory data collection. On January 8, 2025 the Commission revised the IPCS annual reporting and certification obligations to require submissions of information related to video IPCS. The first filings of the revised Annual Reports and certifications that will include information on video IPCS were due on November 3, 2025. What additional information is essential to collect before the Commission can act to set permanent audio IPCS rate caps? Are any further changes to our rate cap setting methodology necessary? 4. <E T="03">Permanent Video IPCS Rate Caps.</E> The accompanying Order adopts video IPCS rate caps on an interim basis for several reasons, including the aforementioned market and data factors. Significant time has passed since the Commission last sought comment on the adoption of permanent rate caps for video rates as part of the <E T="03">2024 IPCS Notice</E> and the Bureau has since granted waiver petitions sought by IPCS providers to accommodate certain unintended consequences of the Commission's rate structure rules governing video IPCS. We now invite commenters to further supplement the record concerning the status of the video IPCS market and the adoption of permanent video IPCS rates. What changes have commenters observed in the video IPCS marketplace since the adoption of the <E T="03">2024 IPCS Notice</E> ? How have video market costs, prices, demand, revenues, deployment, and services changed over time? 5. How else has the video IPCS marketplace evolved with the passage of time? We seek comment on the changes in availability of and demand for video IPCS, and for other, non-IPCS video products, including the deployment of platforms and devices capable of delivering these services. For example, how has demand for video IPCS changed since the 2023 Mandatory Data Collection (reflecting 2022 data)? We also seek comment on how costs for providing video IPCS and revenues for video IPCS have changed since the <E T="03">2024 IPCS Notice.</E> Have per-minute costs declined as the market developed? What are the trends for video IPCS industry revenues and profitability, given potentially declining per-minute costs and increasing demand? How do costs for providing video IPCS differ between industry leaders, or between large providers and smaller providers? Similarly, what investments are IPCS providers making in video platforms and devices today, and how do those expenditures differ from recent years, if at all? And how should such trends factor into the adoption of permanent rate caps for video IPCS? What data could be used to project the rate of future investments in video software and hardware? Video IPCS platforms and devices typically enable the provision of both regulated video IPCS and nonregulated video services. We seek comment on how video IPCS providers recover shared costs between regulated and nonregulated services. Do commenters expect the usage of regulated and nonregulated services to change over time, and, if so, how should such trends be taken into account in adopting permanent video IPCS rate caps? 6. Commenters generally agree that the video IPCS marketplace is still in its nascent stages and investments in video IPCS infrastructure continue to be relatively high given current demand. We seek comment on the continued evolution of the video IPCS marketplace, and on the data that would most accurately reflect its growth and development. 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