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The prison phone systems are also bilking families. In the Alaska prison system, I had to call collect to my family. Phone calls were limited to 15 minutes an
by Fjolsvith 12y ago
The prison phone systems are also bilking families. In the Alaska prison system, I had to call collect to my family. Phone calls were limited to 15 minutes and they cost my family $33 per call. I hated calling them because I felt so bad about that cost.
- cgag 12y agoThey normally charge outrageous amounts for long distance calls, which is basically all their calls. Last year the FCC limited the max rate of calls to 25 cents a minute, or 3.75 for a 15 minute call. Still outrageous, but at least not as insane. They usually charge much less for local calls, and there are a lot of services that will set up a number local to the prison and forward calls to cell phones. It's easy enough to set a number yourself with twilio if you're technically inclined, but most people with family in prisons are unfamiliar with things like twilio or google voice. [1]http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-reduces-high-long-distance-calling-rates-paid-inmates http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-reduces-high-long-distance-c...
- saalweachter 12y agoYeah, there's outrageous and there's extortion. Like a $0.10 / kilobyte overage charge on cell phone data plans.
- rhizome 12y agoImagine not being allowed to own a cellphone.
- Fjolsvith 12y agoUnfortunately, most prisons don't allow calling to a cell phone in their rules. Violating it can result in full suspension of your phone privileges.