The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC)...

The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC) should reverse a portion of its interlocutory ruling dismissing an investigation of the rate component of the state’s inmate calling service (ICS) rate-setting mechanism, said a Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts petition filed Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/H8wQsL). The usage rate of $0.102 per minute and a flat usage rate of $1.50 per 15-minute call is not “just and reasonable,” said PLS. Rates under $0.102 still yield a “fair profit to ICS providers,” said the petition. PLS said ICS can be profitable for $0.07 per minute with no additional surcharge, based on evidence from the FCC rulemaking proceeding on interstate rates (CD Sept 30 p9). “The Federal Communications Commission has cited the wide variation of interstate ICS rates as evidence of a market failure in the intrastate market as well,” said the petition. For the DTC to ratify a per-minute rate of $0.10 “flies in the face” of the FCC’s own analysis, said PLS. The FCC order made plenty of good points that help PLS argue its case to the DTC, Bonita Tenneriello, an attorney with PLS, told us Friday. “You can’t ask consumers to pay for kickbacks, and almost half of these rates are kickbacks,” she said. “You need to charge consumers fees that only cover the costs of a call.” The FCC’s case will be helpful for DTC regulators in their decisionmaking, said Tenneriello. “The calling companies asked the DTC to dismiss the case, but after the FCC decision, the DTC decided to go forward,” she said. Prison calling rates are unfair to families because prisons often drop the calls, and collect calls are not allowed, said Tenneriello. “The FCC understands that prison rates make it hard for prisoners to stay in touch with their families and keeping in touch is important for reentry after prison,” she said.