During yesterday’s session, the FCC proposed to abolish a regulation stipulating that Internet providers must break down different fees in broadband pricing labels that are required to be accessible to consumers. Public feedback will be collected prior to making a definitive decision. We detailed this proposal in an article published on October 8.
“Taking advantage of a personnel reduction amid public confusion and a packed agenda, the FCC aimed to implement the most detrimental measures for consumers it has yet approved,” Gomez stated yesterday.
New inflation factor to increase rates further
The telecommunications provider NCIC Correctional Services submitted a request for the FCC to modify its rate-cap order for 2024, asserting that the limits were “below the cost of providing service for the majority of IPCS providers” and “not sustainable.” The order was also contested by Global Tel*Link (also known as ViaPath) and Securus Technologies.
Gomez remarked that “providers making these assertions didn’t even take the time to meet with my office to clarify their stance,” and failed to supply data that the FCC requested. By accepting the claims from the industry, “the FCC today chooses to incentivize poor conduct,” Gomez commented.
FCC price caps differ depending on the facility’s size. The 2024 order established a range of $0.06 to $0.12 per minute for audio calls, reduced from a prior range of $0.14 to $0.21 per minute. The 2024 order also introduced rate caps for video calls for the first time, establishing rates between $0.11 and $0.25 per minute.
A few weeks prior to yesterday’s vote, the FCC issued a public draft of its proposal featuring new voice-call caps from $0.10 to $0.18 per minute and new video call caps from $0.18 to $0.41 per minute. These new limits reflect modifications to the rate-cap calculation method, the additional fee of $0.02, and a new category for “extremely small jails” that may impose the highest rates.
Gomez criticized the 6.7 percent inflation factor that she claimed was introduced at the “last minute.” The final iteration of the order sanctioned at yesterday’s meeting has yet to be made public. The inflation “factor will be applied without public notice that it was being considered… or any evidence of its necessity,” Gomez asserted.
