FCC webcast today on inmate phone service

For those interested in the always-hot topic of inmate phone service, particularly the unconscionably high rates charged by some vendors to inmate families, Cindy George at the Houston Chronicle brings word of an all-day webcast today on the subject. Here are the details:

In a daylong workshop beginning at 8 a.m. CST [sic: surely CDT] on Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission will explore the possibility of new regulations that could potentially cap state-to-state rates and eliminate per-call charges as well as examine policy issues related to inmate phone services.

A live webcast will be available at www.fcc.gov/live and click here for the full agenda. Viewers can submit questions to livequestions@fcc.gov.

A “consumers and public policy” panel will explore impacts of inmate calling fees on society and individuals, rate reform and increasing contact between incarcerated individuals and their families.

Spurred by pleas from inmates and their loved ones, Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn urged a look at new regulations.

“It’s a justice issue, it’s a civil liberties issues, it’s an issue of trying to keep families as intact as possible,” she said in the McClatchy story. “This is a situation that cries out for attention.”