The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) amended its rules...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) amended its rules governing carriers that provide telephone services to inmates of state and county correctional institutions. The PUC (Case 07-204) ruled that inmate payphone providers are a type of competitive local exchange…
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provider, whose local rates are unregulated except upon filing of a complaint, but which are exempt from 911 and Lifeline requirements. It said with respect to long distance services, inmate payphone providers are subject to the same regulations as other long distance carriers, including the requirement to file tariffs. The PUC in April opened an investigation into inmate phone services in response to a 2006 complaint from inmate relatives about companies failing to disclose rates for collect calls, requiring advance deposits for collect call services and assessing processing fees on advance deposits. Providers must bill for calls within 90 days, must include their names on bills and must inform end users of the rates and nonrecurring charges on collect calls before they accept the call, said the PUC order.