FCC, Inmate Advocates Oppose ICS Provider Motions To Stay Intrastate Interim Caps
The FCC and others opposed inmate calling service provider motions to revise a previous court stay order so that the commission's 2013 interim price caps can't be applied to intrastate ICS rates, pending further judicial review of underlying challenges to…
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a 2015 agency order (Global Tel*Link v. FCC, No. 15-461). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed FCC 2015 rate caps of 11 to 22 cents per minute for interstate and intrastate ICS rates (see 1603070055). But the D.C. Circuit didn't stay the 2013 interim caps of 21 and 25 cents/minute on interstate ICS rates nor a 2015 FCC change removing the "interstate" designation from the ICS definition, the FCC said Tuesday. It opposed a motion from Securus (see 1603170040) and subsequently filed motions from Global Tel*Link and Telmate. "Granting such relief would require this Court to expand the limited stay it only recently -- and carefully -- crafted. There is no cause to do so," the FCC said in its opposition. "The Commission’s new rules, by their terms, extended the interim rate caps to intrastate inmate calls in the event the permanent rate caps (but not the amended definition of inmate calling services) were stayed. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.6000(j); 64.6030. Two parties sought a stay of the interim rate caps; no party requested a stay of the amended definition. Because the Court declined to stay the interim rate caps, they now apply to intrastate (as well as interstate) calls. That result is entirely reasonable." The Wright Petitioners, which advocate for the phone rights of inmates and their families, filed in support of the FCC. CenturyLink backed the other ICS providers Monday.