FCC, Industry Officials Discuss Possible Effort To Reach Inmate Calling Accord
FCC and industry officials explored the possibility of an inmate calling service deal at a meeting Wednesday, said a Securus Technologies filing Friday in docket 12-375. Parties expressed an interest in achieving inmate calling service regulatory certainty but didn't discuss substantive proposals, it said. Parts of a 2015 FCC order capping ICS rates and restricting certain fees and practices (see 1510220059) have been stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit pending further review on the merits of various legal challenges (see 1603070055 and 1603230058).
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"The discussion regarded whether a comprehensive resolution can be reached for Inmate Calling Services rates and the fees and charges applied in connection with ICS, and the potential benefits of a consensus solution," the Securus filing said. The attendees said that while they don't "share a uniform view on the issues presented by ICS reform, and certainly could not speak for all interested parties, they do share an interest in a certain and predictable regulatory environment. No substantive presentation or proposal was made."
The FCC attendees were aides to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and staffers for the Wireline Bureau and Office of General Counsel. Industry attendees included Securus General Counsel Dennis Reinhold, Global Tel*Link General Counsel David Silverman, Pay Tel Communications President Vincent Townsend, Telmate Vice President-Government Affairs Curt Clifton and several attorneys, including Andrew Lipman of Morgan Lewis. None of the parties we queried Friday commented.