FCC, Most Other Litigants Ask DC Circuit Not to Review 2 Inmate Calling Service Orders
The FCC and others asked a court not to review two inmate calling service rate orders from 2013 and 2016, after the court in June vacated and remanded key parts of a 2015 order restricting ICS rates and fees in…
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Global Tel*Link v. FCC, No. 15-1461 (see 1706130047). The 2013 and 2016 orders have been held in abeyance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which recently asked for motions on further proceedings. The commission and most other litigants said the D.C. Circuit should summarily vacate the 2016 reconsideration order being challenged in Securus v. FCC, No. 16-1321, because it relied on the same industry-averaging cost methodology vacated in GTL. They asked the court to dismiss as moot challenges to the 2013 interim interstate ICS rate order in Securus v. FCC, No. 13-1280, because it was superseded by parts of the 2015 order that weren't vacated in GTL. "Those aspects of the 2015 ICS Order not vacated by this Court in GTL are now the governing regulatory scheme for ICS unless and until revisited by the Commission in further administrative proceedings," said the joint motion (in Pacer) filed Monday by GTL, Securus, CenturyLink, Telmate, correctional facility petitioners, state and local government petitioners, the FCC and DOJ and their supporting intervenors. "That includes the 2015 ICS Order’s recodification of the interim interstate rate caps ... which, with respect to interstate calls only, remain in effect." Pay Tel Communications asked (in Pacer) asked the court to "vacate (or at least maintain the existing stay of)" the 2016 recon order's revised rate caps and remand the order to the commission.