Washington State Prison phone rates and kickbacks

Washington ranks 25th in the nation for the affordability of a 15 minute call.

Kickbacks paid

$5,600,000.00 paid in 2017.

Percentage of call cost going to kickbacks: 56%

Cost of a 15-minute Intrastate Call

	Collect	Prepaid	Debit
Same state	$1.65	$1.65	$1.65
Local	$1.65	$1.65	$1.65

Detailed rates

	Collect	Prepaid	Debit
Same state	0.11/min	0.11/min	0.11/min
Local	0.11/min	0.11/min	0.11/min

Phone service providers

VAC (GTL)

Notes

Rates current as of May 2017. Kickbacks current as of FY2013.

Data current as of 2017-2018

Historical Data for Washington

Primary source documents

State DOC Rates

State DOC Contracts

State DOC Commission Data

WA Phone Kickbacks 2004-2008

County Rates

County Contracts

Court Rulings

Legislation

Kittitas County, WA Resolution Governing Distribution of Telephone Revenues

Administrative Rulings

Key Prison Phone Documents

PLN Dec. 2013 cover story on the prison phone industry

PLN April 2011 cover story on the prison phone industry

HRDC comment to FCC re WA phone rates Sept. 2014

HRDC response to PayTel comments Jan. 2014

HRDC comment to FCC on FNPRM Dec. 2013

HRDC comment to FCC on NPRM March 2013

HRDC reply comment to FCC on NPRM April 2013

HRDC response to Global Tel comments Oct. 2012

HRDC initial comment to FCC April 2007

FCC Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Oct. 2014

FCC Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Sept. 2013

FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Dec. 2012

Prison Phone Related News

New York City Council Passes Ordinance to Make All Jail Phone Calls Free

Loaded on Dec. 5, 2018 by Derek Gilna published in Prison Legal News December, 2018, page 34

Filed under: Telephone Rates. Location: New York.

by Derek Gilna

On July 18, 2018 the New York City Council passed Introduction No. 741-A, which ended the practice of telecom companies profiting from providing phone services for prisoners at inflated rates. Instead, all domestic calls made from the city’s jail system, including the Rikers Island complex, will be ...

New Jersey Federal Court Certifies Class-Action Suit Against Global*Tel Link

Loaded on Dec. 5, 2018 by Derek Gilna published in Prison Legal News December, 2018, page 20

Filed under: Class Certification, Telephone Rates. Location: New Jersey.

by Derek Gilna

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has certified a class-action lawsuit against Global Tel*Link (GTL), one of the nation’s largest prison telecom companies. According to the court, the plaintiffs – including prisoners and their family members – alleged violations of the ...

Washington State: Jail Phone Rates Increase as Video Replaces In-Person Visits

Loaded on Oct. 12, 2018 by Steve Horn, Iris Wagner published in Prison Legal News October, 2018, page 1

Filed under: Telephone Rates, Visiting, Video Visitation. Location: Washington.

by Steve Horn and Iris Wagner

A comprehensive set of public records obtained by Prison Legal News from the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) and most of the state’s county jails indicates that the average cost of local and in-state phone calls made by Washington prisoners has steadily increased in ...

Despite Lack of FCC Action, States Can Still Make Prison and Jail Calls Affordable

Loaded on Sept. 3, 2018 by Dale Chappell published in Prison Legal News September, 2018, page 36

Filed under: Telephone Rates. Location: United States of America.

by Dale Chappell

Although prison phone service providers and law enforcement officials won their lawsuit to block the FCC’s $.11-per-minute cap on intrastate (in-state) prison phone calls [see: PLN, July 2017, p.52], states can still lower the rates – to even below $.11 per minute – and some have ...