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Historical Wisconsin State Prison phone rates and kickbacks

Same-state long distance rates

Year Collect Prepaid Debit
2017 0.12/min<br>$1.80/15 minutes 0.12/min<br>$1.80/15 minutes N/A
2016 N/A N/A N/A
2015 N/A N/A N/A
2014 N/A N/A N/A
2012 N/A N/A N/A
2011 N/A N/A N/A
2010 N/A N/A N/A
2009 N/A N/A N/A

Interstate long distance rates

Year Collect Prepaid Debit
2017 0.18/min<br>$2.70/15 minutes 0.18/min<br>$2.70/15 minutes N/A
2016 N/A N/A N/A
2015 N/A N/A N/A
2014 N/A N/A N/A
2012 N/A N/A N/A
2011 N/A N/A N/A
2010 N/A N/A N/A
2009 N/A N/A N/A

Local rates

Year Collect Prepaid Debit
2017 0.12/min<br>$1.80/15 minutes 0.12/min<br>$1.80/15 minutes N/A
2016 N/A N/A N/A
2015 N/A N/A N/A
2014 N/A N/A N/A
2012 N/A N/A N/A
2011 N/A N/A N/A
2010 N/A N/A N/A
2009 N/A N/A N/A

Kickbacks

Year Kickbacks paid Companies Notes
2017 $625,586.27 Embarq (CenturyLink)
2016 $1,141,636.47 Embarq (CenturyLink)
2015 $983,429.81 Embarq (CenturyLink)
2014 $849,595.74 Embarq (CenturyLink)
2012 $2,344,085.34 Embarq (CenturyLink)
2011 $2,171,279.29
2010 $2,052,346.15
2009 $2,039,339.45

Historical source documents

State DOC Rates

State DOC Contracts

State DOC Commission Data

 Prison Phone Justice Articles and Documents

2021

Sonoma County Jail Inmate Telephone and Commissary - Grand Jury Report 2020-2021

September: Letter to Governors Cuomo and Hutchinson Regarding Affordable Prison Communication Services

April: California Public Utilities Commission - Ruling Denying PPI Motion to Compel GTL to Respond to Data Requests 4-27-21

March: Comments of Prison Policy Initiative Before the Iowa Utilities Board 03-18-2021

2020

August: 

FCC Public Notice Re Acquisition of Legacy Inmate Communications by Global Tel Link 2020

Agreement between the City and County of San Francisco and Global Tel*Link

July: Report and Order on Remand and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Federal Communications Commission, 2020

April: Letter to FCC - Protect Incarcerated People, 2020

April - Covid-19:

Letter to US Conference of Mayors - COVID-19 phone costs, 2020

Letter to National Governors Association - COVID-19 phone costs, 2020

Letter to National Sheriffs' Association - COVID-19 phone costs, 2020

February: 

Edovo - Section J Rates and Fees

Securus - J Section Rates and Fees

ICSolutions - Section J Rates and Fees

Jaunary: GTL - Section J Rates and Fees

2019

Highest 2019 Reported Charge for a 15-Minute Call by Facility Location

October: HRDC joins application to file amicus brief in re county inmate telephone services case in CA, HRDC files joint amicus brief

April: HRDC press release on Securus/ICSolutions merger

2017

August: HRDC accuses FCC chairman of having conflict of interest

2016

April: PLN criticizes non-disclosure of Securus employee at FCC hearing on cell phones

January: HRDC's FCC comment mentioned regarding price gouging prisoners' families, Comment regarding prison reforms, HRDC's letter to the FCC mentioned regarding VA DOC's phone rate reduction

2015

October: FCC reforms applauded by HRDC's Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, HRDC's FCC comment on corruption in prison phone industry profiled

January: HRDC's FCC comments mentioned in article on video visitation

2014

November: PLN mentioned in article about FCC action on prison phone rates

October: FCC Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

September: HRDC comment to FCC regarding WA phone rates, FCC Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

January: HRDC response to PayTel comments, HRDC response to FCC caps on prison phone calls

2013:

December: Prison Legal News cover story on the prison phone industry, HRDC comment to FCC on Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

September: PLN/HRDC mentioned in article on FCC prison phone order

April: HRDC reply comment to FCC on Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

March: HRDC comment to FCC on Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

January: PLN's research on prison phone rates cited in article on FCC hearing

2012

December: FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

October: HRDC response to Global Tel comments 

2011

April: Prison Legal News cover story on the prison phone industry

2007

ApriL: HRDC initial comment to FCC 

 

 

 PLN Coverage of Prison Phone Justice

A Song for Condemned Alabama Prisoner

Loaded on April 1, 2025 published in Prison Legal News April, 2025, page 26
Filed under: Witnesses, Telephone Monitoring, Evidence - Failure to Disclose. Location: Alabama.

He shot the cop. Or his co-defendant did. Or he did it, but with another uncharged codefendant.

Alabama prosecutors used all three theories to try Toforest Johnson and co-defendant Ardargus Ford for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Sheriff’s Dep. William Hardy at a Birmingham motel. Ford was acquitted at ...

GTL, Co-Defendant Agree to $21.3 Million Settlement with HRDC in Price-Fixing Lawsuit

Loaded on April 1, 2025 published in Prison Legal News April, 2025, page 38
Filed under: Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Telephone Rates, HRDC Litigation, Global Tel*Link Corp. Location: Maryland.

O

n October 31, 2024, preliminary approval was granted to a settlement reached with the second of three prison telecom giants accused of illegal price-fixing. The suit was filed in June 2020 in United States District Court for the District of Maryland by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the ...

Pay-for-Play Tablets: The Costly New Prison Paradigm

Loaded on March 1, 2025 published in Prison Legal News March, 2025, page 1
Filed under: Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Electronic Tablets, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Telephone Rates, Tapes/Music, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp. Location: United States of America.

Historically, prisons and jails have been loathe to give prisoners access to technology. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) didn’t even allow prisoners regular access to telephone calls until 2009. Access to internet-based services, which the non-incarcerated take for granted, is also forbidden by prison officials who cite vaguely-expressed ...

Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup

Loaded on March 1, 2025 published in Prison Legal News March, 2025, page 34
Filed under: Cell Searches, Drug Testing, Prison/Jail Murders, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Cell Phone Access, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet. Location: New York.

The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a notorious federal jail in Brooklyn, New York, has made the news repeatedly thanks to some high-profile detainees held there to await trial. But federal prosecutors have also charged nine detainees for a series of assaults on fellow detainees, including two murders.

Additionally, as of ...

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