Arizona Department of Corrections

For families trying to stay in touch with loved ones behind bars, there is a cost.

Like most prisons and jails, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office uses a private service like GTL to facilitate phone and video calls. On Thursday the FCC raised the rates those companies can charge for their services. Phone companies have contractual agreements with jails and prisons. When they set up those agreements, they arrange rate charges which vary with each institution. 

In the past, rates were as high as a dollar a minute for some institutions. In 2013, the FCC moved to cap these rates and then expanded them in 2015. In the most recent vote, the FCC raised some rate caps from $0.22 per minute to $0.31 per minute.

Prison reform advocate Caroline Isaacs said while the increase may not seem like a lot, using the service every day or every other day can add up.