SEATTLE — Texas inmates will see the cost of making phone calls drastically reduced under a new federal regulation approved by the Federal Communications Commission, lowering rates that averaged 23 cents per minute for Texas prisoners to prices as low as 5 cents per minute.

The FCC voted on July 18 to pass regulations that would cap the price of phone and video calls to inmates. It is expected to come into effect next yearPrices and limits vary by state and depend on the size of the prison and differences between state and local regulations. The new rules will be introduced in phases and those involved hope that they will be in force in all penitentiaries across the country by April 1, 2026 at the latest.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called the high rates “unreasonable,” adding that a single phone call sometimes cost as much as an unlimited monthly plan. The FCC said the new caps could save prisoners, friends, families and fellow inmates about $386 million annuallyRosenworcel added that regular contact with family reduces the chance that prisoners will return to crime after their release.

The new caps set by the FCC are based on the size of the prison, with lower caps in larger jails and prisons.Prisons and cell complexes with an average daily population of 1,000 or more must comply with the regulations by 1 January 2025. Smaller prisons with fewer than 1,000 inmates must comply with the regulations by 1 April 2025.

“The FCC’s decision is a huge victory for prisoners, their families, and their allies who have fought the exploitative prison telecommunications industry for decades,” the Prison Policy Initiative said.

In 2023, Congress passed legislation giving the FCC broad authority to reduce the cost of prisoner phone calls, after the agency’s 2017 caps were overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Drew Willey, a Houston attorney who has long advocated for free phone calls for inmates in the Harris County Jail, said that when he began his advocacy in 2017, The price for a 20-minute phone call was $14.99 in Harris County.

“For far too long, too many families have been forced to spend exorbitant amounts of money simply to call their incarcerated loved ones, depriving children of the comfort of hearing their parents’ voices,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth, who spearheaded the legislation in Congress.

Advocates say their goal is to give Texas prisoners free phone calls. As of December 2023, only five states in the country allowed free phone calls for prisoners (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Massachusetts). Lawmakers in Washington state have also begun pushing for free phone calls for inmates, with Sen. Drew Hansen introducing the Connecting Families Act, which would provide free phone access to the state’s approximately 13,000 inmates.