Prison Technology Leaders Discuss Communication Costs, Connectivity During Broadband Breakfast Panel
The panel discussed balancing innovation with public safety, and whether inmates should bear security costs for phone calls and communication under new FCC rules.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2025 — Officials in the prison technology industry discussed the balance between affordable communications and security, plus the importance of communications and its impact on recidivism, at a Broadband Breakfast Live Online webcast on Wednesday.
The discussion comes at a time when federal regulations may reshape how incarcerated people connect with families, with the panel examining recent Federal Communications Commission orders implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act, including the agency’s recent rate increase.
The discussion on phone rates
Kevin Elder, president of Securus Technologies, said the FCC's revised 2025 order appropriately included safety and security costs in calling rates, reversing an earlier prohibition on security costs being included in rates. The company challenged the agency’s original 2024 order excluding such costs in court.
Tony Parker
Member discussion