Securus, Pay Tel Looking to Drop Legal Challenge to Prison Phone Rates

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2026 – Satisfied with new higher rates, prison telecom providers are looking to drop their challenge to a now-rescinded Federal Communications Commission rule on how much incarcerated people can be charged for phone service.

Securus and Pay Tel had sued over a 2024 FCC order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act, a 2023 law directing the FCC to regulate prison phone rates. They said the rates the FCC set in that order were too low for some companies and facilities to recover their costs.

Under new leadership in 2025, the agency adopted another order with caps nearly twice as high in some cases. It’s set to take effect in April.