Global Tel*Link Asks DC Circuit To Stay FCC Rate Caps on Inmate Calling Service
Global Tel*Link and Securus Technologies sought a court stay of certain FCC inmate calling service (ICS) rules, pending further judicial review of a recent order, which the agency refused to stay (see 1601220040). The commission imposed “rate caps that the…
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FCC admits are below providers’ lawfully incurred costs,” GTL said in a motion Wednesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (Global Tel*Link v. FCC, No. 15-1461 and consolidated cases). GTL asked that the rate caps be stayed before their effective dates -- March 17 for prisons and June 18 for jails. It said it was likely to prevail on the merits of the underlying case, an initial prong in stay reviews. The rate caps don’t allow ICS providers “to recover the cost of site commissioners they are required to pay [to correctional authorities] -- even though the FCC recognized that those payments are both a substantial cost incurred by ICS providers and permitted by federal law,” GTL said: The FCC "acknowledged that, if commissions are taken into account, the rate caps are below cost.” The company said the rate caps were below cost even without factoring in the site commissions, and it said the agency lacked authority to cap intrastate ICS calls. GTL said the balance of equities also favors a stay because, first, it would otherwise suffer irreparable harm from being forced to charge “unlawful, confiscatory rates" and "the revenues lost cannot be recovered.” The public would also be harmed if the rate caps lead to the loss or reduction of service, it said, while there will be “no cognizable harm” if a stay is imposed. “The court will now set a calendar for briefing the matter, perhaps a month, and then a decision will be issued,” said a GTL spokesperson. “Briefing on the merits of the appeal will occur sometime after, once the court sets a calendar, probably spring into early summer, then oral arguments will take place in the fall and a decision to follow." In its motion, Securus sought a stay of various FCC fee restrictions, its site commission definition and certain reporting requirements. "This new regime will dramatically reduce Securus's rates for several services and may prevent their continued provision," said Securus, which also made detailed arguments in favor of a stay. Others may join the stay effort, GTL said.