Captive Audiences: A Case Study of Phone Rates for Incarcerated Persons

Phone calls from prisons and jails are extremely costly for inmates and their families. In this article, we examine the market structure of inmate calling services and the inherent market failures that lead to such high calling rates. We determine that there is a classic anticompetitive problem involving vulnerable populations captive to a monopolist service provider, and discuss the Federal Communications Commission’s attempts to lower these rates. In addition to phone call expenses, we discu