Link: A look at the growing use of tablets in US prisons, letting inmates make calls, send messages, and more, as the FCC imposes price caps on voice and video calls (Nicholas G. Miller/Wall Street Journal)

In prisons and jails, tablet programs are escalating as key communication tools for inmates, although these often come with high costs. They provide limited internet access, allowing inmates to call, message, and watch movies, creating additional revenue streams for telecom providers and facilities.

Recent FCC decisions capped the costs of inmate calls and banned revenue-sharing agreements from these calls in correctional facilities, effective next year. A 15-minute phone call will now cost at most 90 cents, saving inmates and their connections an estimated $386 million.

However, the FCC's regulation excludes other tablet services like e-messaging and entertainment, which can be expensive. Correctional facilities can still receive revenue from these non-call-related services, which include costly e-messages and multimedia content.

Inmates, like Tray Proch, feel exploited by these costs, particularly when alternatives to communication, like physical mail, are restricted. Proch argues that the tablets' exploitative pricing, not the technology itself, is the main issue.

Although companies like Securus argue that these tablets enrich prisoner lives by safely introducing them to digital services, critics point out their monopolistic contracts leave inmates with no choice but affordable access.

Some regions, like San Francisco, are attempting to mitigate these issues by offering free educational and entertainment content on tablets to support inmate welfare without imposing financial burdens. This approach helps alleviate the mental and financial strain on incarcerated individuals, who often have little to no income.

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