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The Telecom Digest for Sat, 29 May 2021
Volume 40 : Issue 149 : "text" format

table of contents
FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families
Re: FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families
Mexican Government Orders The Creation Of A National Registry Of Mobile Telephones Users.
Re: Mobile phone companies can change your phone's software?

Message-ID: <20210527223330.46872799@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 27 May 2021 22:33:30 +0000 (UTC) From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org> Subject: FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families BY Matt Reynolds The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to make phone calls more affordable for people in prisons or jails by approving a plan to reduce out-of-state call rates by at least one-third. The FCC capped at 12 cents per minute the rate for prison calls and 14 cents per minute the rates in larger jails. Interstate rate caps were previously set at 21 cents per minute for debit and prepaid calls from prisons and jails with more than 1,000 inmates, according to an FCC proposal. https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/fcc-curbs-out-of-state-call-rates-in-prisons ?utm_source=salesforce_395197&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monthly_email
Message-ID: <20210527231209.GA7412@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 27 May 2021 23:12:09 +0000 From: Bill Horne <malQassRimiMlation@gmail.com> Subject: Re: FCC approves plan to make some phone calls cheaper for inmates and their families On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 10:33:30PM +0000, Telecom Digest Moderator wrote: > BY Matt Reynolds > > The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to > make phone calls more affordable for people in prisons or jails by > approving a plan to reduce out-of-state call rates by at least > one-third. > > The FCC capped at 12 cents per minute the rate for prison calls and 14 > cents per minute the rates in larger jails. Interstate rate caps were > previously set at 21 cents per minute for debit and prepaid calls from > prisons and jails with more than 1,000 inmates, according to an FCC > proposal. > https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/fcc-curbs-out-of-state-call-rates-in-prisons?utm_source=3Dsalesforce_395197&utm_medium=3Demail&utm_campaign=monthly_email Before I worked in the prison-phone industry, if I heard a news story about high phone call costs from prisons, I would think to myself "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time - and everything that comes with it!" I suppose my attitude was in the middle range for a working-class guy: having followed the rules myself, I was scornful of those who were trying to get lower costs for criminals, and I suggested to those who brought the subject up that the inmates could be provided with pencils and paper to write letters home, just like I used when I served in Vietnam. However, I took a job installing and fixing phones in prisons, and after finding out a bit of the "inside story" (pun intended), I realized that it's nowhere near as simple a problem as I had imagined. There are a lot of things that affect the costs of prison calls: here are just a few of the ones I learned about. 1. It is VERY expensive to send a technician into a prison. There are metal detectors, identity checks, tools lists and counts, plus occasional personal searches. It typically took me twenty to thirty minutes to get past the guardhouse, AND another twenty to thirty minutes to get back out. 2. No matter what the problem was, if I encountered unexpected conditions and needed a part that I hadn't brought in with me, the whole checkout/checkin process had to happen again. 3. Prison phones have to be specially manufactured, with attack-resistant handsets, touch-tone pads, and wiring. The average install time for a single-line set, functionally identical to a Western Electric "2554" wall set, was over three hours, because of the need to run wires in conduits, site it so as to prevent access by passersby, and drill mounting holes in concrete walls. Those are some of the reasons that the costs have been high. On the other hand, there are valid reasons for the government's interest in making calls from prisons less expensive: 1. Inmate demand that their wives, children, or parents pay for collect calls through "independent" operator-service companies. The combination of higher-than-normal "collect" rates, tied to the "independent" service company fees - which could range into double-digits for a collect call - imposed an unneeded and unjustified toll (pun intended) on inmate's families. 2. I never saw a single prison where inmates could receive calls. Although I don't claim to be an expert in confinement planning, ISTM that having incoming lines in excercise years or other semi-public areas would dramatically reduce costs. 3. Petite Bourgeois prejudices to the contrary, keeping in touch with family does improve morale in inmate populations, and that means fewer disruptions and fewer offenses that might extend an inmate's sentence. The less time an inmate spends incarcerated, the less likely he is to recidivate. Suffice to say, and I'll admit that this applis to me as well as many others, in public discussions about how to best and most effectively reduce crime, common sense is all too uncommon. FWIW. YMMV. Bill -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Message-ID: <20210527183351.3FFD4799@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 27 May 2021 18:33:51 +0000 (UTC) From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Mexican Government Orders The Creation Of A National Registry Of Mobile Telephones Users. by Gustavo Alcocer On April 16, 2021, an amendment to the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law was published in the Official Gazette, aimed at the creation of a National Registry of Mobile Telephone Users, by means of which it is intended to create a database with information on individuals or legal entities who own mobile telephone lines. These new provisions were created with the purpose of collaborating with the competent authorities involved in the combat of crimes via telephone. https://www.mondaq.com/mexico/telecoms-mobile-cable-communications/1064332/mexican-government-orders-the-creation-of-a-national-registry-of-mobile-telephones-users?email_access=on
Message-ID: <s8ovpf$ioh$1@dont-email.me> Date: 27 May 2021 15:34:54 -0500 From: "Dave Garland" <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> Subject: Re: Mobile phone companies can change your phone's software? On 5/25/2021 7:02 PM, Stuart McGraw wrote: > I was looking at Tracfone's Terms > and Conditions [https://www.tracfone.com/termsandconditions] > and was horrified to read: > * we may remotely change your phone's software, applications, or > * programming without notice. This could affect information > * stored on your phone, your phone's programming, and how you are > * able to use your phone. > > Is this a common condition for mobile service providers? I reviewed the T&C for my Mint Mobile service, and while it is as one-sided as any other vendor, it did not contain any provision for changing anything about my phone beyond their provision of service. It occurs to me that such a clause might be necessary if the telecom provides any support (such as software updates) for the phone itself (I purchased an unlocked refurb Pixel off eBay, and Google provided software updates until the phone went EOL). That said, in the US one can probably assume that (T&C notwithstanding) agencies of sufficient legal power may be able to get into, and muck with, your (or my, or anyone's) phone without your knowledge or consent.
********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sat, 29 May 2021
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