“Since the California law took effect in January, call volume in state prisons surged from 1.4 million minutes per day in December 2022 to more than 3.5 million minutes in June, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.”
California prison calls used to cost more than $6 per 15 minutes through a private telecom, and families paid it. One family’s phone bill sometimes hit $900, “like a full rent back then.” Make calls free and volume jumps from 1.4 million to 3.5 million minutes a day. That gap was families choosing between rent and a brother, and a private telecom collecting.