Eleven years ago, we posted The Risks Of WiFi Deployment In Prisons outlining the security risks and operational challenges of deploying WiFi in prisons to support the connectivity needs of inmate devices. It was written in response to Global Tel*Link (now ViaPath) first announcing it would be offering inmate tablets. After laying out detailed security and operational hurdles of inmate WiFi access, we concluded, “It is clear that achieving adequate WiFi signal coverage and application […]
securus technologies
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Securus is requesting approval from the FCC to transfer control of Preferred Communications of Texas, LLC from Embarq to Securus. Preferred’s sole asset is the contract to provide services to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for which Securus is the subcontractor. Embarq formed Preferred last year to hold the TDCJ Contract when it sold the rest of its incarcerated calling services (ICS) to Inmate Calling Solutions, LLC (d/b/a ICSolutions). With the transfer of […]
Consolidation within the prison payphone communications industry, also known as inmate communications services (ICS), continues with Global Tel*Link (GTL) asking the FCC for approval to buy (some? all?) of the assets of Legacy/Edovo. GTL is the largest provider of ICS in the US. Legacy Inmate Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jail Education Solutions, Inc. d/b/a Edovo (“Edovo”). From the FCC filling, “On July 2, 2020, GTL, Legacy, and Edovo entered into a Master […]
On March 7, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) stayed two provisions of the FCC’s ICS rules: 47 CFR § 64.6010 (setting caps on ICS calling rates that vary based on the size and type of facility being served) and 47 CFR § 64.6020(b)(2) (setting caps for single-call services). The D.C. Circuit’s March 7 Order denied motions for stay of the FCC’s ICS rules “in all […]
The inmate communication services industry is being fundamentally reshaped by the FCC. Potentially more significant than its predecessor initiative, which significantly reduced prison payphone long-distance rates, the recently issued Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on key drivers of revenue and profit for these prison payphone providers and the prisons themselves. With the two largest providers of payphone services owned by private equity firms, not usually known for embracing a shrinking profit model, it […]
A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology. The term is used to describe innovations that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically first by designing for a different set of consumers in a new market and later by […]
Continuing its offensive of suing its rivals for patent infringement, Securus filed suit against Ally Telecom and Network Communications International Corporation (NCIC). The five patents at issue are: 1.) United States Patent No. 5,655,013 (the “’013 Patent”) entitled “Computer-Based Method and Apparatus for Controlling, Monitoring, recording and Reporting Telephone Access” issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on August 5, 1997: A method and apparatus for managing institutional telephone activity utilizes a computer […]
The FCC has released its order (FCC 13-113) detailing the rules associated with the regulating of prison payphone interstate calling rates. This is the culmination of FCC Proposed Rule Making 12-375 (The Wright Petition – follow the link for to see the new proposed rates) in which the Federal Communications Commission proposed to lower rates charged to prison inmates for long distance telephone calls by considering changes to its regulations governing rates for interstate inter-exchange […]
Epilogue: In December of 2017, Securus Technologies and Global Tel*Link reached a confidential settlement to end their long-running infringement dispute over patents used in prison phone systems, according to a joint motion for dismissal filed in Texas federal court. As detailed in depth below, the two rivals have for years engaged in litigation over their various patents, accusing each other of infringement and alleging that the other’s patents should be invalidated at the USPTO’s PTAB. […]
The first round of comments are in for the FCC Proposed Rule Making 12-375 (The Wright Petition), and advocates from both sides of the issue have submitted letters and comments on the price of interstate calls from prison. Some cash-strapped states and facilities collect commissions from prison phone contracts. Texas, for instance, uses some of the money collected for a crime victims’ fund. Nationwide, states collect more than $150 million a year from prison phone […]
Update (4/30/13): The FCC has given its approval for the ABRY purchase of Securus Technologies from Castle Harlan. From the Public Notice: “Upon review of the record, we find that the transaction is likely to result in certain public interest benefits, including increased capital resources available to Applicants to make service improvements. In addition, Applicants affirm that they will continue to be bound by existing contract rates for service to customers and that there will […]
A few years ago, as a consultant to Securus, I was responsible for the development and launch of a brand new line of business for Securus focused on the profitable delivery of integrated justice information combined with unique analytical and heuristic tools to facilitate the investigative process of criminal investigators at the federal, state and local level. The service was called “Electronic Dragnet” and its purpose was to enhance detectives’ crime fighting efforts and increase […]