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TCI Breaks 'Inmate Telephone System' Stranglehold
By now you've seen the Tele-Con, Inc. (TCI) ads in Prison Legal News . I first heard of TCI in June, 1997, when a PLN reader sent me one of their brochures. Collect calls from prisoners billed at 10¢ a minute? Yeah, right. This sounded WAY too good to be …
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More from this issue:
- Smoking, Lies and Hypocrisy, by Paul Wright
- Education as Crime Prevention: Providing Education to Prisoners, by Dan Pens
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Judge-Made Law, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- TCI Breaks 'Inmate Telephone System' Stranglehold, by Dan Pens
- Utah Governor's 'Pal' Dupes Parole Officials
- Motion for Seized Property Subject to PLRA Fee
- Attn: Lawyers in Prison
- Dismissal of Paid Suit Counts as a "Strike"
- Fifth Circuit Upholds PLRA IFP Provisions
- Mailbox Rule Applies to Trust Fund Statement
- Mandamus Appeal Denied as Third Strike
- PLRA Doesn't Apply to Habeas
- Writs of Mandamus Not Subject to PLRA Fees
- AL Jail Enjoined From Holding Prisoners Overnight
- Former Warden Wins Suit Against TDCJ
- Washington 35% Law Struck Down, in Part
- $135,000 Award in Beating Affirmed, Municipal Liability Reversed
- Torture Info Wanted
- News in Brief
- Legal Material Confiscation May Violate First Amendment
- A Matter of Fact
- Alabama Jail Held in Contempt for Crowding
- Dismissal for Derelict Lawyer Reversed, by Arizona prisoner (name withheld)
- New York Work Release Creates Liberty Interest
More from Dan Pens:
- Federal Religious Freedom Law Passed, April 15, 2001
- South Carolina Prison Chief Fired as Scandal Widens, April 15, 2001
- Bag'm, Tag'm and Bury'm; Wisconsin Prisoners Dying for Health Care, Feb. 15, 2001
- Food Strike Puts Washington DOC on Spin Control, Feb. 15, 2001
- Fraud Charged by Washington DOC Whistleblower, Feb. 15, 2001
- CMS Fined Nearly $1 Million in Virginia, Dec. 15, 2000
- Death as a Salesman: Benneton Ad Campaign Comes to Death Row, Dec. 15, 2000
- Illinois Supermax Hunger Strike, Dec. 15, 2000
- Whistle-blowing Doctor Shakes Up Nebraska DOC, Nov. 15, 2000
- Corcoran Show Trial Ends with Acquittals, Nov. 15, 2000
More from these topics:
- Digital Tablet Shift Brings Added Cost, Lost Data to Prisoners in California, April 1, 2026. Computers, Prisoner Property, Telephone Rates, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, Feb. 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Private Phone Contractors.
- An AI Model from Securus Aims to Expand Phone Call Monitoring, Dec. 1, 2025. Databases, Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Electronic Surveillance, Securus.
- Colorado Children Sue County Jail to Fight Visitation Ban, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Children of Prisoners, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Private Phone Contractors.
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access, Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance.
- FCC Votes For Dramatic Hike to Prison Phone Call Rates, Nov. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Cell Phone Access, Video Visitation, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- FCC Backtracks on 2024 Order to Cut Prison Phone and Video Rates by Half, Aug. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Private Phone Contractors, Securus.
- HRDC Collaborates on Prison Telecom Cost Report to Washington Lawmakers, Aug. 1, 2025. Electronic Tablets, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service, July 15, 2025. Electronic Tablets, Computers, Telephone Rates, Securus.

