Inmate Phone Calls: Less Charge, More Talk

Keeping a relationship is no easy feat, because it requires constant and steady communication.  Even if the parties of a relationship are far from each other, they stay connected if they both put effort into the relationship. One very good way of communicating is through the telephone. The telephone is one of the oldest modes of communication, and is one of the few ways inmates in penitentiaries can connect with their loved ones.

Prisons are equipped with inmate telephone systems devised to give inmates a way to maintain communication with family and friends. To ensure safety, these telephone systems are provisioned with features that allow monitoring and recording of the inmates' telephone communication between inmates and their loved ones. Inmate telephone services are geared towards inmate rehabilitation through consistent contact with family and legal counsel.

Jail phone services are more expensive than traditional home phone services. The additional cost goes to the maintenance of the phone system. These additional features include the recording of calls and storing them for up to five years, maintaining lists of allowed and blocked securus inmate calls and destination numbers, a system that allows for transfer of funds for calling needs, upkeep of the telephone equipment and customer service that aims to maintain the phone accounts. Most prisons do not allow incoming phone calls, and inmates are only allowed to call numbers where collect calls are not restricted.

Sometimes, the aim of inmate phone calls to keep family members in touch is not realized. Because of the expenses incurred by phone calls placed by inmates, most families would rather not talk with their loved one in jail. Although cost-cutting is a need, the relationship between an inmate and his family should not bear the brunt of financial stress.

Inmates and families should not despair though, because there are other ways of communication without incurring a big cost. Due to the inmates' growing need to communicate with their families, prison telephone service agencies have started releasing calling cards that allow inmates to make calls to local numbers at a cheaper cost. 

Using this less expensive kind of service is also very easy. One can, in a matter of minutes, get a card with a local access phone number after speaking with an online inmate phone service provider personnel. By using the card, an inmate can maintain constant communication with family and friends without having to think of the cost.

Today, more than ever before, inmates and their families can keep good communication lines open through inmate cheap gtl calls. It will not be long until new forms of communication - and with them the extra cost - are presented, like web conferences and inmate email services.