Third Mandatory Data Collection for Calling Services for Incarcerated People, 16560-16587 [2022-05359]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[WC Docket No. 12–375, DA 22–52; FRS
69893]
Third Mandatory Data Collection for
Calling Services for Incarcerated
People
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Wireline Competition
Bureau and the Office of Economics and
Analytics (WCB/OEA) adopt an Order
defining the contours and specific
requirements of the forthcoming Third
Mandatory Data Collection for calling
services for incarcerated people.
DATES: The effective date of the Order is
delayed indefinitely. The Federal
Communications Commission will
publish a document in the Federal
Register announcing the effective date
once the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) has provided the
approval required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA).
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by WC Docket No. 12–375, by
any of the following methods:
• Electronic Filers: Comments may be
filed electronically using the internet by
accessing the ECFS: https://apps.fcc.gov/
ecfs/.
• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to
file by paper must file an original and
one copy of each filing.
• Filings can be sent by commercial
overnight courier, or by first-class or
overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All
filings must be addressed to the
Commission’s Secretary, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications
Commission.
• Commercial overnight mail (other
than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail
and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050
Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD
20701.
• U.S. Postal Service first-class,
Express, and Priority mail must be
addressed to 45 L Street NE,
Washington, DC 20554.
• Effective March 19, 2020, and until
further notice, the Commission no
longer accepts any hand or messenger
delivered filings. This is a temporary
measure taken to help protect the health
and safety of individuals, and to
mitigate the transmission of COVID–19.
See FCC Announces Closure of FCC
Headquarters Open Window and
Change in Hand-Delivery Policy, Public
Notice, DA 20–304 (March 19, 2020).
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-
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SUMMARY:
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closes-headquarters-open-window-andchanges-hand-delivery-policy.
People with Disabilities: To request
materials in accessible formats for
people with disabilities (braille, large
print, electronic files, audio format),
send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call
the Consumer & Governmental Affairs
Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 202–
418–0432 (TTY).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik
Raven-Hansen, Pricing Policy Division
of the Wireline Competition Bureau, at
(202) 418–1532 or via email at
Erik.Raven-Hansen@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the FCC’s Order, DA 22–52,
released January 18, 2022. The full text
of this Order is available at https://
docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-2252A1.pdf.
I. Introduction
1. By this Order, the WCB/OEA adopt
instructions, a reporting template, and a
certification form to implement a Third
Mandatory Data Collection related to
calling services for incarcerated people.
The reporting template consists of a
Word document and Excel spreadsheets.
For simplicity, the Commission refers to
these respective portions of the
reporting template as the Word template
and the Excel template. The
Commission’s actions today largely
adopt the proposals contained in the
Third MDC Proposal document, with
certain refinements and reevaluations
responsive to record comments.
II. Background
2. In the 2021 ICS Order, the
Commission directed WCB/OEA to
develop a new data collection ‘‘related
to providers’ operations, costs, demand,
and revenues.’’ The Commission has
conducted two prior mandatory data
collections (MDCs) relating to inmate
calling services (calling services or ICS)
in the past—the 2014 First Mandatory
Data Collection and the 2019 Second
Mandatory Data Collection. The
Commission explained that it would use
the collected information to set
permanent interstate and international
inmate calling services provider-related
rate caps that more closely reflect
providers’ costs of serving correctional
facilities. The Commission also
emphasized that the information would
enable it to evaluate and, if warranted,
revise the current caps for ancillary
service charges.
3. The Commission delegated
authority to WCB/OEA to implement
this Third Mandatory Data Collection
and directed WCB/OEA to develop a
template and instructions for the
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collection. The Commission also
directed WCB/OEA to consider
suggestions in the record regarding,
among other matters, data granularity,
cost allocation, and specificity in
definitions and instructions in
designing the data collection, and ‘‘to
require each provider to fully explain
and justify each step of its costing
process’’ including, where appropriate,
‘‘to specify the methodology the
provider shall use in any or all of those
steps.’’
4. Pursuant to this delegation, WCB/
OEA developed proposals for the Third
Mandatory Data Collection and issued a
Public Notice seeking comments on all
aspects of the proposed collection.
Concurrently, pursuant to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Commission published a
document in the Federal Register
seeking comment on potential burdens
of the proposed one-time reporting
requirements.
5. The Commission received
comments from numerous ICS
providers, public interest advocates, and
other interested parties in response to
the Public Notice, and one comment on
the PRA document. The Commission
received comments or reply comments
in response to this Public Notice from
Benj Azose; Global Tel*Link
Corporation (GTL); NCIC Inmate
Communications (NCIC); Pay Tel
Communications, Inc. (Pay Tel); Prison
Policy Initiative, Inc. (PPI); Securus
Technologies, LLC (Securus); Worth
Rises; and the Wright Petitioners, the
Benton Institute for Broadband &
Society, and Public Knowledge
(collectively, Public Interest Parties).
GTL filed the comment in response to
the PRA Notice. Recently, GTL issued a
press release announcing it had changed
its name to ViaPath Technologies. For
purposes of this Order, to avoid
confusion with reference to the record,
the Commission will continue to refer to
this entity as GTL. The Commission has
thoroughly considered all of these
filings in implementing this final data
collection. The Commission has also
made a small number of minor
conforming edits to the instructions and
reporting template to, for example,
ensure consistency in the use of defined
terms.
III. Discussion
A. Implementing the Third Mandatory
Data Collection
6. Pursuant to delegated authority, the
Commission adopts the instructions,
template, and certification form to
implement the Third Mandatory Data
Collection. Commenters generally
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support the broad contours and specific
requirements of the data collection as
proposed in Third MDC Proposal
document. In particular, the
Commission received neither any
comments criticizing the proposal to
adopt separate Word- and Excelformatted template forms, nor any
proposals for an alternative organization
or reporting structure. The Commission
therefore implements the proposed
structure.
7. Commenters did, however, offer
suggestions to ‘‘improve the quality,
accuracy, and utility of the data
collected.’’ In response to these
suggestions, the Commission has
reevaluated some of the proposals and
refined certain aspects of the
instructions and templates, as set forth
in greater detail below. These
refinements include expanding the
reporting period for cost data from one
year to three years, revising certain
proposed definitions, revamping the
reporting of costs related to site
commissions and security services, and
reorganizing the reporting of operating
expenses. The Commission concludes
that these and the other modifications
the Commission makes appropriately
balance the need for ‘‘detailed and
specific instructions and templates’’ and
the desire to avoid unduly burdening
providers. This conclusion is consistent
with the Commission’s finding in the
2021 ICS Order that the benefits of
conducting this data collection ‘‘far
outweigh any burden on providers’’
given the ‘‘adverse impact that
unreasonably high rates and ancillary
services charges have on incarcerated
people and those family and loved ones
they call.’’ Commenters reinforce this
Commission finding. In particular,
commenters highlight the importance of
the Third Mandatory Data Collection
considering that the ‘‘flaws in prior data
collections impeded meaningful ratesetting analysis and, ultimately, led to
the Third MDC.’’
8. In finalizing the requirements for
the data collection, the Commission
does not resolve issues that are pending
in the ICS rulemaking, such as the
extent to which security costs are or are
not related to ICS, or whether the
Commission should change its rules, as
some parties have suggested. As the
Commission explained in the 2021 ICS
Order, the purpose of this data
collection is to provide the Commission
with sufficient information to resolve
various issues it is considering as part
of that rulemaking, including the
adoption of permanent interstate and
international rate caps. Therefore, the
Commission agrees with Worth Rises
and others that this Order ‘‘is not the
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proper administrative vehicle’’ to revise
the scope of the data collection or
change Commission rules. In this
regard, the Commission disagrees with
GTL’s suggestion that the Commission
already has or will get certain
information regarding, for example,
‘‘site commission payments,
correctional facilities served, and
annual ICS and ancillary service charge
revenues’’ from the ICS Annual Reports.
As the Commission explained in the
2021 ICS Order, ‘‘while the Annual
Reports contain useful and relevant
marketplace information on providers’
rates and charges, the Commissions
disagrees with the contention that the
Annual Reports provide sufficient data
to establish just and reasonable
interstate inmate calling services rates.’’
The Commission does not revisit this
view here. The Annual Reports do not
require the type of detailed and
disaggregated cost reporting that the
Commission requires in this data
collection, which the Commission has
determined is an ‘‘essential prerequisite
to adopting permanent interstate rate
caps for both provider-related and
facility-related costs.’’
9. In the sections that follow, the
Commission first addresses proposals to
change specific data requests and then
turns to proposals for more general
revisions to the instructions.
B. Specific Data Requests
1. Categories of Information Requested
10. The Commission adopts a
requirement for ICS providers to report
customer prepayments separately and
modify the definition and thus the
calculation of ‘‘Net Capital Stock’’ to
reflect the subtraction of customer
deposits. PPI proposes this additional
reporting requirement because
‘‘customer prepayments are a material
balance-sheet item for ICS carriers.’’ The
Commission finds that customer
prepayments are a source of noninvestor supplied capital that should be
subtracted from the providers’ net
capital stock because providers are able
to use these monies to finance their
operations. This subtraction treats
customer deposits as zero interest, noninvestor supplied capital, since the
return on net capital stock reflected in
the providers’ annual total expenses
will be reduced in proportion to the
reduction in net capital stock. The
Commission also requires providers to
report the interest, if any, paid on
customer prepayments separately from
other interest expenses; and the
Commission allows providers to add the
interest paid on the customer deposits
directly to their capital expense and
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annual total expenses. The Commission
modifies the definition of ‘‘Capital
Expenses’’ to make this clear.
2. Factors Affecting the Costs of
Providing Interstate and International
Inmate Calling Services
11. In the Third MDC Proposal
document, the Commission sought
feedback about the types of data it
should collect to help it understand the
factors that affect the costs of providing
interstate and international calling
services at the facility level. The
Commission proposed to collect data on
billed minutes, unbilled minutes,
average daily population (ADP), the
number of telephones and kiosks
installed, the opening and closing of
accounts, admissions, releases, and
weekly turnover rate. Based on record
support, the Commission finds it
appropriate to collect information on
each of these metrics, including figures
for new account generation and account
termination. Securus argues that it
would be sufficient to collect only ADP
and data on the opening and closing of
accounts while GTL asserts that the
number of kiosks or telephones and
account generation and termination are
inaccurate indicators of demand. GTL
asks us to rely solely on billed and
unbilled minutes to determine demand.
The Commission declines to implement
these proposals. As an initial matter, the
ADP reported for a facility may not
always accurately indicate the demand
for ICS at the facility or otherwise fully
capture the factors affecting providers’
costs. Thus, other metrics are critical in
assessing cost causality. Obtaining data
on activities like account set-up and
termination will help the Commission
understand if and how such activities
impact providers’ costs. In view of the
above, the Commission finds GTL’s
suggestion that it can rely solely on
billed and unbilled minutes too narrow.
Instead, the Commission finds that
collecting additional information on
facility population metrics and account
generation and termination will help the
Commission better understand the
providers’ cost structures, including at
relatively small facilities.
12. The Commission further adopts
the proposal to require providers to
submit weekly turnover rate data, where
it is available. These data will
supplement, and help the Commission
correct potential flaws in, other
population metrics (i.e., facility-level
ADP data and the figures for account
generation and account termination).
Some commenters disagree with this
approach, arguing that it will impose a
significant burden on providers because
the facilities keep the pertinent data and
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often lag in reporting the measures,
leaving ICS providers without a reliable
way to track arrests and releases. Given
the record evidence indicating that
turnover rates may play a significant
role in cost causality at smaller
facilities, these data are important.
Providers can work with the respective
facilities they serve to compile this data
where providers otherwise have no
other way to ascertain it. The
Commission therefore declines the
suggestion that the Commission refrains
from collecting turnover data, where
available, simply because such data may
not be available for all facilities. The
Commission concludes that the various
population measures the Commission
adopts collectively supplement oneanother and will help the Commission
understand provider cost drivers,
particularly at smaller jails.
3. Site Commission Data
13. The Commission takes a series of
steps to reform the proposals concerning
site commission data in response to the
record in an effort to obtain more
detailed and disaggregated information.
First, consistent with the Commission’s
actions in the 2021 ICS Order, the
Commission adopts the proposal to
require ICS providers to categorize their
site commission payments as either
legally mandated or contractually
prescribed for each of calendar years
2019 through 2021. GTL claims that
requiring this categorization for three
calendar years would impose a
significant burden on providers because
they had no obligation to separate site
commission payments before the rules
adopted in the 2021 ICS Order became
effective on October 26, 2021. The
Commission finds that GTL’s
characterization of the burden is
overstated. Once a provider establishes
whether site commission payments
were legally mandated or contractually
prescribed as of October 26, 2021, the
additional burden of determining their
categorization during earlier portions of
the reporting period should be relatively
minor, particularly where the provider
operated under the same facility
contract for the prior two years.
14. Second, after considering record
comments, generally, regarding the
proposed site commission data and
various ways of supplementing
reportable site commission data, the
Commission modifies, on its own
motion, the instructions and reporting
requirements for site commissions to
require providers to disaggregate their
reported site commission payment
information between monetary and inkind payments and, further, between
fixed and variable payments. The
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Commission likewise requires providers
to disclose each entity to which they
pay site commissions at each facility in
any fashion, and the amount of the
same. The Commission finds that this
additional disaggregated information
will improve the Commission’s
understanding of the market and the
role that site commissions play in the
provision of inmate calling services.
15. Third, the Commission adopts
Securus’s proposal that it require
providers to identify and report up-front
site commission payments at the
beginning of a contract as a subset of
fixed site commissions. The
Commission agrees that this information
will ‘‘provide a more accurate picture of
overall site commissions,’’ and the
Commission finds that the associated
burden on providers will be minimal.
16. The Commission also adopts a
new requirement instructing providers
to explain how they allocate site
commission payments between ICS and
non-ICS operations. The Commission
agrees with PPI that this will resolve
uncertainty in situations where carriers
make site commission payments for
both ICS and non-ICS services.
Gathering this information is also
consistent with the directive that the
Commission ensure providers allocate
common expenses between their ICS
operations and other operations.
Although Securus urges us to reject this
proposal, claiming that it will ‘‘further
inject[ ] the Commission into
unregulated services over which it has
no jurisdiction,’’ this information will
help the Commission determine what
portion, if any, of site commission
payments are properly attributable to
ICS.
17. The Commission rewords the
instructions on the allocation of site
commissions at the facility level to
correct for a loophole that could
otherwise result in some of a provider’s
total site commission payments not
being allocated to any facility.
Specifically, the Commission instructs
providers to fully allocate any reported
site commissions among the facilities
associated with each site commission
payment during the reporting period.
One commenter suggests that the
Commission should require providers to
identify the contract that governs ICS at
each facility and require disclosure of
the amounts and types of site
commissions paid under that contract so
that the Commission may understand
instances where site commission
payments were received by non-facility
entities such as a governmental agency.
The Commission adopts the
requirement for providers to report each
entity to which they pay site
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commissions at each facility in any
fashion, and the amount of the same as
a less burdensome alternative that will
help clarify site commission allocations
at the facility level.
18. The Commission declines to adopt
additional reporting requirements
regarding how site commission
payments are spent or how the
expenditures are related to ICS. To be
useful, such information would need to
be broken down into categories similar
to those that the Commission requires
for provider costs. In addition, providers
would most likely have to obtain this
detailed categorized information from
facility administrators, who, in turn,
would have to expend significant efforts
in compiling the requested information.
In many cases, these administrators may
be reluctant to provide accurate
information about their use, especially
where it bears no relationship to inmate
calling. Given these circumstances, the
Commission declines to require
providers to collect and report this
information.
4. Information on Security Services
19. In the Third MDC Proposal
document, the Commission proposed to
require providers to report their security
costs in connection with their ICS and
non-ICS-related operations as part of
their reporting on site commission
payments and sought comment on a
number of associated issues. After
considering the comments, the
Commission expands the data collection
to include additional inquiries regarding
providers’ security and surveillance
services outside the site commission
section, including inquiries requiring
narrative explanations describing such
services. ICS providers should be
mindful that any reporting in the
separate subcategories outside the Site
Commissions section must be exclusive
of the data reported in connection with
site commissions to prevent doublecounting of security and surveillance
costs. This approach is consistent with
Worth Rises’ and the Public Interest
Parties’ arguments that the collection
should capture all security costs, not
just those incurred in the context of site
commission payments, since many
security and surveillance costs would be
excluded under the proposed
instructions. The Commission agrees
and revises the instructions accordingly.
20. The Commission declines,
however, to adopt a proposal that it
collect more detailed information on
security and surveillance costs spanning
over 30 suggested categories of
information. The Commission agrees
with certain ICS providers that the
requested level of granularity would be
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overly burdensome. The Commission
similarly declines to collect security and
surveillance costs data ‘‘at a granular
level without ICS provider labeling’’ or
a breakdown of security costs included
and excluded from in-kind site
commission payments as requested by
another commenter. The Commission
invites providers to include in their
written responses in the Word template
any information they have that would
be responsive to Worth Rises’ requests.
While the collection of robust security
and surveillance cost data is a critical
component of this data collection, the
Commission finds that further
granularity in reported security costs is
unnecessary in light of the revisions it
incorporates into the security and
surveillance data collection as well as
the adoption of instructions that require
ICS providers to submit narrative
explanations of such costs and cost
allocations. The Commission directs
providers to include in their narrative
responses any information they have
that would provide more granular
information about their security and
surveillance costs.
21. Finally, the Commission declines
to address the issue of what categories,
if any, of security and surveillance costs
may be recoverable through interstate
and international ICS rates. That issue is
expressly teed up in the Commission’s
2021 ICS Notice and is a matter for the
Commission to decide as part of its
rulemaking proceeding. The record
confirms it is not the proper subject of
this data collection Bureau-level Order.
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5. Ancillary Service Charges Data
22. Although the Commission
declines to modify the definition of
‘‘Revenue-Sharing Agreement’’ as
discussed below, the Commission
revises the instructions to require
providers to identify the payor and
payee in each Revenue-Sharing
Agreement, as requested by PPI. The
Commission agrees that this additional
information indicating the flow of funds
between such entities will shed useful
light on revenue-sharing practices and
help the Commission better understand
how the marketplace for these
agreements functions.
6. Other Proposals
23. Video Calling Services. One
commenter requests that the
Commission expands the data collection
to require the reporting of detailed cost
and other data specifically on providers’
video calling services. As an initial
matter, the Commission requires
providers to report costs for non-ICS
services, including any video services
they offer. The Commission declines,
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however, to require providers to report
detailed cost and other data on video
services at this time. In GTL v. FCC, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) vacated
the Commission’s reporting
requirements related to video calling,
finding that the Commission had not
sufficiently explained how its statutory
authority extends to such services. The
Commission has not reached this
question on remand. The Commission
made no reference to video services in
the guidelines it directed WCB/OEA to
use in developing the data collection.
24. Additional Data Concerning
Contracts. The Commission also
declines to adopt requests that it collect
all contracts between ICS providers and
correctional facilities. Although
collection of all, or a sample of, such
contracts might assist the interpretation
of facility-level data, the Commission
finds at this time that the burden on
providers of such a collection would
outweigh any possible benefits, and
would substantially increase the
administrative burdens associated with
processing the related data. Given that
the Commission has authority to ask
providers to produce specific contracts
at any time if the need arises, the
Commission declines to impose such an
obligation at this time. The Commission
made no reference to video services in
the guidelines it directed WCB/OEA to
use in developing the data collection.
25. Information Concerning Patent
Assets/Royalty Expenditures. The
Commission is not persuaded to expand
the collection to obtain information
concerning the potential use of patents
as a tool for dominant carriers to
prevent competition, as one commenter
asks. The commenter does not articulate
why or how the information it requests,
such as the identity of the payor/
licensor or a copy of any contract,
would aid the Commission’s review of
inmate calling services costs and
pricing. The Commission also finds that
the production of this information
would lie outside the scope of this
collection while unduly burdening
providers. Accordingly, the Commission
declines to require providers to submit
information regarding patents.
26. Miscellaneous. The Commission
revises all references to ‘‘credit card’’ in
the instructions and templates to
instead refer to ‘‘payment card,’’ a
change that will avoid confusion and
help us obtain data associated with both
debit and credit cards. The Commission
clarifies that this adopted revision only
relates to this data collection and does
not extend to definitions contained in
the Commission’s rules. The
Commission, declines, however, to
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create three new call categories: (1)
Traditional billed calls (paid for by end
users), (2) facility-paid calls, and (3)
unbilled calls (for which carriers receive
no compensation). The Commission
finds the creation of these new reporting
categories unnecessary and that the
burdens associated with requiring
providers to classify each call into one
of these three new categories outweigh
the potential benefits.
27. The Commission revises the
relevant portions of the instructions to
require providers to submit individualfacility data where multiple facilities are
covered by a single contract. As the
record reflects, providers with multifacility contracts often merge or repeat
the same data for several facilities
covered by a single contract. Where the
responsive data are available, ICS
providers must submit individual data
for each facility even if that facility is
covered by the same contract as other
facilities. The Commission declines,
however, a request to require providers
to submit separate, unredacted site
commission data. Although certain site
commission data may be publicly
available, the Commission cannot
properly prejudge potential provider
requests for confidential treatment of
other site commission data. Instead, any
such requests will be evaluated in
accordance with the Protective Order in
this proceeding. Filings containing
legitimate confidential information can
be appropriately redacted and filed
pursuant to the guidance and
limitations set forth in the Protective
Order and the standard set forth in
section 0.459 of the Commission’s rules.
28. The Commission also implements
the proposal to allow ICS providers to
elect whether to use the default
weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
of 9.75% or an alternative WACC. If an
ICS provider chooses to use a higher
alternative WACC, the provider must
submit a narrative response fully
documenting and justifying the
alternative. The Commission reminds
providers that if they elect to claim a
WACC greater than 9.75% and do not
fully document, explain, and justify
their calculations, then WCB/OEA may
apply the default WACC of 9.75%
instead. The Commission agrees with
the Public Interest Parties’ argument
that an adequate response requires
providers to submit calculations and
work papers as both are necessary to
establish that the provider’s alternative
WACC estimate reflects the provider’s
own and a demonstrably comparablegroup of firms’ financial data and
economic circumstances, the use of
widely accepted methods to estimate
debt and equity costs and capital
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structure, and the collective risks of
providing ICS, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service, as specified in
the instructions.
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C. General Revisions Related to the
Adopted Instructions
1. Definitions
29. Accounting Entity, Affiliate,
Business Segment, and Company. The
Commission adopts the definitions of
‘‘Accounting Entity,’’ ‘‘Affiliate,’’
‘‘Business Segment,’’ and ‘‘Company’’
set forth in the proposed instructions.
Although the Commission appreciate
concerns that these definitions could be
read to allow selective reporting that
would adversely affect the results of the
data collection, as the Commission
explains, the Commission finds it
unnecessary to revise the definition of
‘‘Company’’ to mean ‘‘‘the legal entity
that contains the Accounting Entity.’’’
Investments and expenses to be
assigned, attributed, or allocated to or
among Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service,
Other Ancillary Services, and non-ICS
Services are presumptively limited to
those investments and expenses
reflected in the existing financial reports
that are routinely and specifically
prepared for the accounting entity for
management, shareholder, or creditor
review. The provider may rebut this
presumption with data and analysis but
faces a high bar given the obvious
incentives to shift investments and
expenses to rate-regulated services.
Although the Commission appreciates
concerns that these definitions could be
read to allow selective reporting that
would adversely affect the results of the
data collection, the Commission finds it
unnecessary to revise the definition of
‘‘Company’’ to mean ‘‘the legal entity
that contains the Accounting Entity.’’ As
noted above, this data collection is not
the appropriate vehicle to modify the
Commission’s existing rules.
Accordingly, commenter suggestions
that urge the Commission to change the
definitions of terms contained in the
Commission’s rules are also outside the
scope of this data collection.
30. Accordingly, the Commission
adheres to the proposal to define
‘‘Company’’ as synonymous with
‘‘Accounting Entity,’’ which means ‘‘the
smallest group of separate Business
Segments that collectively account for
100% of the Provider’s ICS-Related
Operations and ICS-related investments,
expenses, and revenues.’’ Together with
‘‘Business Segment,’’ these terms
ground the cost-reporting process in
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existing financial reports, while
allowing us to avoid the cost allocation
issues and reporting issues that
adversely impacted the Commission’s
earlier mandatory data collections. In
contrast, the definition of ‘‘Company’’
suggested by one commenter would
broaden the scope of the cost-reporting
process significantly without improving
cost-reporting results. If a calling
services provider organizes its
operations in a manner aimed at
inflating its reported costs of providing
calling services to incarcerated people,
that fact should be apparent in the
provider’s response to the data
collection.
31. Security Services. The
Commission revises the proposed
definition of ‘‘Security Services’’ to
prevent an overinclusive reading of the
term. The revised definition is as
follows: ‘‘Security Services means any
security and surveillance system,
product, or service that a Provider
supplies to a Facility, including any
such system, product, or service that
allows Incarcerated Persons to make
telephone calls as permitted by the
Facility; helps the Facility ensure that
Incarcerated Persons do not call persons
they are not allowed to call; helps
monitor and record on-going calls; or
inspects and analyzes recorded calls.
Security Services also include other
related systems, products, and services,
such as a voice biometrics system, a PIN
system, or a system concerning the
administration of subpoenas concerning
telephone calls. The classification of a
system, product, or service as a Security
Service does not mean that it is part of
a Provider’s ICS-Related Operations.’’
Under the proposed definition,
‘‘Security Services’’ would include ‘‘any
security and surveillance system,
product, or service that a Provider
supplies to a Facility’’ as well as ‘‘any
service that allows Incarcerated Persons
to make telephone calls as permitted by
the Facility.’’ As commenters explain,
this proposed definition could
‘‘encompass a wide variety of nonsecurity related services’’ or ‘‘would
classify all ICS costs as ‘security
services.’’ The Commission agrees that,
without amendment, the definition
could skew provider responses. The
revised definition removes this
ambiguity, and also addresses concerns
that the proposed definition is unclear
and potentially overbroad. For further
clarity, the Commission also removes
the last sentence from the proposed
definition as unnecessary and
potentially confusing, in accord with
comments in the record. The related
requests for information the
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Commission adopts ask providers to
identify and describe supplied Security
Services in the context of In-Kind Site
Commissions or ICS-related Operations.
‘‘ICS-Related Operations means the
actions or tasks performed by the
Provider or authorized personnel to
deliver Inmate Calling Services and
related Ancillary Services to
Incarcerated Persons and those they
call, including but not limited to billing,
customer service, and other
requirements as determined by contract
or by law. It excludes all Site
Commission payments, including InKind Site Commission payments.’’
32. Revenue-Sharing Agreement. The
Commission declines to adopt the
suggestion that it narrow the definition
of ‘‘Revenue-Sharing Agreement’’ so
that it applies only to ‘‘a contract for
services to be rendered by an Affiliate
or Third Party, which also provides for
payments to the Provider.’’ The
Commission concludes that the
proposed definition is tailored to
identify the general relationship
between the provider and the contracted
party or parties within the specific
context identified in each of the related
information requests, including the
scenarios discussed in the record.
Because the definition encompasses
agreements regarding the provision of
ICS or any ancillary service that
‘‘directly or indirectly’’ result in
payments to providers, it encompasses
both the practices of concern identified
in the record and any additional, as yet
undisclosed, revenue sharing practices
in which providers have engaged.
33. Site Commission-Related
Definitions. The Commission also does
not modify the definition of ‘‘Monetary
Site Commission’’ to include site
commissions that ‘‘take the form of a
payment in money or an equivalent
accounting entry.’’ Doing so would
obscure the data regarding site
commissions, rather than bring clarity to
it. As proposed, the instructions
intentionally delineate between
monetary site commissions and in-kind
site commissions by focusing on the
actual exchange of money. This
proposal would effectively reclassify an
in-kind site commission, like the
provision of certain equipment, as a
monetary site commission, collapsing
the distinction the Commission intends
to capture between in-kind site
commissions and monetary site
commissions. The Commission does
agree, however, with PPI’s suggestion
that it clarify that the definition of
‘‘Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions’’ excludes legally
mandated site commission payments
even when such legally mandated
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payments are reflected in a contract.
This clarification appropriately
recognizes that a contract for the
provision of inmate calling services may
recite or incorporate state mandates for
the payment of site commissions that
are not the type of discretionary
negotiated payments contemplated by
the term ‘‘Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions.’’
34. Capital Expenses. The
Commission finds it unnecessary to
make the definition of ‘‘Capital
Expenses’’ more comprehensive by
specifically ‘‘captur[ing] expenditures
on intangible assets such as technology
licenses o[r] expenses on software.’’ The
current definition already includes
annual amounts related to the
amortization of capitalized expenditures
on such intangible assets. This
clarification appropriately recognizes
that a contract for the provision of
inmate calling services may recite or
incorporate state mandates for the
payment of site commissions that are
not the type of discretionary negotiated
payments contemplated by the term
‘‘Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions.’’
35. Average Daily Population. On its
own motion, the Commission revises
the definition of ‘‘Average Daily
Population’’ to make clear that data
reported for that measure must reflect
actual populations, rather than any
estimate. A provider unable to provide
exact ADP data must provide its best
estimate and, in the Word template,
indicate that fact and provide the basis
for its estimate.
2. Adopting a Three-Year Reporting
Period
36. The Commission expands the
proposed reporting period from one year
to three years for the entire Mandatory
Data Collection, including the cost data,
as supported by the record. This action
revises the proposal to generally collect
data for each calendar year from 2019
through 2021, but to limit the collection
of cost data to only calendar year 2021.
Commenters, including both service
providers and public interest groups,
convince us that collecting cost data for
three years will help prevent atypical,
one-time expenses from being
considered normal company costs,
which they argue is a potential
downside to collecting only a single
year’s cost data. This potentiality
becomes particularly acute if providers
incurred large one-time costs related to
COVID–19, as the record suggests may
have happened. Additionally, the
Commission finds that the difference in
burden between providing one year
versus three years of cost data is
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marginal and far outweighed by the
benefits of collecting cost data for three
years. The adoption of a three-year
reporting period also accounts for
providers that argue that data for the
year 2021 is the most relevant and the
best indicator of costs. The three-year
reporting period the Commission adopts
includes the year 2021 such that if that
year proves most relevant, the collected
information will speak for itself.
Further, the Commission finds that
adopting a consistent three-year period
for all the data requests will reduce
confusion among reporting providers, as
well as include the one-year time period
prior to any anomalous effects caused
by the COVID–19 pandemic. In inviting
comment on the proposed instructions
and templates, the Commission asked
commenters how it should ‘‘require
providers that track costs only on a
contract level to respond.’’ GTL offers
no specific proposal for how the
Commission could structure contractlevel reporting to avoid the issues the
Commission encountered in the Second
Mandatory Data Collection. GTL argues
that this average ‘‘grossly
underestimate[s]’’ providers’ response
times for that data collection as outlined
in that Notice. Instead of providing an
alternative estimate, GTL simply points
out that it provides calling services to
over 1,900 facilities and that, even if it
took only an hour per facility to respond
to the data collection, GTL alone would
spend over 1,900 hours preparing its
response. The Commission rejects GTL’s
argument. As the Commission has
recognized, GTL is the largest calling
services provider, ‘‘with an estimated
market share approaching 50%.’’ Given
that market share, the Commission
would expect that GTL’s total response
time would far exceed any industry
average, regardless of the number of
estimated hours. Nevertheless, the
Commission will update its average
burden estimate to account for the
additional effort required to produce the
additional two years of cost data that are
now required and the other changes
made in this Order. The Commission’s
revised estimate, which will be
included in the subsequent PRA
document related to this data collection,
will reflect the likely burden of the data
collection.
3. Rejecting Revisions to Financial Data
Requests
37. The Commission adopts the
proposed requests for financial data set
forth in the Public Notice and
accompanying draft instructions and
template—including conformance with
generally accepted accounting
principles—with a few minor
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16565
exceptions suggested by the record as
reflected herein. GTL argues that the
financial data requests are ‘‘impossible
to satisfy,’’ are formatted specifically for
dominant carriers, and are beyond the
Commission’s authority. The
Commission disagrees. GTL fails to
provide any specific explanation for
why it would not be able to comply
with the proposed request. GTL’s claims
are also contradicted by the comments
of other providers, indicating that ICS
providers ‘‘already have access’’ to the
requested data, and that the requests are
‘‘consistent with existing ICS provider
recordkeeping practices.’’ The
Commission agrees with PPI that any
purported similarity to accounting rules
for dominant carriers is ‘‘irrelevant,’’
especially when corporations are
‘‘frequently called upon to reformat
[accounting] information for different
reporting purposes.’’ Finally, collecting
this financial information is well within
the Commission’s statutory authority
and the authority the Commission
delegated to WCB/OEA for this
collection.
38. The Commission declines one
commenter’s request that the
Commission eliminate the proposed
reporting concerning non-ICS services,
as well as its suggestion that mandating
such reporting is beyond the
Commission’s authority. Collecting the
requested information regarding nonICS services is essential if the
Commission is to ensure that, consistent
with section 201(b) of the
Communications Act, the costs relied
upon to set rates for regulated services—
in this case, ICS and associated ancillary
services—do not include the costs of
nonregulated activities. Additionally,
this information will help the
Commission verify the accuracy and
reasonableness of providers’ cost
allocations. Although the commenter
complains of the burden involved in
providing this information, the
instructions enable providers to report
non-ICS services’ costs collectively,
substantially reducing the burdens that
would otherwise be associated with
providing more granular information
about the costs of nonregulated services.
In addition, many rows of the data
requests will not apply to non-ICS
services, in which case providers only
have to report amounts for relatively
general categories such as
‘‘Maintenance, repair, and engineering
of site plant, equipment, and facilities,’’
which should further limit the burden
involved. At the same time, the
Commission declines to broaden the
financial data requests to include
federal income taxes paid, because the
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collection already requests that
providers report ‘‘[o]ther income taxrelated adjustments.’’
4. Adopting Cost Allocation Procedures
as Proposed
39. The Commission adopts the cost
allocation procedures as proposed in the
Public Notice and decline to implement
alternative proposals for the reasons that
follow. As the Public Interest Parties
recognize, ‘‘[t]he Third MDC provides a
detailed methodology for providers to
implement the allocation consistently.’’
The instructions require providers to
fully document, explain, and justify all
cost allocations they make. This already
comprehensive requirement obviates the
need to yield to record requests that the
Commission provide examples and
guidance regarding direct attribution, or
that the Commission provide more
detailed information on the
methodology for such allocations. Other
commenters seek revisions to the
allocation of common costs relying on
direct costs, either by allowing
alternative methodologies of common
cost allocation, or by suggesting that the
Commission should consider whether,
or when, additional common cost
allocation metrics are appropriate. The
Commission declines to modify the
instructions requiring a direct cost
allocation of common costs. While the
Commission is aware that using direct
costs to allocate common or indirect
costs ‘‘can be a problem if the direct
costs are a very small share of total
costs,’’ the Commission notes that this
cost allocation method is the last two
steps in a hierarchy of methodologies.
Thus, the Commission does not expect
it to be used for a significant portion of
any provider’s costs, assuming each
provider does its due diligence with
respect to identifying and measuring the
actual factors that drive its costs.
Authorizing alternative approaches to
the allocation of common costs would
sacrifice the desired uniformity in the
allocation process. The Commission
similarly declines a request that it
reorder the third and fourth cost
allocation steps. The Commission finds
no sound reason why the inversion of
these two steps would be beneficial or
efficient.
40. Other comments suggest adding a
contract-level allocation step to the
hierarchy of allocation instructions.
However, the instructions already
explain that contract-level costs that are
not directly assignable to facilities are to
be treated as shared costs and provide
steps for allocating such shared costs.
The Commission finds no reason to
make any changes to these instructions.
The Commission is also unpersuaded
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that an allocation methodology based
upon ADP will result in improved cost
attribution, as one of the key objectives
of the data collection is to ascertain
from the cost data how costs vary among
facilities that have different ADPs.
5. Adopting Certain Revisions to
Response Granularity
41. The Commission implements the
proposal to require providers to submit
data both at the company-wide level
and at the correctional facility level.
However, the Commission adjusts the
reporting of operating expenses between
the company-wide level and the facility
level to ensure consistency in reporting
of these expenses at all levels and to
avoid imposing additional burdens on
reporting providers. The Commission
disagrees with commenters that argue
that providers should be able to report
cost information only at the contract
level. The Commission finds that
making such a change would
substantially increase the likelihood of
recreating the same data issues the
Commission confronted in the context
of the Second Mandatory Data
Collection.
42. The Commission initially
proposed an allocation of operating
costs for facilities that differed from that
sought at the company level. The record
persuades us to revise the requirements
on the allocation of operating costs
among facilities to parallel the level of
disaggregation required at the company
level. As Securus explains, the proposed
instructions would require 16 categories
of operating expenses to be reported at
the company level, but only four
categories of operating expenses to be
reported at the facility level. Securus
explains that requiring similar levels of
disaggregation for both company and
facility data ‘‘would assist the
Commission in identifying the different
cost drivers between larger and smaller
facilities’’ and ‘‘help the Commission
and interested parties understand and
validate the cost-causative
methodologies used.’’ The Commission
agrees that adopting a similar level of
disaggregation for facility data as for
company-wide data will yield more
useful cost allocation results. In
addition, requiring consolidation of
accounts at the facility level appears to
require an additional step for providers,
thereby imposing an unnecessary
burden. As the Commission seeks to
maximize the benefits of the data
collection while minimizing burdens to
the extent possible, the Commission
concludes that the same level of
disaggregation should be required for
both company-wide and facility-specific
data. Considering that the Commission
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adopts facility-level disaggregation of
operating expenses, the Commission
clarifies that providers may use the
same number of allocators they would
have used to allocate expenses from the
company-wide disaggregated accounts
to the facility-level consolidated
accounts. Thus, providers may use the
same allocators for more than one cost
category, instead of a separate allocator
for each cost category. The proposed
instructions and Excel template
required: (a) 16 categories of operating
expenses to be reported at the companywide level (site commissions are
included); (b) 15 to be reported at the
company-wide, service specific level
(site commissions are excluded); and (c)
four to be reported at the facilityspecific, ICS level (reflecting an
aggregation of the company-wide,
service specific categories). The
Commission modifies these instructions
and the template to require 15 categories
of operating expenses to be reported at
the facility-specific, ICS level. (Site
commissions are excluded.)
43. The Commission declines to adopt
GTL’s proposal to permit providers to
report information on a contract-only
basis, rather than at the company and
facility levels. GTL claims that reporting
information at the company and facility
levels would be ‘‘directly contrary to the
Commission’s finding that ‘many
providers assess their inmate calling
services operations on a contract-bycontract basis.’’’ The Commission
disagrees. The Commission made this
observation in connection with its
analysis of the responses to the Second
Mandatory Data Collection and
identified contract-level reporting as
one of the principal limitations in the
reported data. In requiring the Third
Mandatory Data Collection, the
Commission directed WCB/OEA to
‘‘incorporate lessons learned from the
two prior data collections’’ and to
‘‘[e]nsure that the provider has directly
assigned to specific contracts or
facilities investments and expenses
directly attributable to inmate calling
services to the extent feasible.’’ The
decision to require facility-level
reporting instead of contract-level
reporting is a direct response to the
Commission’s directives to avoid a
repeat of the problems that affected
prior data collections. Accordingly, the
Commission is unpersuaded that it
should permit contract-level reporting,
especially considering that other ICS
providers support facility-level
reporting.
6. Financial Reports
44. The Commission adopts the
proposal to require all providers to
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submit audited financial statements or
reports, or similar documentation, for
the reporting period, to the extent they
have been produced in the ordinary
course of business. Providers must
either submit these reports for each year
of the reporting period or certify that
they have not produced such reports in
the ordinary course of business.
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7. Effective Date
45. The Commission’s actions in this
Order shall be effective on the date
specified in a document to be published
in the Federal Register announcing
approval by the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB).
46. Pursuant to the Commission’s
directive set forth in the 2021 ICS Order,
responses to this Third Mandatory Data
Collection will be due 120 days after
WCB announces in a public document
that OMB has approved the data
collection.
IV. Procedural Matters
47. Supplemental Final Regulatory
Flexibility Act Analysis. As required by
the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980,
as amended (RFA), the Commission has
prepared a Supplemental Final
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA)
relating to this Order.
48. Final Paperwork Reduction Act
Analysis. The Order contains new or
modified information collection
requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public
Law 104–13. It will be submitted to
OMB for review under section 3507(d)
of the PRA. OMB, the general public,
and other Federal agencies will be
invited to comment on the new or
modified information collection
requirements contained in this
proceeding. In addition, the
Commission notes that pursuant to the
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Public Law 107–198; see 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(4), the Commission previously
sought specific comment on how the
Commission might further reduce the
information collection burden for small
business concerns with fewer than 25
employees. The Commission has
assessed the effects of the data
collection on small business concerns,
including those having fewer than 25
employees, and find that to the extent
such entities are subject to the
collection, any further reduction in the
burden of the collection would be
inconsistent with the objectives behind
the collection.
49. Congressional Review Act. The
Commission will not send a copy of this
Order to Congress and the Government
Accountability Office pursuant to the
Congressional Review Act (CRA), see 5
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U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), because it does not
adopt any rule as defined in the CRA,
5 U.S.C. 804(3).
V. Supplemental Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis
1. As required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA), the Wireline Competition Bureau
(WCB) and the Office of Economics and
Analytics (OEA) (collectively, WCB/
OEA) have prepared this Supplemental
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(Supplemental FRFA) of the possible
significant economic impact on small
entities by the policies and rules
adopted in this Order pertaining to the
forthcoming Third Mandatory Data
Collection for inmate calling services
(ICS). A Supplemental Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (Supplemental
IRFA) was included with a Public
Notice seeking comment on proposals to
implement the Third Mandatory Data
Collection in the Commission’s Inmate
Calling Services proceeding. WCB/OEA
sought written public comment on the
proposals in that Notice, including
comment on the Supplemental IRFA.
WCB/OEA did not receive comments
directed toward the IRFA. The
Commission will send a copy of the
Order, including this Supplemental
FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration (SBA). In addition, the
Order and the Supplemental FRFA (or
summaries thereof) will be published in
the Federal Register.
A. Need for, and Objectives of, the Data
Collection
2. In this Order, WCB/OEA adopt
policies and specific requirements to
implement the forthcoming Third
Mandatory Data Collection for ICS. In
the 2021 ICS Order, the Commission
adopted a new data collection
requirement. The Commission
determined that this data collection
would enable it to adopt permanent
interstate and international rate caps,
protect consumers against unjust and
unreasonable ancillary service charges,
and improve its continuing review of
the inmate calling services marketplace.
3. Pursuant to their delegated
authority, WCB/OEA have prepared
instructions and a template for the
Third Mandatory Data Collection and
are issuing the Order to adopt all
aspects of these documents.
B. Summary of Significant Issues Raised
by Public Comments in Response to the
Supplemental IRFA
4. WCB/OEA did not receive
comments specifically addressing the
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16567
rules and policies proposed in the
Supplemental IRFA.
C. Response to Comments by the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration
5. The Chief Counsel did not file any
comments in response to the rules and
policies proposed in the Supplemental
IRFA.
D. Description and Estimate of the
Number of Small Entities to Which the
Third Mandatory Data Collection Will
Apply
6. The RFA directs agencies to
provide a description of, and where
feasible, an estimate of the number of
small entities that may be affected by
the Third Mandatory Data Collection.
The RFA generally defines the term
‘‘small entity’’ as having the same
meaning as the terms ‘‘small business,’’
‘‘small organization,’’ and ‘‘small
governmental jurisdiction.’’ In addition,
the term ‘‘small business’’ has the same
meaning as the term ‘‘small-business
concern’’ under the Small Business Act.
A ‘‘small-business concern’’ is one
which: (1) Is independently owned and
operated; (2) is not dominant in its field
of operation; and (3) satisfies any
additional criteria established by the
SBA.
7. Regulatory Flexibility Analyses
were incorporated in the 2020 ICS
Notice, 2021 ICS Order, and the Third
MDC Proposal document. In those
analyses, the Commission described in
detail the small entities that might be
affected. Accordingly, in this Order, for
the Supplemental FRFA, the
Commission hereby includes by
reference the descriptions and estimates
of the number of small entities from
these previous Regulatory Flexibility
Analyses.
E. Description of Projected Reporting,
Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements for Small Entities
8. The Third Mandatory Data
Collection requires ICS providers to
submit, among other things, data and
other information on calls, demand,
operations, company and contract
information, information about facilities
served, revenues, site commission
payments, and ancillary fees. WCB/OEA
estimate that approximately 20 ICS
providers will be subject to this onetime reporting requirement. In the
aggregate, WCB/OEA estimate that
responses will take approximately
47,100 hours and cost approximately
$418,570.
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F. Steps Taken To Minimize the
Significant Economic Impact on Small
Entities and Significant Alternatives
Considered
9. The RFA requires an agency to
describe any significant alternatives that
it has considered in reaching its
proposed approach, which may include
the following four alternatives (among
others): ‘‘(1) the establishment of
differing compliance or reporting
requirements or timetables that take into
account the resources available to small
entities; (2) the clarification,
consolidation, or simplification of
compliance and reporting requirements
under the rules for such small entities;
(3) the use of performance rather than
design standards; and (4) an exemption
from coverage of the rule, or any part
thereof, for such small entities.’’
10. The Third Mandatory Data
Collection is a one-time request and
does not impose a recurring obligation
on providers. Because the Commission’s
2021 ICS Order requires all ICS
providers to comply with the mandatory
data collection, the collection will affect
smaller as well as larger ICS providers.
WCB/OEA have taken steps to ensure
that the data collection template is
competitively neutral and not unduly
burdensome for any set of providers and
have considered the economic impact
on small entities, as identified in
comments filed in response to the Third
MDC Proposal document and the
Supplemental IRFA, in finalizing the
instructions and the template for the
Third Mandatory Data Collection. In
response to the comments, WCB/OEA
have refined certain aspects of the data
collection, including by expanding the
reporting period for cost data, revising
certain proposed definitions, and
reorganizing the manner in which
providers report certain costs. These
modifications avoid unduly burdening
responding providers while ensuring
that providers have sufficiently detailed
and specific instructions to respond to
the data collection.
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G. Report to Congress
11. The Commission will send a copy
of the Order, including this
Supplemental FRFA, in a report a report
to be sent to Congress pursuant to the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996. In addition, the
Commission will send a copy of the
Order, including this Supplemental
FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration. A copy of the Order,
and Supplemental FRFA (or summaries
thereof) will also be published in the
Federal Register.
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VI. Ordering Clauses
12. Accordingly, it is ordered that,
pursuant to the authority contained in
sections 1, 2, 4(i)–(j), 155(c), 201(b), 218,
220, 276, and 403 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i)–(j),
155(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 276, and 403,
and the authority delegated pursuant to
sections 0.21, 0.91, 0.291, 0.201(d),
0.271, 0.291 of the Commission’s rules,
47 CFR 0.21, 0.91, 0.201(d), 0.271,
0.291, this Order is adopted.
13. It is further ordered that the
Commission’s Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference
Information Center, shall send a copy of
this Order, including the Supplemental
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration.
Federal Communications Commission.
Lynne Engledow,
Deputy Chief, Pricing Policy Division,
Wireline Competition Bureau.
Note: The following appendix, Third
Mandatory Data Collection Instructions and
Template, will not appear in the Code of
Federal Regulations.
Third Mandatory Data Collection
Instructions and Template
I. Data Collection Overview
In the 2021 ICS Order, the
Commission determined that a Third
Mandatory Data Collection would
enable it to adopt permanent interstate
and international rate caps for inmate
calling services (ICS) and to evaluate
and, if warranted, revise the current
Ancillary Service Charge caps for those
services. The Commission delegated
authority to the WCB/OEA to
implement this Third Mandatory Data
Collection, ‘‘including determining and
describing the types of information
required related to providers’
operations, costs, demand, and
revenues.’’ The Commission also
delegated authority to WCB/OEA ‘‘to
require each provider to fully explain
and justify each step of its costing
process and, where [WCB/OEA] deem it
appropriate, to specify the methodology
the provider shall use in any or all of
those steps.’’
The Commission directed WCB/OEA
to develop a template and instructions
for the collection. The Commission also
directed that WCB/OEA consider, in
designing the data collection, various
suggestions regarding data granularity,
cost allocation, and specificity in
definitions and instructions received
from parties in response to the 2020 ICS
Notice, among other matters. Further,
the Commission directed WCB/OEA to
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‘‘incorporate lessons learned from the
two prior [ICS] data collections to
ensure that [the Commission] collect[s],
to the extent possible, uniform cost,
demand, and revenue data from each
provider.’’
These instructions and the
accompanying template are designed to
implement the Commission’s directives.
The template consists of a Word
document and Excel spreadsheets. For
simplicity, we refer to these respective
portions of the template as the Word
template and the Excel template.
II. General Instructions
Our instructions first identify the
entities which we require to respond to
this data collection. We then review the
information we require them to provide
and describe the procedure for
submitting the requisite responses.
Throughout these instructions, the
terms ‘‘you’’ and ‘‘your’’ refer to any
entities directed to respond to these data
requests which qualify as Inmate Calling
Service Providers as we define them
below.
You may contact the Commission staff
at mandatorydatacollection@fcc.gov if
you have questions regarding whether
your Company must file a data
collection response or the requirements
for such a response.
A. Who Must Submit Data
All ICS Providers, as defined in our
rules and as further described below,
must submit complete, accurate, and
truthful responses to this data
collection. See Part III, below, for the
definition of ‘‘ICS Provider.’’ Each group
of affiliated Providers shall respond as
a single entity, regardless of the number
of separately incorporated companies or
other entities within that group that
provide ICS. See Part III, below, for the
definitions of ‘‘Accounting Entity’’ and
‘‘Affiliates,’’ which collectively make
clear which entities must file responses
to this Data Collection.
A Subcontractor is included as an
entity acting as an ICS Provider if it
partners with or serves an ICS Provider
which holds a direct contractual
relationship with a correctional
authority, and also, for example,
completes calls for ICS Customers, bills
Customers for those calls, and retains
the revenue from those calls.
Subcontractors are therefore not
exempted from the definition of an ICS
Provider on the grounds that they lack
a direct contractual relationship with a
correctional authority. Alternatively,
where a Subcontractor completes calls
but the ICS Provider bills Customers for
those calls and then pays the
Subcontractor, that Subcontractor may
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also meet the definition of an ICS
Provider. In contrast, an entity that
provides billing and collection for
Calling Services provided by a separate
entity and remits those revenues may
not, without more, meet the definition
of an ICS Provider.
Providers (and all Subcontractors
thereof who meet the definition herein)
must complete all portions of this data
collection unless otherwise indicated.
Section II.C below provides instructions
as to how certain data shall be reported.
B. What Must Be Submitted
You must fully and completely
respond to each request for information
in this data collection by using the
Word and Excel templates attached to
these instructions. Providers must
report their information according to the
best information in their possession,
custody, or control.
Your full response shall consist of
several parts:
(1) A Word document containing
responses that require a narrative
explanation (see Appendix A to these
instructions);
(2) An Excel spreadsheet containing
responses that indicate specific
numbers, percentages, and or
information (see Appendix B to these
instructions);
(3) An audited financial statement or
report for each Year from 2019 through
2021; and
(4) A signed certification of
truthfulness, accuracy, and
completeness (see Appendix C to these
instructions).
The Word and Excel templates and
any additional spreadsheets must be
submitted in machine-readable and
manipulatable formats. As indicated,
you also must submit an audited
financial statement or report for each
Year from 2019 through 2021, or similar
documentation, to the extent they have
been produced in the ordinary course of
business. Additionally, all responses
must be accompanied by a certification
by an officer of the Provider that, based
on information and belief formed after
reasonable inquiry, the statements and
information contained in the
submission are true, accurate, and
complete. You must complete the
certification form provided in Appendix
C before submitting your response.
Submissions made without a completed
certification form will be rejected and
returned for correction and
resubmission.
We caution Providers that they must
proceed in good faith and with absolute
candor in responding to this data
collection. We also caution that any
failure to timely file an accurate,
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complete, and truthful response to this
data collection may subject the Provider
to sanctions, including, but not limited
to, monetary forfeitures. See 47 U.S.C.
502, 503(b). Willful false statements in
responses to this data collection also are
punishable by fine or imprisonment
under 18 U.S.C. 1001.
As a general matter, these instructions
direct you to enter your responses to
requests for certain information or
numbers at specific places in these
appendices. Where these instructions
require you to provide the workpapers,
formulas, calculations, or data
underlying your responses, report and
display the required information as
clearly and succinctly as possible.
Narrative responses are to be provided
in the Word template. Use that template
to provide any additional information
needed to ensure that your response is
full and complete, and to identify and
explain any caveats associated with
your response. The Word template shall
also include formulas, explanations, and
appropriate references for calculations,
where necessary, including any
explanations needed to make your
entries on the Excel template
transparent and understandable.
Unless otherwise stated, use the Excel
template to provide your responses to
the inquiries that follow. As a general
matter, your entries on that template
will be for specific numbers or
percentages (e.g., a Facility’s Average
Daily Population) or discrete
information (e.g., a Facility’s
geographical coordinates). The Excel
template has formulas in certain cells
that operate in accordance with these
instructions and use data you enter in
other cells to facilitate a complete
reporting of the required data. Data that
you are required to ‘‘report’’ include
both the data that you enter in the cells
and the data that are automatically
generated by the Excel formulas. The
Excel template uses ‘‘N/A’’ to identify
cells in which no data are to be
reported. Following the same format,
you should add additional rows or
columns to this template as necessary to
complete your responses.
Where indicated, please provide your
responses for the three-year Reporting
Period—from January 1, 2019, to
December 31, 2021. Where inquiries do
not specify a format for the Reporting
Period, answer the question on a yearby-year basis, rather than in the
aggregate for the Reporting Period.
You must submit a valid entry on the
designated template in response to each
request in this data collection. If a
request does not apply to your
Company, enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the
appropriate field, and use the Word
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document to fully explain the reasons
for this response. If your responses are
deemed incomplete or are not submitted
in the required format, your filing may
be rejected and returned to you for
correction and resubmission.
C. Filing Deadline and Submission
The Commission will submit this data
collection, including all required forms,
to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for its approval under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13. Within seven
business days of our receiving that
approval, we will issue a Public Notice
announcing that approval and setting
the deadline by which you must submit
your response to this data collection,
which will be 120 days after we issue
the Public Notice announcing OMB
approval. We also will publish a notice
in the Federal Register announcing
OMB’s approval of the data collection
and the due date for your response.
You must submit public versions of
your response by filing and certifying
the completed templates and
certification form electronically, using
the Commission’s Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS), by accessing the
ECFS at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/.
You may file any information that you
believe should be afforded confidential
treatment pursuant to the guidance and
limitations in the Protective Order in
this proceeding and by adhering to the
standard set forth in section 0.459(b) of
the Commission’s rules. You may access
the Protective Order through this link:
https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/
attachmatch/DA-13-2434A1.pdf.
Confidential versions of the reports
must be submitted to the Secretary’s
office using the original Word and Excel
templates provided by the Commission
and in a machine-readable and
manipulatable format. You must also
provide courtesy copies of the
confidential filing to WCB/OEA via
email at mandatorydatacollection@
fcc.gov.
If your response is not completed
properly, it may be rejected and/or
returned to you. For further information
and any questions on completing your
response, please contact Erik RavenHansen, Wireline Competition Bureau,
Pricing Policy Division, at 202–418–
1532 or at Erik.Raven-Hansen@fcc.gov,
or Richard Kwiatkowski, Office of
Economics and Analytics, Economic
Analysis Division, at 202–418–1383 or
at Richard.Kwiatkowski@fcc.gov.
III. Relevant Definitions
Accounting Entity means the smallest
group of separate Business Segments
that collectively account for 100% of the
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Provider’s ICS-Related Operations and
ICS-related investments, expenses, and
revenues.
Admissions means the number of
Incarcerated Persons booked into and
housed in a Facility by formal legal
documents and the authority of the
courts or other official agency, including
repeat offenders booked on new charges
as well as persons sentenced to
weekend programs who enter the
Facility for the first time. It excludes
Incarcerated Persons reentering the
Facility after an escape, work release,
medical appointment, treatment facility
appointment, or bail and court
appearance.
Affiliates means any two or more
companies, partnerships, or other legal
entities where (a) one entity directly or
indirectly owns or controls the other or
others, (b) a Third Party controls or has
the power to control both or all, (c) the
entities share common ownership or
have interlocking directorates, or (d) the
entities share employees, equipment,
and/or facilities. For purposes of this
definition, the term ‘‘own’’ means to
own an equity interest (or the equivalent
thereof) of more than 10%.
Affiliate Group means the Company
and its ICS and non-ICS Affiliates.
Ancillary Service Charge means any
charge Consumers may be assessed for,
or in connection with, the interstate or
international use of Inmate Calling
Services that is not included in the perminute charges assessed for such
individual calls. Ancillary Service
Charges that may be assessed are limited
only to those listed in 47 CFR
64.6000(a)(1)-(5) and consist of
Automated Payment Fees, Live Agent
Fees, Paper Bill/Statement Fees, Fees for
Single-Call and Related Services, and
Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees.
All other Ancillary Service Charges are
prohibited in connection with interstate
and international Inmate Calling
Services. For purposes of this definition,
‘‘interstate’’ includes any
jurisdictionally mixed charge, as
defined in 47 CFR 64.6000(u).
Ancillary Services means Permissible
Ancillary Services and Other Ancillary
Services.
Annual Total Expenses means the
sum of annual Operating Expenses and
annual Capital Expenses.
Automated Payment Fees means
credit card payment fees, debit card
payment fees, and bill processing fees,
including fees for payments made by
interactive voice response (IVR),
through the internet, or by use of an
Incarcerated Person Kiosk.
Automated Payment Service means
any service providing Customers of
Inmate Calling Services with credit card
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payment, debit card payment, and bill
processing services, including enabling
payments by interactive voice response
(IVR), web, or Incarcerated Person
Kiosk.
Average Daily Population or ADP
means the sum of all Incarcerated
Persons in a Facility for each day of a
Year, divided by the number of days in
the Year.
Billed Calls means the number of
Inmate Calling Services calls supplied
during a Year for which payment is
demanded.
Billed Uses means the number of
times Automated Payment Service, Live
Agent Service, or Paper Bill/Statement
Service is put into action during a Year
and for which payment is demanded.
Billed Transactions means the
number of discrete instances where a
seller supplies Single-Call and Related
Service or Third-Party Financial
Transaction Service and a buyer agrees
to pay a price for that service.
Billed Minutes means the number of
Inmate Calling Services minutes
supplied during a Year for which
payment is demanded.
Billed Revenues means gross sales,
without adjustment for uncollectable
accounts or expenses related to
producing these sales, derived from the
number of units of a service supplied
during a Year for which payment is
demanded.
Business Segment means a component
of a Company that generates its own
revenues and creates its own products,
product lines, or services and for which
a financial report is routinely prepared
for management, shareholder, or
creditor review.
Capital Expenses means the sum of (a)
the Return that debt, preferred stock,
and equity investors require; (b) interest
paid on customer prepayments or
deposits; (c) depreciation expense; (d)
amortization expense; and (e) federal
and state income tax expense
attributable to the fraction of the Return
attributable to equity holders.
Cash Working Capital means the
average investor-supplied capital a firm
needs to fund its day-to-day operations.
Company means the Accounting
Entity unless otherwise indicated.
Consumer means the party paying a
Provider of Inmate Calling Services.
Contractually Prescribed Site
Commission means a Site Commission
payment, other than a Legally Mandated
Site Commission payment, required
pursuant to a contract negotiated
between a Facility and a Provider.
Customer means the Incarcerated
Person or the person who pays for ICS
if that person is not the Incarcerated
Person.
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Discretionary Tax or Discretionary
Fee means a fee that a Provider must
remit to federal, state, or local
governments and may, but is not
required to, recover it from Customers,
including but not limited to fees for the
Universal Service Fund.
Facility means a Prison or Jail as those
terms are defined elsewhere in this
document.
Fees for Single-Call and Related
Services means billing arrangements
whereby an Incarcerated Person’s
collect calls are billed through a Third
Party on a per-call basis, where the
called party does not have an account
with the Provider of Inmate Calling
Services or does not want to establish an
account.
Fixed Site Commission means a Site
Commission that is assessed or paid
without regard to ICS usage or revenues.
Fixed Site Commissions include, but are
not limited to, minimum annual
guarantee payments, other lump-sum
payments, and payments in kind that
Providers make pursuant to ICS
contracts.
Gross Investment means the book
value of an asset prior to subtracting
accumulated depreciation or
amortization.
Incarcerated Person means a person
detained in a Prison or Jail, regardless
of the duration of the detention.
Incarcerated Person Kiosk means a
self-service transaction machine that a
Provider of Inmate Calling Services
owns or leases and makes available to
Incarcerated Persons at a Facility to
obtain ICS-Related Services, such as
obtaining a calling card or depositing
money in a prepaid account.
Incarcerated Person Telephone means
a telephone instrument or other device
capable of initiating telephone calls and
set aside by a Facility for use by
Incarcerated Persons.
Inmate Calling Services, Calling
Services, and ICS mean a service that
allows Incarcerated Persons to make
calls to individuals outside the Facility
where the Incarcerated Person is being
held, regardless of the technology used
to deliver the service.
ICS-Related Operations means the
actions or tasks performed by the
Provider or authorized personnel to
deliver Inmate Calling Services and
related Ancillary Services to
Incarcerated Persons and those they
call, including but not limited to billing,
customer service, and other
requirements as determined by contract
or by law. It excludes all Site
Commission payments, including InKind Site Commission payments.
ICS-Related Products and/or Services
means any hardware, software,
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applications, devices, products, or
services used by a Provider or under a
Provider’s direction as part of its ICSRelated Operations. ICS-Related
Products and/or Services also may
support a Company’s non-ICS Products
and Services.
In-Kind Site Commission means a Site
Commission that does not take the form
of a Monetary Site Commission.
Intrastate Communication means any
communication that originates and
terminates in the same state, territory, or
possession of the United States (other
than the Canal Zone), or the District of
Columbia.
International Communication means
a communication or transmission from
any state, territory, or possession of the
United States, or the District of
Columbia to points outside the United
States.
Interstate Communication means,
pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 153(28),
communication or transmission (a) from
any state, territory, or possession of the
United States (other than the Canal
Zone), or the District of Columbia, to
any other state, territory, or possession
of the United States (other than the
Canal Zone), or the District of Columbia,
(b) from or to the United States to or
from the Canal Zone, insofar as such
communication or transmission takes
place within the United States, or (c)
between points within the United States
but through a foreign country. Interstate
Communication shall not, for purposes
of these instructions, include wire or
radio communication between points in
the same state, territory, or possession of
the United States, or the District of
Columbia, through any place outside
thereof, if such communication is
regulated by a state commission.
Jail means a facility of a local, state,
or federal law enforcement agency that
is used primarily to hold individuals
who are: (a) Awaiting adjudication of
criminal charges; (b) post-conviction
and committed to confinement for
sentences of one year or less; or (c) postconviction and awaiting transfer to
another facility. The term also includes
city, county or regional facilities that
have contracted with a private company
to manage day-to-day operations;
privately owned and operated facilities
primarily engaged in housing city,
county or regional Incarcerated Persons;
facilities used to detain individuals
operated directly by the Federal Bureau
of Prisons or U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, or pursuant to a
contract with those agencies; juvenile
detention centers; and secure mental
health facilities.
Legally Mandated Site Commission
means a Site Commission payment
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required by state statutes or laws and
regulations that are adopted pursuant to
state administrative procedure statutes
where there is notice and an
opportunity for public comment such as
by a state public utility commission or
similar regulatory body with
jurisdiction to establish Inmate Calling
Services rates, terms, and conditions
and that operate independently of the
contracting process between Facilities
and Providers.
Live Agent Fee means a fee associated
with the optional use of a live operator
to complete Inmate Calling Services
Transactions.
Live Agent Service means providing
Customers of Inmate Calling Services
the optional use of a live operator to
complete Inmate Calling Services
Transactions.
Mandatory Tax or Mandatory Fee
means a fee that a Provider is required
to collect directly from Customers and
remit to federal, state, or local
governments.
Maximum Call Duration means the
maximum limit, if any, that a Provider
or Facility imposes on the length of ICS
calls from a Facility.
Monetary Site Commission means a
Site Commission that takes the form of
a monetary payment.
Net Capital Stock means Gross
Investment in assets, net of accumulated
depreciation and amortization,
accumulated deferred federal and state
income taxes, and customer
prepayments or deposits, plus an
allowance for Cash Working Capital.
Net Investment means the book value
of an asset after subtracting accumulated
depreciation or amortization.
Operating Expenses means recurring
expenses incurred to supply a service
on a continuous basis, including but not
limited to maintenance and repair of
plant, equipment, and facilities; billing,
collection, and customer care; general
and administrative expense; other
overhead expense; tax expense other
than income tax expense; bad debt
expense; and the Inmate Calling
Service-specific expenses specified in
this data request.
Other Ancillary Services means an
ancillary service that is not a
Permissible Ancillary Service.
Paper Bill/Statement Fees means fees
associated with providing Customers of
Inmate Calling Services an optional
paper billing statement.
Paper Bill/Statement Service means
providing Customers of Inmate Calling
Services an optional paper billing
statement.
Permissible Ancillary Services means
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service,
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Single-Call and Related Services, and
Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services, as defined in Part 64 of the
Commission’s rules and these
instructions.
Prison means a facility operated by a
territorial, state, or federal agency that is
used primarily to confine individuals
convicted of felonies and sentenced to
terms in excess of one year. The term
also includes public and private
facilities that provide outsource housing
to other agencies such as the State
Departments of Correction and the
Federal Bureau of Prisons; and facilities
that would otherwise fall under the
definition of Jail but in which the
majority of Incarcerated Persons are
post-conviction or are committed to
confinement for sentences of longer
than one year.
Provider, ICS Provider, and Provider
of Inmate Calling Services mean any
communications service provider that
provides Inmate Calling Services,
regardless of the technology used, as
defined in 47 CFR 64.6000(s). This
definition includes all entities acting as
Subcontractors as defined below, to the
extent that their activities otherwise
include the provision of Inmate Calling
Services.
Releases means the number of
Incarcerated Persons released after a
period of confinement (e.g., sentence
completion, bail or bond releases, other
pretrial releases, transfers to other
jurisdictions, and deaths). It includes
Incarcerated Persons who have
completed weekend programs and are
leaving the Facility for the last time. It
excludes temporary discharges, such as
discharges for work, medical or
treatment appointments, court
appearances, furloughs, and day
reporting.
Reporting Period means the three-year
period from January 1, 2019, to
December 31, 2021. Where inquiries do
not specify a format for reporting,
provide responses for each year of the
Reporting Period.
Return means the product of a
Company’s Net Capital Stock and its
Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
Revenue-Sharing Agreement means
any agreement, whether express,
implied, written, or oral between a
Provider or any Affiliate and a Third
Party, such as a financial institution, or
between a Provider and any of its
Affiliates that, over the course of the
agreement, directly or indirectly results
in the payment of all or part of the
revenue received from the provision of
ICS or any Ancillary Service to the other
party to the agreement.
Security Services means any security
and surveillance system, product, or
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service that a Provider supplies to a
Facility, including any such system,
product, or service that allows
Incarcerated Persons to make telephone
calls as permitted by the Facility; helps
the Facility ensure that Incarcerated
Persons do not call persons they are not
allowed to call; helps monitor and
record on-going calls; or inspects and
analyzes recorded calls. Security
Services also include other related
systems, products, and services, such as
a voice biometrics system, a PIN system,
or a system concerning the
administration of subpoenas concerning
telephone calls. The classification of a
system, product, or service as a Security
Service does not mean that it is part of
a Provider’s ICS-Related Operations.
Single-Call and Related Services
means billing arrangements whereby an
Incarcerated Person’s collect calls are
billed through a Third Party on a percall basis, where the called party does
not have an account with the Provider
of Inmate Calling Services.
Site Commissions means any form of
monetary payment, in kind payment,
gift, exchange of services or goods, fee,
technology allowance, or product that a
Provider of Inmate Calling Services or
Affiliate of a Provider of Inmate Calling
Services may pay, give, donate, or
otherwise provide to an entity that
operates a correctional institution, an
entity with which the Provider of
Inmate Calling Services enters into an
agreement to provide ICS, a
governmental agency that oversees a
Facility, the city, the county, or state
where a Facility is located, or an agent
of any such Facility.
Subcontractor means an entity that
provides ICS to a Facility and has a
contract or other arrangement with
another Provider for provision of ICS to
that Facility. A Subcontractor need not
have a contractual relationship with the
Facility.
Third Party means an entity that is
not a Provider, an Affiliate of a Provider,
or a Facility.
Third-Party Financial Transaction
Fees means the exact fees, with no
markup, that Providers of Inmate
Calling Services are charged by Third
Parties to transfer money or process
financial transactions to facilitate a
Customer’s ability to make account
payments via a Third Party.
Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services means the transfer of money or
the processing of financial transactions
to facilitate a Customer’s ability to make
account payments via a Third Party.
Unbilled Calls means the number of
Inmate Calling Services calls supplied
during a Year for which payment is not
demanded.
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Unbilled Minutes, Unbilled Minutes of
Use, and Unbilled MOU mean the
number of Inmate Calling Services
minutes supplied during a Year for
which payment is not demanded.
Variable Site Commissions means Site
Commissions that are assessed on a perunit basis, such as a per-minute basis,
percentage of ICS revenue, or number of
ICS phones at a Facility.
Weekly Turnover Rate means the
percentage calculated by subtracting the
average number of weekly Releases
during a Year from the average number
of weekly Admissions during that Year
and then dividing the resulting number
by the Average Daily Population for that
Year.
Weighted Average Cost of Capital
means the sum of the cost of equity, the
cost of preferred stock, and the cost of
debt, each expressed as an annual
percentage rate and weighted by its
proportion in the capital structure.
Year means a calendar year, from
January 1 through December 31 of any
given year.
IV. Required Information
This Part sets forth the information
you must provide in your response to
this data collection. In some cases, the
data are to be reported on the attached
Word template, while other questions
require a narrative response on the
Excel template. In general, this Part
proceeds from the general (Companylevel data) to the specific (Facility-level
data).
This Part begins by asking you to
provide general information about your
Company, including information
pertaining to your ICS-Related
Operations. Next, we direct you to
provide financial data and related
information at the Company level. We
then direct you to disaggregate that
financial information into servicespecific categories and provide detailed
instructions regarding cost allocation in
connection with this step. We also
instruct you how to report data where
a Provider has an agreement with
another entity for the provision of ICS.
Next, we require you to report
Company-level Ancillary Services and
Site Commission data, followed by data
regarding transactions with Affiliates.
Finally, following the instructions for
reporting Company-level data, we direct
you to report certain financial
information at the Facility level.
A. General Information
This section directs you to provide
general information and data about your
Company and its Affiliates, among other
matters, in total for the Reporting
Period, unless otherwise specified.
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(1) Company Name: Enter the
Company’s name.
(2) Accounting Entity: Enter the name
of each corporation, partnership, or
other legal entity within the Accounting
Entity.
(3) Contact Person: Enter the name,
title, email address, and phone number
of the person whom the Commission
may contact to inquire about the
Company’s response to the collection.
(4) Holding Company Name: Enter the
name of Company’s ultimate parent, if
any.
(5) Filing Date: Enter the filing date
using the following format: ‘‘MM/DD/
YYYY’’ to indicate the month, day, and
year.
(6) Headquarters Address: Enter the
physical address where the Company’s
headquarters are located.
(7) Publicly Listed: Identify whether
the Company is a corporation or part of
a corporation whose ownership is
dispersed among the general public in
many shares of stock which are freely
traded on a stock exchange or in overthe-counter markets.
(8) ICS-Related Services: List all ICSRelated Services, including any
Ancillary Services, that the Company
provided at or for Facilities, or to
Incarcerated Persons or those they call,
during the Reporting Period. List all
such services even if the Company only
provided them at some Facilities.
(9) Non-ICS Business Segments:
(a) List all non-ICS Business Segments
that the Company engaged in during the
Reporting Period.
(b) Provide the Billed Revenues for
each listed Business Segment during
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(c) In the Word template, describe
generally the operations of each listed
non-ICS Business Segment.
(d) List all non-ICS Business
Segments the Company or an Affiliate
provided at or for Facilities, or to
Incarcerated Persons or those they call,
during the Reporting Period. List all
such Business Segments even if the
Company or Affiliate provided them
only at some Facilities.
(e) In the Word template, describe in
detail all non-ICS Business Segments
the Company or an Affiliate provided at
or for Facilities, or to Incarcerated
Persons or those they call, during the
Reporting Period.
(f) In the Word template, describe in
detail how, if at all, the Company’s ICS
Business Segments and non-ICS
Business Segments interact with each
other.
(10) Assets:
(a) List each type of asset that the
Company used in its ICS-Related
Operations during the Reporting Period.
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Exclude any type of asset whose Net
Investment is less than 5% of the
Company’s total Net Investment.
(b) Provide the Net Investment in each
listed type of asset as of December 31,
2021.
(c) List each ICS-Related Product or
Service that each listed type of asset
supported.
(d) List each non-ICS-Related Product
or Service, if any, that each listed type
of asset supported.
(11) Non-ICS Affiliates: List the names
of all of the Company’s non-ICS
Affiliates during the Reporting Period.
(12) Non-ICS Affiliates’ Annual
Revenues: Enter total Billed Revenues
for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(13) Non-ICS Affiliates’ Business
Segments:
(a) List all Business Segments in
which non-ICS Affiliates engaged
during the Reporting Period.
(b) Identify each non-ICS Affiliate that
participated in the supply of each
Business Segment on your list.
(14) Non-ICS Affiliates’ Annual
Revenues by Business Segments: Enter
total Billed Revenues for each Year of
the Reporting Period by each non-ICS
Affiliate for each Business Segment on
your list.
(15) Affiliate Transactions: List all
types of assets and services that the
Company obtained from a non-ICS
Affiliate that were used in the provision
of ICS-Related Services during the
Reporting Period. For each type of asset
and service that you list, identify for
each Year of the Reporting Period:
(a) Each non-ICS Affiliate that
provided those assets or services;
(b) The amounts the Company paid its
non-ICS Affiliates for those assets and
services; and
(c) The non-ICS Affiliates’ Net
Investment in those assets and the
Annual Total Expenses incurred to
provide those services.
(16) Accounting and Record Keeping
Systems: In the Word template, describe
in detail the Accounting Entity’s
accounting and record-keeping systems.
(17) Mandatory Data Collection
Response: In the Word template,
provide an overview of how the
Company used its accounting and
record-keeping system to respond to this
Mandatory Data Collection. As part of
this overview, explain the process by
which the Company used data from
income statements, balance sheets,
general ledger, subledger, journals,
department, division, or other
organization group accounts or
subaccounts, and other records or
sources of financial data to develop,
compile, assign, attribute, allocate or
report Company-wide, service-specific,
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and Facility-specific revenues,
investments, and expenses, as required
by this Mandatory Data Collection.
Identify the sources for all depreciation
and amortization schedules or asset life
projections used to determine the
amount of depreciation and
amortization expenses reported and
how these expenses are derived using
these schedules and projections or other
methods in lieu of or in combination
with these schedules and projections.
Explain how Company-wide, servicespecific, Facility-specific, department,
division, or other organization group
data are used to determine how costs are
incurred in order to assign, attribute, or
allocate investments and expenses, as
required by this Mandatory Data
Collection, including, for example, data
as to the number of calls or call minutes,
ADP, headcounts, labor hours, or
salaries; computer processing, electronic
equipment or other inside or outside
plant equipment, circuit, and electric
power use or capacity; internal or
external maintenance or computercenter help desk requests, tickets, orders
or dispatch numbers; and purchase
orders, transactions, or other measures
of resource use and cost-causation.
(18) Representative Information: In
the Word template, address in detail
whether the information collected
though the data collection will be
representative of the Company’s future
ICS-Related Operation given the effects
of the COVID–19 pandemic on those
operations during the Reporting Period.
Identify for the two-year period January
1, 2022, to December 31, 2023, any
specific known and measurable changes
to the Company’s ICS-related
investments, expenses, revenues, and
demand that are not reflected in the data
collected through this data collection.
(19) Sources: In the Word template,
identify the source for any data or any
document included in or relied upon in
your response.
B. Overview Information
This section provides an overview of
your ICS-Related Operations by
incorporating information from other
sections of your Excel template. You
should first enter the data required in
those other portions into that template.
Once you do that, the data required for
this section will automatically be
entered into this portion of the template.
All of those data will be at the
Accounting Entity level.
(1) Company Name
(2) Facilities
(a) Number of Facilities
(b) Number of Prisons
(c) Number of Jails with ADP of 1,000
and above
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(d) Number of Jails with ADP below
1,000
(e) Number of contracts
(f) Number of Prison contracts
(g) Number of Jail contracts
(3) Annual Total Expenses for each Year
of the Reporting Period for:
(a) Inmate Calling Services
(b) Automated Payment Service
(c) Live Agent Service
(d) Paper Bill/Statement Service
(4) Revenues during each Year of the
Reporting Period for:
(a) Inmate Calling Services
(b) Permissible Ancillary Services
(c) Other Ancillary Services
(d) Non-ICS Products and Services
(5) Site Commissions paid during each
Year of the Reporting Period:
(a) Total Site Commissions
(i) Total Monetary Site Commissions
(ii) Total In-Kind Site Commissions
(b) Legally Mandated Site
Commissions
(c) Total Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions
C. Company-Wide Information
This section seeks general financial
data and other information about the
Company and directs you to determine
the Annual Total Expenses the
Company incurs to provide Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service during the
Reporting Period.
1. Overall Financial Information
This subsection directs you to provide
financial data and other information in
the aggregate for the entire Company
(i.e., Accounting Entity). All financial
data must comply with generally
accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
The carrying value of all assets, both
tangible and intangible, shall reflect the
results of the most recent impairment
testing, and any adjustments required to
account for any impairment loss shall be
separately identified. In the Word
template, explain in detail the process
the Company used to comply with this
requirement and provide any additional
information needed to make that
process fully transparent and
understandable. Alternatively, explain
in detail in the Word template why an
impairment test is not now necessary,
when impairment testing normally
occurs under Company policy, and
identify with specificity any accounting
adjustments that were made at the time
of the most recent impairment testing.
(1) Annual Revenues: Enter the total
Billed Revenues for the Accounting
Entity for Inmate Calling Services for
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(2) Investment and Expense Data:
Provide the following investment and
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expense data in the aggregate for the
Accounting Entity for the Reporting
Period:
(a) Capital Assets: Report year-end
amounts for each Year of the Reporting
Period for each of the items specified
below. Report amounts for items (i), (ii)
or (iii), and (iv) separately for each of
the following types of assets: (aa)
Tangible assets; (bb) capitalized
research and development; (cc)
purchased software; (dd) internally
developed software; (ee) trademarks; (ff)
other identifiable intangible assets; and
(gg) goodwill. Report a single amount
for each of items (v), (vi), and (vii).
(i) Gross Investment;
(ii) Accumulated depreciation;
(iii) Accumulated amortization;
(iv) Net Investment;
(v) Accumulated deferred federal
income taxes;
(vi) Accumulated deferred state
income taxes; and
(vii) Customer prepayments or
deposits.
(b) Capital Expenses: Report the
annual amount for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items
specified below. Report amounts for
items (i) or (ii) separately for each of the
following types of assets: (aa) Tangible
assets; (bb) capitalized research and
development; (cc) purchased software;
(dd) internally developed software; (ee)
trademarks; (ff) other identifiable
intangible assets; and (gg) goodwill.
Report a single amount for each of items
(iii), (iv), and (v).
(i) Depreciation;
(ii) Amortization;
(iii) Interest other than interest paid
on customer prepayments or deposits;
(iv) Interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits; and
(v) Other income tax-related
adjustments.
(c) Operating Expenses: Report the
annual amount for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items
specified below. Each expense must be
reported for a particular category; for
example, do not report expense incurred
for termination of International
Communication as an expense incurred
for Interstate and Intrastate
Communication. Exclude any charges
for asset impairment loss.
(i) Maintenance, repair, and
engineering of site plant, equipment,
and facilities;
(ii) Origination, switching, and
transporting of Interstate, International
and Intrastate Communication and
termination of Interstate and Intrastate
Communication;
(iii) Termination of International
Communication;
(iv) Field service;
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(v) Network operations;
(vi) Call center;
(vii) Data center;
(viii) Security Services relating to the
Company’s ICS-Related Operations,
non-ICS Operations, or both;
(ix) Payment of Site Commissions;
(x) Billing, collection, client
management, and customer care;
(xi) Sales and marketing;
(xii) General and administrative;
(xiii) Other overhead;
(xiv) Taxes other than income taxes;
(xv) Transactions related to mergers
and acquisitions; and
(xvi) Bad debt.
(d) Income Tax Rates: Report
separately for each Year of the Reporting
Period each state income tax rate
applicable to the Company. Report total
Billed ICS Revenues separately for each
state. The Excel template uses these
reported data to calculate an ICSRelated Operations revenue-weighted
average of the individual state income
tax rates (i.e., the sum of the products
of each state tax rate multiplied by the
percentage of the Company’s total Billed
ICS Revenues derived from ICS
supplied at Facilities located in each
corresponding state). The result of this
calculation is used to calculate state
income tax expense reported separately
for specific services as instructed below.
2. Service-Specific Financial
Information
The preceding subsection instructs
you to provide financial information at
the Company level. We now require you
to determine the Annual Total Expenses
the Company incurs to provide Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service for each Year of
the Reporting Period. This process
involves several steps.
First, we instruct you to assign,
attribute, or allocate the reported
Company-wide investments and
expenses (without separation between
federal and state jurisdictions) among
Inmate Calling Services, Automated
Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other
Ancillary Services, and non-ICS
Services in accordance with the cost
allocation instructions set forth below.
We also instruct you to calculate federal
and state income taxes for Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service. We do not
require the reporting of Company-wide
federal and state income tax expenses or
the reporting of these expenses for Other
Ancillary Services or non-ICS Services.
We also do not require the reporting of
Company-wide amounts for Cash
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Working Capital, Net Capital Stock, or
Return or the reporting of these items
for Other Ancillary Services or non-ICS
Services.
We next instruct you to provide the
results of your cost assignments,
attributions, and allocations separately
for Inmate Calling Services, Automated
Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
and Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other
Ancillary Services, and non-ICS
Services, which shall include amounts
for investments, Capital Expenses, and
Operating Expenses. We also instruct
you to report your federal and state
income tax calculations for Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service.
We then require you to make two
elections. We first instruct you to elect
whether to use the default Weighted
Average Cost of Capital or an alternative
Weighted Average Cost of Capital. We
then instruct you to elect whether to
include an allowance for Cash Working
Capital. If you elect an alternative
Weighted Average Cost of Capital
greater than 9.75% or include an
allowance for Cash Working Capital, we
require you to report the components of
those elections.
We instruct you to provide the
Company’s Annual Total Expenses
(without separation between federal and
state jurisdictions) of providing Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service and to make
certain elections relating to adjustments
to Annual Total Expenses. Finally, we
also instruct you to elect whether to
adjust the Company’s Annual Total
Expenses and thus to report Annual
Total Expenses for the federal
jurisdiction alone (covering both
Interstate and International
Communications), either to recognize
any cost differentials between interstate/
international Inmate Calling Services
and intrastate Inmate Calling Services
that should be reflected in an interstate
rate cap or for any other reason.
a. Cost Allocation Instructions
You must assign or allocate Companywide investments and expenses
(without separation between federal and
state jurisdictions) among Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Other Ancillary
Services, and non-ICS Services using
the hierarchy of methods specified
below. For purposes of these cost
allocation instructions, Inmate Calling
Services, Automated Payment Service,
Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Other Ancillary
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Services, and non-ICS Services are each
a separate ‘‘service.’’ Also, any costs the
Company incurs in providing SingleCall and Related Services or Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services shall be
included in its Inmate Calling Services
costs.
(1) First, to the extent possible,
directly assign investments used
exclusively to provide a particular
service to that service; likewise, to the
extent possible, directly assign expenses
incurred exclusively to provide a
particular service to that service.
Calculate federal and state income taxes
separately for Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, and Paper Bill/Statement
Service as specified in items 7 and 8
below.
(2) Second, group shared investments
and expenses into shared investment
and expense categories based on
business function, activity, or task.
Group common investments and
expenses into common investment and
expense categories based on business
function, activity, or task.
(a) Any investments and expenses
that are not directly assignable to a
specific service are shared or common
investments and expenses.
(b) Shared investments are for assets
used exclusively to supply a specific
subset of services that are not assignable
or attributable to a particular service.
Shared expenses are expenses incurred
solely to supply a specific subset of
services that are not assignable or
attributable to a specific service.
(c) Common investments are for assets
not assignable or attributable to a
specific service or subset of services.
Common expenses are expenses that are
not assignable or attributable to a
specific service or subset of services.
(3) Third, to the extent possible,
directly attribute categories of shared
investments and expenses, and
categories of common investments and
expenses, to particular services based on
direct analysis of factors that cause a
particular business function, activity, or
task and thus investments or expenses
to increase or decrease.
(4) Fourth, where neither direct
assignment nor direct attribution is
possible, allocate categories of shared
investments and expenses, and
categories of common investments and
expenses, to particular services based on
an indirect, cost-causative link to
another investment and expense or
another investment or expense category
(or group of categories) for which direct
assignment or attribution is possible.
(5) Fifth, where none of the methods
described above is possible, allocate
categories of shared investments and
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expenses to the particular services that
share the investments and expenses in
proportion to each service’s share of the
total of all investments or expenses
already directly assigned or attributed to
these particular services. Allocate
categories of common investments and
expenses to particular services in
proportion to each service’s share of the
total of all investments or expenses
already directly assigned or attributed to
all services.
(6) The sums of the investment and
expense amounts assigned to, attributed
to, or allocated among Inmate Calling
Service, Automated Payment Service,
Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Other Ancillary
Services, and non-ICS Services shall
equal the total investment and expense
amounts respectively reported for the
Company above (excluding federal and
state income taxes, Cash Working
Capital and Net Capital Stock, which are
only reported for Inmate Calling
Service, Automated Payment Service,
Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service).
(7) Federal income taxes: First,
subtract reported interest expense other
than interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits (and any
amount reported for other income taxrelated adjustments) from Return to
determine federal taxable income.
Second, divide the federal income tax
rate by 1 minus the federal income tax
rate to determine a federal income tax
gross-up factor. Third, multiply the
federal income tax gross-up factor by
federal taxable income to determine the
amount of federal income tax to report.
(8) State income taxes: First, add the
portion of federal income tax not
deductible for state income tax purposes
to federal taxable income to determine
state taxable income. Second, divide the
weighted average of the individual state
income tax rates by 1 minus the
weighted average of the individual state
income tax rates to determine a state
income tax gross-up factor. Third,
multiply the state income tax gross-up
factor by state taxable income to
determine the amount of state income
tax to report.
(9) Fully document, explain, and
justify all cost assignments, attributions,
and allocations using the Word template
and submit additional workpapers
developed using Excel spreadsheets.
b. Cost Allocation Results
Report the results of your cost
assignments, attributions, and
allocations separately for Inmate Calling
Services, Automated Payment Service,
Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Other Ancillary
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Services, and non-ICS Services on the
Excel template, as specified below.
Report your federal and state income tax
calculations separately for Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service on the Excel
template, as specified below.
(1) Capital Assets: Report the year-end
amount for each Year of the Reporting
Period for each of the items specified
below. Report amounts for items (a), (b)
or (c), and (d) separately for each of the
following types of assets: (i) Tangible
assets; (ii) capitalized research and
development; (iii) purchased software;
(iv) internally developed software; (v)
trademarks; (vi) other identifiable
intangible assets; and (vi) goodwill.
Report a single amount for each of items
(e) through (i).
(a) Gross Investment;
(b) Accumulated depreciation;
(c) Accumulated amortization;
(d) Net Investment;
(e) Accumulated deferred federal
income taxes;
(f) Accumulated deferred state income
taxes;
(g) Customer prepayments or deposits;
(h) Cash Working Capital (see d.(1)
and (2) below); and
(i) Net Capital Stock.
(2) Capital Expenses and Related Tax
Information: Report the annual amount
or a percentage for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items
specified below. Report amounts for
items (a) and (b) separately for each of
the following types of assets: (i)
Tangible assets; (ii) capitalized research
and development; (iii) purchased
software; (iv) internally developed
software; (v) trademarks; (vi) other
identifiable intangible assets; and (vii)
goodwill. Report a single amount for
each of items (c) through (p).
(a) Depreciation;
(b) Amortization;
(c) Weighted Average Cost of Capital
(see c.(1) and (2) below);
(d) Return;
(e) Interest other than interest paid on
customer prepayments or deposits;
(f) Interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits;
(g) Other income tax-related
adjustments;
(h) Federal taxable income;
(i) Federal income tax rate;
(j) Federal income tax gross-up factor;
(k) Federal income tax;
(l) Federal income tax not deductible
for state income tax purposes;
(m) State taxable income;
(n) State income tax rate;
(o) State income tax gross-up factor;
and
(p) State income tax.
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(3) Operating Expenses: Report the
annual amount for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items
specified below. Exclude any charges
for asset impairment loss.
(a) Maintenance, repair, and
engineering of site plant, equipment,
and facilities;
(b) Origination, switching, and
transporting of Interstate, International
and Intrastate Communication and
termination of Interstate and Intrastate
Communication;
(c) Termination of International
Communication;
(d) Field service;
(e) Network operations;
(f) Call center;
(g) Data center;
(h) Security Services relating to the
Company’s ICS-Related Operations,
non-ICS Operations, or both;
(i) Billing, collection, client
management, and customer care;
(j) Sales and marketing;
(k) General and administrative;
(l) Other overhead;
(m) Taxes other than income taxes;
(n) Transactions related to mergers
and acquisitions; and
(o) Bad debt.
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c. Weighted Average Cost of Capital
(1) Elect, by checking the appropriate
box on the Excel template, whether to
use the default Weighted Average Cost
of Capital of 9.75% (which is the
Commission’s currently authorized rate
of return for incumbent local exchange
carriers regulated on a rate-of-return
basis) for each Year of the Reporting
Period or an alternative Weighted
Average Cost of Capital reflecting the
Company’s own and a demonstrably
comparable-group of firms’ financial
data and economic circumstances, use
of widely accepted methods to estimate
current debt and equity costs and
capital structure, and the collective risks
of providing ICS, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service.
(2) If you elect to use an alternative
Weighted Average Cost of Capital
greater than 9.75%, report on the Excel
template the components of the
Company’s current Weighted Average
Cost of Capital and the Weighted
Average Cost of Capital itself, as
specified below. Use this singular
estimate of the Company’s current
Weighted Average Cost of Capital to
calculate Return for each Year of the
Reporting Period. In the Word template,
fully document by submitting data,
formulas, cost of equity analyses using,
for example, the Discounted Cash Flow
Model or Capital Asset Pricing Model,
calculations, and worksheets, explain,
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and justify the development of each
claimed component. Failure to fully
document, explain, and justify each
claimed component may result in the
application of the default Weighted
Average Cost of Capital of 9.75%.
(a) Cost of debt;
(b) Cost of preferred stock;
(c) Cost of equity;
(d) Total debt outstanding in dollars
and as a percent of total capital
outstanding (the sum of debt, preferred
stock, and equity outstanding);
(e) Total preferred stock outstanding
and as a percent of total capital
outstanding;
(f) Total equity outstanding and as a
percent of total capital outstanding; and
(g) Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
d. Cash Working Capital
(1) Elect, by checking the appropriate
box on the Excel template, whether to
include an allowance for Cash Working
Capital in the Company’s Net Capital
Stock.
(2) If you elect to include an
allowance for Cash Working Capital in
the Company’s Net Capital Stock, report
the allowance claimed for each Year of
the Reporting Period on the Excel
template separately for: (a) Inmate
Calling Services; (b) Automated
Payment Service; (c) Live Agent Service;
and (d) Paper Bill/Statement Service.
Submit a lead-lag study or the
equivalent that estimates the average
number of days between the payment of
expenses and the receipt of revenues
and average daily cash expenses as
support for each claimed allowance.
Fully document, explain, and justify
each claimed allowance in the Word
template.
e. Annual Total Expenses
(1) Report Company-wide Annual
Total Expenses separately for: (a) Inmate
Calling Services; (b) Automated
Payment Service; (c) Live Agent Service;
and (d) Paper Bill/Statement Service.
Exclude reported interest expense other
than interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits from Annual
Total Expenses. The allowance for
interest expense other than interest paid
on customer prepayments or deposits is
included in the Return component of
the Annual Total Expenses calculation.
Include reported interest paid on
customer prepayments or deposits in
Annual Total Expenses. Exclude
expense reported for termination of
International Communication from
Annual Total Expenses.
f. Optional Allocations and Adjustments
(1) In the Word template, state
whether the Company elects to further
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separate its investments, expenses, Net
Capital Stock, and Annual Total
Expenses between interstate/
international and intrastate Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service to reflect any
measurable differences between the cost
incurred to provide interstate/
international and intrastate services. If
you elect to separate the Company’s
investments, expenses, Net Capital
Stock, and Annual Total Expenses
between interstate/international and
intrastate Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, and Paper Bill/Statement
Service, you must: (a) Fully document,
explain, and justify this separation in
the Word template; and (b) submit
additional Excel spreadsheets, similar in
design and level of data disaggregation
to those in the Excel template, showing
in detail each aspect of the Company’s
separations processes. These showings
in the Word template and Excel
spreadsheets must fully document and
justify each aspect of the processes by
which the separated interstate/
international Inmate Calling Services
investment and expenses are further
assigned, attributed, or allocated to or
among each of the Company’s Facilities,
and how the Net Capital Stock and
Annual Total Expenses for each of these
Facilities are developed. Electing this
cost allocation option does not relieve
the Company of its obligation to report
its unseparated investments, expenses,
Net Capital Stock, and Annual Total
Expenses in the Excel template and in
accordance with the instructions for
reporting unseparated data.
(2) In the Word template, state
whether the Company elects to further
adjust its investments, expenses, Net
Capital Stock, and Annual Total
Expenses developed in accordance with
the instructions set out in this
document, for any other reason. If you
elect to make such an adjustment, you
must: (a) Fully document, explain, and
justify it in the Word template; and (b)
submit additional Excel spreadsheets,
similar in design and level of data
disaggregation to those in the Excel
template, showing in detail each aspect
of the Company’s adjustments,
including all changes to the Company’s
data, cost allocation procedures, and
results. If the Company also elects to
further separate its investments,
expenses, Net Capital Stock, and
Annual Total Expenses as specified in
Part IV.C.2.f.(1), above, you also must
separately justify and document the
impact of any further adjustments in
response to this Inquiry upon your
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results under Part IV.C.2.f.(1). Electing
this additional adjustment option does
not relieve the Company of its
obligation to report its unseparated and
unadjusted investments, expenses, Net
Capital Stock, and Annual Total
Expenses on the Excel template and in
accordance with the instructions for
reporting unseparated and unadjusted
data.
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3. Other Company-Wide Information
This subsection directs you to report
Company-wide data on Site
Commissions, Security Services,
Ancillary Services, and Affiliate
Transactions. It also provides
instructions on reporting data and other
information where a Provider
subcontracts with another entity for the
provision of ICS.
a. Site Commissions
(1) Total Site Commissions: Enter the
total amount of all Site Commissions
paid by the Company during each Year
of the Reporting Period, without regard
to whether the Site Commission was
Legally Mandated, Contractually
Prescribed, Fixed, Variable, Monetary,
or In-Kind.
(a) Enter the percentage of the total
Site Commissions paid by the Company
during each Year of the Reporting
Period that were attributable to the
Company’s ICS-Related Operations.
(2) Total Legally Mandated Site
Commissions: Enter the total amount of
Legally Mandated Site Commissions
paid by the Company during each Year
of the Reporting Period.
(a) Total Monetary Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Legally
Mandated Site, Monetary Commissions
paid by the Company.
(i) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Legally Mandated
Site Commissions paid by the Company
that were both Monetary Site
Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of all Legally Mandated
Site Commissions that not only were
Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed
Site Commissions but also were paid by
the Company at the signing of a contract
for ICS or during the first year of a
contract for ICS.
(ii) Total Variable Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all Legally
Mandated Site Commissions paid by the
Company that were both Monetary Site
Commissions and Variable Site
Commissions.
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(b) Total In-Kind Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Legally
Mandated Site Commissions paid by the
Company that were also In-Kind Site
Commissions.
(i) In the Word template, describe
these in-kind payments in detail.
Specifically describe each Security
Service that you classify as an In-Kind
Site Commission payment. Also
specifically describe any other payment,
gift, exchange of services or goods, fee,
technology allowance, or product that
you classify as an In-Kind Site
Commission payment.
(ii) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Legally Mandated
Site Commissions paid by the Company
that were both In-Kind Site
Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of all Legally Mandated
Site Commissions that not only were InKind Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions but also were paid by the
Company at the signing of a contract for
ICS or during the first year of a contract
for ICS.
(iii) Total Variable Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all Legally
Mandated Site Commissions paid by the
Company that were both In-Kind Site
Commissions and Variable Site
Commissions.
(3) Total Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions: Enter the total amount of
Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid by the Company
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(a) Total Monetary Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions paid by
the Company that were also Monetary
Site Commissions.
(i) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions paid by
the Company that were both Monetary
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of all Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions that not
only were Monetary Site Commissions
and Fixed Site Commissions but also
were paid by the Company at the
signing of a contract for ICS or during
the first year of a contract for ICS.
(ii) Total Variable Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
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enter the total amount of all
Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid by the Company that
were both Monetary Site Commissions
and Variable Site Commissions.
(b) Total In-Kind Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions that paid
by the Company that were also In-Kind
Site Commissions.
(i) In the Word template, describe
these in-kind payments in detail.
Specifically describe each Security
Service that you classify as an In-Kind
Site Commission payment. Also
specifically describe any other payment,
gift, exchange of services or goods, fee,
technology allowance, or product that
you classify as an In-Kind Site
Commission payment.
(ii) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions paid by
the Company that were both In-Kind
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of all Contractually
Prescribed that not only were In-Kind
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions but also were paid by the
Company at the signing of a contract for
ICS or during the first year of a contract
for ICS.
(iii) Total Variable Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all
Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid by the Company that
were both In-Kind Site Commissions
and Variable Site Commissions.
(4) Site Commissions Allocation
Methodology: In the Word template,
fully describe, document, explain, and
justify the allocation methodology you
use to allocate Site Commission
payments between ICS and non-ICS
operations in situations where you
made Site Commission payments for
both ICS and non-ICS Operations.
b. Security Services Not Classified as
Site Commissions
Reporting in response to the following
questions (1) through (3) must be
exclusive of the data reported in
connection with Site Commissions to
prevent double-counting.
(1) On the Excel template, report the
total dollar amount of costs the
Company incurred to provide the
following categories of services for each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Law enforcement support services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by
name and describe each service you
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classify as a law enforcement support
service, including a description of the
specific tasks and functions covered by
this service and whether you routinely
offer this service in connection with
ICS.
(b) Call security services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by
name and describe each service you
classify as a call security service,
including a description of the specific
tasks and functions covered by this
service and whether you routinely offer
this service in connection with ICS.
(c) Call recording services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by
name and describe each service you
classify as a call recording service,
including a description of the specific
tasks and functions covered by this
service and whether you routinely offer
this service in connection with ICS.
(d) Call monitoring services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by
name and describe each service you
classify as a call monitoring service,
including a description of the specific
tasks and functions covered by this
service whether you routinely offer this
service in connection with ICS.
(e) Voice biometrics services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by
name and describe each service you
classify as a voice biometric service,
including a description of the specific
tasks and functions covered by this
service and whether you routinely offer
this service in connection with ICS.
(f) Other services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by
name and describe each Security
Service you provide that is not
classified under one of the foregoing
subcategories, including a description of
the specific tasks and functions covered
by each service and whether you
routinely offer each service in
connection with ICS.
(2) In the Word template, specifically
describe each Security Service provided
by you that you do not classify as a Site
Commission and is not offered in
connection with ICS.
(3) In the Word template, specifically
describe any other payment, gift,
exchange of goods or services, fee,
technology allowance, or product
provided for security purposes that you
do not classify as a Site Commission
payment.
c. Ancillary Services
This subsection directs you to provide
certain Company-level information on
your Ancillary Services expenses and
revenues, and Revenue-Sharing
Agreements in connection with your
Ancillary Services. First, this subsection
directs you to report expenses you
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incurred in providing Ancillary Services
and includes inquiries requiring you to
report subsets of those expenses and/or
provide narratives in the Word
template. Second, this subsection
directs you to report revenues earned
from providing Ancillary Services and
similarly includes questions requiring
you to report subsets of those revenues
and/or provide narrative responses.
Third, this subsection directs you to
identify and provide information
regarding Revenue-Sharing Agreements
relating to your Ancillary Services in
the Word template.
(1) Ancillary Services: Enter ‘‘Yes’’ if
you charged Customers Automated
Payment Service Fees, Live Agent
Service Fees, Paper Bill/Statement
Service Fees, Fees for Single-Call and
Related Services, Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services Fees during the
Reporting Period. Otherwise, enter
‘‘No.’’
(a) In the next cell, enter ‘‘Yes’’ if you
charged Customers more than one
Permissible Ancillary Service Charge fee
in connection with the same interstate,
international, or mixed-jurisdictional
transaction during the Reporting Period.
(i) If you answered ‘‘Yes,’’ describe in
detail the circumstances relating to
those charges in the Word template.
Your description shall include, in
addition to all other relevant
information, a list of the specific
transactions for which you charged
multiple fees, the fee charged in each
transaction, the functions that were
covered by each fee, and the total
amounts that Customers paid for each
fee.
(2) Ancillary Services Expenses: Enter
your Annual Total Expenses in
providing Automated Payment Service,
Paper Bill/Statement Service, and Live
Agent Service for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(a) Automated Payment Services:
Enter the Annual Total Expenses
incurred in providing Automated
Payment Service for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, identify each
Affiliate, if any, that the Company used
in providing its Automated Payment
Service.
(ii) In the next cell, enter ‘‘Yes’’ if the
Company used a Third Party in
providing its Automated Payment
Service. Otherwise Enter ‘‘No.’’
(aa) If you entered ‘‘Yes,’’ identify
each such Third Party in the next cell.
(bb) Enter the amount the Company
paid to each listed Third Party for
providing Automated Payment Service
for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(iii) In the Word template, describe
payment card processing services
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offered in connection with your
Automated Payment Service for each
Year of the Reporting Period. Identify
whether the payment card processing
was performed by the Company, an
Affiliate, or a Third Party. If provided by
an Affiliate or Third Party, identify the
Affiliate or Third Party.
(b) Live Agent Services: Enter the
Annual Total Expenses applicable to
your Live Agent Service for each Year
of the Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, identify each
Affiliate, if any, that the Company used
in providing its Live Agent Service.
(ii) In the next cell, enter ‘‘Yes’’ if the
Company used a Third Party in
providing its Live Agent Service.
Otherwise enter ‘‘No.’’
(aa) If you entered ‘‘Yes,’’ identify
each such Third Party in the next cell.
(bb) In the next cell, enter the amount
the Company paid each listed Third
Party for each Year of the Reporting
Period to provide Live Agent Service.
(c) Paper Bill/Statement Services:
Enter the Annual Total Expenses
applicable to your Paper Bill/Statement
Service for each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(i) In the next cell, identify each
Affiliate that the Company used in
providing its Paper Bill/Statement
Service.
(ii) In the next cell, enter ‘‘Yes’’ if the
Company used a Third Party in
providing its Paper Bill/Statement
Service. Otherwise, enter ‘‘No.’’
(aa) If you entered ‘‘Yes,’’ identify
each such Third Party in the next cell.
(bb) In the next cell, enter the amount
the Company paid each listed Third
Party for each Year of the Reporting
Period to provide.
(d) Single-Call and Related Services:
(i) List each entity that charged the
Company for billing services for SingleCall and Related Services during each
Year of the Reporting Period. Indicate
whether each listed entity is a Third
Party.
(ii) Enter the amount the Company
paid each Third Party for billing
services in connection with Single-Call
and Related Services for each Year of
the Reporting Period.
(iii) Enter the amount the Company
paid a Third Party for billing services in
connection with Single-Call and Related
Services that the Company passed
through to Customers for each Year of
the Reporting Period.
(iv) Enter the amount the Company
paid to an entity other than a Third
Party for billing services in connection
with Single-Call and Related Services
for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(v) Enter the amount the Company
paid to an entity other than a Third
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Party for billing services in connection
with Single-Call and Related Services
for each Year of the Reporting Period
that the Company passed through to
Customers.
(vi) In the Word template, state
whether any entity other than the
Company charged Customers SingleCall and Related Services Fees in
connection with the Company’s ICSRelated Operations during each Year of
the Reporting Period. If so, list each
such entity, indicate whether each listed
entity is a Third Party, and provide the
amount of such fees each listed entity
charged Customers during each Year of
the Reporting Period.
(e) Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services:
(i) Payment Card Processing for
Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services: In the Word template, describe
payment card processing services
performed in connection with ThirdParty Financial Transaction Services
during each Year of the Reporting
Period. Identify whether the payment
card processing was performed by the
Company, an Affiliate, or a Third Party.
If provided by an Affiliate or Third
Party, identify the Affiliate or Third
Party.
(ii) List each entity that charged the
Company for providing Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services during
the Reporting Period in connection with
the Company’s ICS-Related Operations.
Indicate whether each listed entity is a
Third Party.
(iii) Enter the amount the Company
paid to a Third Party for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services during
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(iv) Enter the amount the Company
paid to a Third Party for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services that the
Company passed through to Customers
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(v) Enter the amount the Company
paid to an entity other than a Third
Party for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services during each Year
of the Reporting Period.
(vi) Enter the amount the Company
paid to an entity other than a Third
Party for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services that the Company
passed through to Customers during
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(vii) In the Word template, state
whether any entity other than the
Company charged Customers for ThirdParty Financial Transaction Services in
connection with the Company’s ICSRelated Operations during each Year of
the Reporting Period. If so, list each
such entity and provide the amount of
such fees each listed entity charged
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Customers during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(3) Ancillary Services Revenues: Enter
the total revenues you received from
Customers for providing Permissible
Ancillary Services during each Year of
the Reporting Period. This total shall
include fees Customers paid the
Company for Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Single-Call and
Related Services, Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services, and Other
Ancillary Services.
(a) Automated Payment Service
Revenues: Enter the total amount of
revenues the Company received from
charging Automated Payment Fees
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(i) Payment Card Processing Revenues
for Automated Payment Service: Of the
amount reported for Total Automated
Payment Fee Revenues above, enter the
amount of those revenues applicable to
payment card processing for each Year
of the Reporting Period.
(aa) In the Word template, describe
the payment card processing services in
connection with Automated Payment
Service revenue. Identify whether the
payment card processing was performed
by the Company, an Affiliate, or a Third
Party. If payment card processing was
performed by an Affiliate or Third Party,
identify the Affiliate or Third Party.
(ii) Automated Payment Service
Revenue-Sharing Agreements: If the
Provider has a Revenue-Sharing
Agreement with an Affiliate or Third
Party in connection with Automated
Payment Service, including for any
payment card processing functions enter
‘‘Yes.’’ Otherwise, enter ‘‘No.’’
(aa) If you answered ‘‘Yes,’’ you must
provide the information requested
below under the ‘‘Ancillary Services
Revenue-Sharing Agreements’’ heading
in the Word template.
(b) Live Agent Fee Revenues: Enter the
total revenues the Company received
from charging the Live Agent Fee for
each Year during the Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, enter ‘‘Yes’’ if an
Affiliate or Third Party charged the Live
Agent Fee for each Year during the
Reporting Period. Otherwise, enter
‘‘No.’’ If you entered ‘‘Yes,’’ identify
each such Affiliate or Third Party in the
next cell and provide the amount
charged by the Affiliate or Third Party
next to the name.
(c) Paper Bill/Statement Fee
Revenues: Enter the total revenues the
Company received from charging the
Paper Bill/Statement Fee for each Year
during the Reporting Period.
(d) Single-Call and Related Services
Revenues: Enter the total amount of
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revenues the Company received from
charging Fees for Single-Call and
Related Services for each Year during
the Reporting Period.
(i) Single-Call and Related Services:
Of the amount reported for Total SingleCall and Related Services Revenues
above, enter the amount of those
revenues the Company received from
charging the adopted, per-minute rate in
connection with Single-Call and Related
Services. This amount should exclude
any Third-Party charges passed through
to Customers as part of providing
Single-Call and Related Services.
(ii) Single-Call and Related Services
Revenue-Sharing Agreements: If the
Provider has a Revenue-Sharing
Agreement with an Affiliate or a Third
Party in connection with Single-Call
and Related Services enter ‘‘Yes.’’
Otherwise, enter ‘‘No.’’
(aa) If you answered ‘‘Yes,’’ you must
provide the information requested
below under the ‘‘Ancillary Services
Revenue-Sharing Agreements’’ heading
in the Word template.
(e) Third-Party Financial Transaction
Fee Revenue: Enter the total revenues
the Company received from charging
Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees
for each Year during the Reporting
Period.
(i) Payment Card Processing Revenues
from Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services: Of the amount reported for
Total Third-Party Financial Transaction
Fee Revenue, enter the amount of that
revenue applicable to payment card
processing for each Year during the
Reporting Period.
(ab) In the Word template, describe
these payment card processing services,
including whether they were performed
by the Provider, an Affiliate, or a Third
Party. If provided by an Affiliate or a
Third Party, identify each Affiliate or
Third Party. State whether the Company
charged Customers payment card
processing fees for each Year during the
Reporting Period. If so, enter the amount
of such fees charged to Customers for
each Year during the Reporting Period.
(ii) Third-Party Financial Transaction
Fee Revenue-Sharing Agreements: If the
Provider has a Revenue-Sharing
Agreement with an Affiliate or a Third
Party in connection with Third-Party
Financial Transaction Fees, enter ‘‘Yes.’’
Otherwise, enter ‘‘No.’’
(aa) If you answered ‘‘Yes,’’ you must
provide the information requested
below under the ‘‘Ancillary Services
Revenue-Sharing Agreements’’ heading
in the Word template.
(4) Ancillary Services RevenueSharing Agreements: In the Word
template, identify any Revenue-Sharing
Agreements between the Provider and
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any Affiliate and/or Third Party in
connection with any Ancillary Service.
(a) For each Revenue-Sharing
Agreement identified, provide, at a
minimum, the following information:
(i) The parties to the agreement;
(ii) Identify each payor and each
payee under the agreement;
(iii) Whether any party to the
agreement is an Affiliate or Third Party;
(iv) The Ancillary Service for which
revenue is required to be shared under
the agreement;
(v) The amount of revenue to be
shared under the terms of the
agreement;
(vi) The total amount of revenue
shared for each Year during the
Reporting Period;
(vii) The total amount of revenue
shared for each Ancillary Service; and
(viii) The effective and termination
dates of the agreement.
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d. Affiliate Transactions
(1) In the Word template, describe in
detail all types of transactions between
the Accounting Entity and its nonAccounting Entity Affiliates.
(2) Provider’s Payments to NonAccounting Entity Affiliates:
(a) Total ICS Revenue Paid to NonAccounting Entity Affiliates: Enter the
amount of ICS revenue the Provider
paid to any non-Accounting Entity
Affiliate during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(b) Total Automated Payment Fee
Revenue Paid to Non-Accounting Entity
Affiliates: Enter the amount of
Automated Payment Fee revenue the
Provider paid to any non-Accounting
Entity Affiliate during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(c) Total Single-Call and Related
Services Revenue Paid to NonAccounting Entity Affiliates: Enter the
amount of revenue from charging Fees
for Single-Call and Related Services the
Provider paid to any non-Accounting
Entity Affiliate during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(d) Total Live Agent Fee Revenue Paid
to Non-Accounting Entity Affiliates:
Enter the amount of Live Agent Fee
revenue the Provider paid to any nonAccounting Entity Affiliate during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(e) Total Paper Bill/Statement Fee
Revenue Paid to Non-Accounting Entity
Affiliates: Enter the amount of Paper
Bill/Statement Fee revenue the Provider
paid to any Affiliate during each Year of
the Reporting Period.
(f) Total Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fee Revenue Paid to NonAccounting Entity Affiliates: Enter the
amount of Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fee Revenue the Provider
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paid to any non-Accounting Entity
Affiliate during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(g) International Termination
Payments to Affiliates: Enter the total
amounts paid by the Company to an
affiliated international service provider
during each Year of the Reporting
Period to terminate International ICS
Calls originating from the Facility.
e. Instructions Relating to Subcontracts
To Provide Inmate Calling Services
This subsection provides instructions
on reporting data and other information
where a Provider subcontracts with
another entity for the provision of ICS.
The primary goal in requiring the
submission of these data is to prevent
double counting of costs and/or
revenues between a Company and other
entities when they have a contractual or
other arrangement to provide ICS to the
same Facility. Further, we also seek to
understand the nature of any such
arrangements.
Subcontractor Reporting of Cost and
Revenue Data: In reporting cost and
revenue data, Subcontractors shall not
treat any Billed Revenue passed on to a
Provider as an expense and shall
otherwise report investments, expenses,
and revenues in accordance with the
instructions set forth in this document.
(1) Provider Reporting of Cost Data:
Where a Provider has a Subcontractor:
(a) The Provider shall directly assign,
attribute, or allocate its investments and
expenses based on the cost allocation
hierarchies set forth in these
instructions to or among:
(i) Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service,
Other Ancillary Services, and non-ICS
Services;
(ii) Further directly assign, attribute,
or allocate the Provider’s Inmate Calling
Services investments and expenses to or
among (i) Provider-supplied facilities;
and (ii) Subcontractor-supplied
facilities.
(2) Narrative Description of a
Subcontract to Provide ICS: If a Provider
contracts with a Subcontractor to
provide any aspect of ICS, the Provider
and the Subcontractor shall explain
each such arrangement in the Word
templates of their respective responses.
At a minimum, each such explanation
shall include:
(a) The name of the Provider with the
contractual or other agreement with a
Facility or contracting authority for the
provision of ICS;
(b) The name of the Subcontractor;
(c) The services provided by the
Subcontractor under the agreement;
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(d) The unique identifier and address
for the Facilities at which the
Subcontractor provides services under
the agreement;
(e) A description of the ICS-Related
Operations provided by the Provider
and the Subcontractor;
(f) The types of ICS calls billed by the
Provider and the Subcontractor; and
(g) A description of any RevenueSharing Agreement between the
Provider and the Subcontractor.
D. Facility-Specific Information
The previous section directs you to
provide general financial data and other
information at the Company level. In
this section, we direct you to provide
financial data and other information at
the Facility level. You must submit
individual data for each Facility even if
that Facility is covered by the same
contract as other Facilities. Those data
must be specific to the Facility in
question and not simply a repeat of data
reported for other Facilities covered by
the same contract.
1. Facility-Specific Financial
Information
Part IV.C.2, above, directs you to
provide Company-wide financial
information. We now direct you to
provide financial information at the
Facility level. We begin by providing
cost allocation instructions. We then
direct you to provide the results of the
cost allocation process. We also direct
you to provide Annual Total Expenses
for ICS at each Facility as well as
Facility-specific demand and revenue
data. In particular, this subsection seeks
Inmate Calling Service demand,
revenue, and expense information
allocated by Facility in accordance with
the cost allocation instructions set forth
below.
a. Cost Allocation Instructions
In Part IV.C.2, above, we direct you to
allocate your Company-wide
investments and expenses to Inmate
Calling Services, among other services,
in accordance with certain instructions.
We now provide instructions on how
you are to allocate the Company-wide
investments and expenses allocated to
Inmate Calling Services among the
Facilities at which the Company
provides Calling Services to
incarcerated people.
To the extent possible, you must
assign or allocate Company-wide
investments and expenses for Inmate
Calling Services among Facilities using
the hierarchy of methods specified
below.
(1) First, to the extent possible,
directly assign investments used
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exclusively to provide Inmate Calling
Services at or for a particular Facility to
that Facility; likewise, to the extent
possible, directly assign expenses
incurred exclusively to provide Inmate
Calling Services at or for a particular
Facility to that Facility. Calculate
federal and state income taxes relative
to Inmate Calling Services for a
particular Facility as specified in 6 and
7 below.
(2) Second, group shared investments
and expenses into shared investment
and expense categories based on
business function, activity, or task.
Group common investments and
expenses into common investment and
expense categories based on business
function, activity, or task.
(a) Any investments and expenses
that are not directly assignable to a
specific Facility are shared or common
investments and expenses.
(b) Shared investments are for assets
used exclusively to provide Inmate
Calling Services at or for a specific
subset of Facilities that are not
assignable or attributable to a particular
Facility. Shared expenses are expenses
incurred solely to provide Inmate
Calling Services at or for a specific
subset of Facilities that are not
assignable or attributable to a specific
Facility.
(c) Common investments are for assets
not assignable or attributable to a
specific Facility or subset of facilities.
Common expenses are expenses that are
not assignable or attributable to a
specific Facility or subset of Facilities.
(3) Third, to the extent possible,
directly attribute categories of shared
investments and expenses, and
categories of common investments and
expenses, to particular Facilities based
on direct analysis of factors that cause
a particular business function, activity,
or task—and thus investments or
expenses—to increase or decrease.
(4) Fourth, where neither direct
assignment nor direct attribution is
possible, allocate categories of shared
investments and expenses, and
categories of common investments and
expenses, to particular Facilities based
on an indirect, cost-causative link to
another investment and expense or
another investment or expense category
(or group of categories) for which direct
assignment or attribution is possible.
(5) Fifth, where none of the methods
described above is possible, allocate
categories of shared investments and
expenses to the particular Facilities that
share the investments and expenses in
proportion to each Facility’s share of the
total of all investments or expenses
already directly assigned or attributed to
these particular Facilities. Allocate
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categories of common investments and
expenses to particular Facilities in
proportion to each Facility’s share of the
total of all investments or expenses
already directly assigned or attributed to
all Facilities.
(6) Federal income taxes: First,
subtract reported interest expense other
than interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits (and any
amount reported for other income taxrelated adjustments) from Return to
determine federal taxable income.
Second, divide the federal income tax
rate by 1 minus the federal income tax
rate to determine a federal income tax
gross-up factor. Third, multiply the
federal income tax gross-up factor by
federal taxable income to determine the
amount of federal income tax to report.
(7) State income taxes: First, add the
portion of federal income tax that is not
deductible for state income tax purposes
to federal taxable income to determine
state taxable income. Second, divide the
individual state income tax rate
applicable to a particular Facility by 1
minus the individual state income tax
rate applicable to that Facility to
determine a state income tax gross-up
factor. Third, multiply the state income
tax gross-up factor by state taxable
income to determine the amount of state
income tax to report.
The sums of the investment and
expense amounts assigned to, attributed
to, or allocated among Facilities shall
equal the total of the Company-wide
investment and expense amounts
reported for Inmate Calling Services.
The sums of the federal and state
income taxes calculated separately for
each of the Facilities shall equal the
Company-wide federal and state income
tax amounts reported for Inmate Calling
Services. Fully document, explain, and
justify all cost assignments, attributions,
and allocations in the Word template.
b. Cost Allocation Results
Report the results of your cost
assignments, attributions, and
allocations in the Excel template.
(1) Capital Assets: Report the year-end
amount related to the provision of
Inmate Calling Services at or for each
Facility for each Year of the Reporting
Period for each of the items specified
below. For Cash Working Capital (item
(h)), please report the average amount.
(a) Gross Investment;
(b) Accumulated depreciation;
(c) Accumulated amortization;
(d) Net Investment;
(e) Accumulated deferred federal
income taxes;
(f) Accumulated deferred state income
taxes;
(g) Customer prepayments or deposits;
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(h) Cash Working Capital; and
(i) Net Capital Stock.
(2) Capital Expenses and Related Tax
Information: Report the annual amount
or percentages related to the provision
of Inmate Calling Services at or for each
Facility for each Year of the Reporting
Period for each of the items specified
below.
(a) Depreciation;
(b) Amortization;
(c) Weighted Average Cost of Capital;
(d) Return;
(e) Interest other than interest paid on
customer prepayments or deposits;
(f) Interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits;
(g) Other income tax-related
adjustments;
(h) Federal taxable income;
(i) Federal income tax rate;
(j) Federal income tax gross-up factor;
(k) Federal income tax;
(l) Federal income tax not deductible
for state income tax purposes;
(m) State taxable income;
(n) State income tax rate;
(o) State income tax gross-up factor;
and
(p) State income tax.
(3) Operating Expenses: Report the
annual amount related to the provision
of Inmate Calling Services at or for each
Facility for each Year of the Reporting
Period for each of the items specified
below. Each expense must be reported
for a particular category; for example, do
not report expense incurred for
termination of International
Communication as an expense incurred
for Interstate and Intrastate
Communication. Exclude any charges
for asset impairment loss.
(a) Maintenance, repair, and
engineering of site plant, equipment,
and facilities;
(b) Origination, switching, and
transporting of Interstate, International
and Intrastate Communication and
termination of Interstate and Intrastate
Communication;
(c) Termination of International
Communication;
(d) Field service;
(e) Network operations;
(f) Call center;
(g) Data center;
(h) Security Services relating to the
Company’s ICS-Related Operations;
(i) Billing, collection, client
management, and customer care;
(j) Sales and marketing;
(k) General and administrative;
(l) Other overhead;
(m) Taxes other than income taxes;
(n) Transactions related to mergers
and acquisitions; and
(o) Bad debt.
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c. Facility-Specific Annual Total
Expenses
Report the separate Facility-specific
Annual Total Expenses for Inmate
Calling Services for each Facility at
which you provided Calling Services to
incarcerated people. Exclude reported
interest expense other than interest paid
on customer prepayments or deposits
from Annual Total Expenses. The
allowance for interest expense other
than interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits is included in
the Return component of the Annual
Total Expenses calculation. Include
reported interest paid on customer
prepayments or deposits in Annual
Total Expenses. Exclude expense
reported for termination of International
Communication from Annual Total
Expenses.
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d. Facility-Specific Demand and
Revenue Data
(1) Demand for Inmate Calling
Services: Report on the Excel template
the annual demand for Inmate Calling
Services for each Year of the Reporting
Period. Provide separate data for each
Facility at which you provided Calling
Services to incarcerated people. Annual
demand shall be expressed in the units
and for the categories specified below.
Billed and Unbilled Minutes and Calls
reported for different categories shall
sum to the relevant total reported for
Billed and Unbilled Minutes and Calls.
You must submit individual data for
each Facility even if that Facility is
covered by the same contract as other
Facilities. Those data must be specific to
the Facility in question and not simply
a repeat of data reported for other
Facilities covered by the same contract.
If you repeat or merge data across
multiple facilities covered by a single
contract, explain in the Word template
why you did so and how you reported
the data.
(a) Total Billed Calls;
(b) Billed Calls separately for (i)
Interstate Communication, (ii)
International Communication, and (iii)
Intrastate Communication;
(c) Total Unbilled Calls;
(d) Total Billed and Unbilled Calls;
(e) Total Billed Minutes;
(f) Billed Minutes separately for (i)
Interstate Communication, (ii)
International Communication, and (iii)
Intrastate Communication;
(g) Total Unbilled Minutes;
(h) Total Billed and Unbilled Minutes;
(i) Average Daily Population;
(aa) If you do not know a Facility’s
Average Daily Population, so indicate
and provide your best estimate of that
Average Daily Population. Explain the
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basis for this estimate in the Word
template.
(j) Total number of ICS accounts
opened;
(k) Total number of ICS accounts
closed;
(l) Total Admissions;
(m) Total Releases;
(n) Weekly Turnover Rate;
(o) Number of Incarcerated Person
Telephones Installed; and
(p) Number of Incarcerated Person
Kiosks Installed.
(2) Demand for Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Single-Call and
Related Services, and Third-Party
Financial Transaction Service: Report
on the Excel template the annual
demand for Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service, Single-Call and
Related Services, and Third-Party
Financial Transaction Service. Provide
separate data for each Facility at which
you provided Calling Services to
incarcerated people. Express demand
for Automated Payment Service, Live
Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement
Service as the number of Billed Uses.
Express demand for Single-Call and
Related Services and Third-Party
Financial Transaction Service as the
number of Billed Transactions. Billed
demand reported for each Facility shall
sum to the relevant total for all
Facilities.
(3) Revenues from Inmate Calling
Services: Report on the Excel template
the annual Billed Revenues from Inmate
Calling Services for each Year of the
Reporting Period. Provide separate data
for each of the categories specified
below for each Facility at which you
provided Calling Services for
incarcerated people. Billed Revenues
reported for different categories shall
sum to the relevant total reported for
Billed Revenues.
(a) Total Billed Revenues;
(b) Billed Revenues separately for (i)
Interstate Communication, (ii)
International Communication, and (iii)
Intrastate Communication;
(4) Revenues from Automated
Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
Paper Bill/Statement Service, SingleCall and Related Services, and ThirdParty Financial Transaction Service:
Report on the Excel template the annual
Billed Revenues from Automated
Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
Paper Bill/Statement Service, SingleCall and Related Services, and ThirdParty Financial Transaction Service.
Provide separate data for each Facility at
which you provided Calling Services for
incarcerated people. Billed Revenues
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reported for each Facility shall sum to
the relevant total for all Facilities.
2. Other Facility-Specific Information
The following information requires
you to report various Facility-level data
in the Excel template.
a. General Information
(1) Unique Identifier for Contract:
Enter a unique identifier for each
contract under which the Company
provides Inmate Calling Services.
(2) Counterparty to Contract: For each
contract identified above, list the name
of the party or entity that entered into
the contract with the Provider.
(3) Unique Identifier for Facility: Enter
a unique identifier for each Facility at
which the Company offers Inmate
Calling Services.
(4) Facility Address: Enter the
complete address (street address, city,
state, and ZIP Code) of the physical
location of each Facility.
(5) Facility Geographical Coordinates:
Enter the geographical coordinates of
each Facility.
(6) Facility Type (Jail or Prison):
Indicate whether each Facility is a
Prison (P) or a Jail (J).
(7) Maximum Call Duration: Enter in
minutes the Maximum Call Duration for
ICS calls originating from each Facility.
If neither the Facility nor the Company
imposes a limit on the length of ICS
calls placed from the Facility, enter ‘‘N/
A.’’
b. Site Commissions
This subsection directs you to report
Facility-specific data on Site
Commissions. You must fully allocate
all reported Site Commissions during
the Reporting Period among the
Facilities associated with each Site
Commission payment.
(1) Site Commissions: For each Year
of the Reporting Period, enter the total
amount of all Site Commissions paid by
the Company that was related to the
Facility, without regard to whether the
Site Commission was Legally Mandated,
Contractually Prescribed, Fixed,
Variable, Monetary, or In-Kind.
(a) For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the percentage of the total
Site Commissions paid by the Company
that was related to the Facility and that
was attributable to the Company’s ICSRelated Operations.
(b) List the non-ICS Products and
Services that the Company provided at
the Facility during each year of the
Reporting Period.
(c) In the Word template, identify for
each Year of the Reporting Period any
Site Commissions paid by the Company
that related to any Facility and that
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included both a monetary payment and
an in-kind payment. Provide the name
of the Facility, the entity to which you
paid the Site Commission, and the
amount of the monetary payment, and
describe in detail the in-kind payment,
including any Security Service.
(d) In the Word template, list for each
Year of the Reporting Period each entity
to which you paid a Site Commission.
Provide the name of the Facility for
which that entity is responsible and the
amount paid to that entity without
regard to whether the Site Commission
was Legally Mandated, Contractually
Prescribed, Fixed, Variable, Monetary,
or In-Kind.
(2) Legally Mandated Site
Commissions: Enter the total amount of
Legally Mandated Site Commissions
paid in connection with ICS calls from
the Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(a) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Legally Mandated Site Commissions in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility. If the Site Commissions were
paid to more than one entity, allocate
the payment between the relevant
entities.
(b) Legally Mandated Site
Commission Authority: For each year of
the Reporting Period during which you
paid Legally Mandated Site
Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility, provide a
citation to the authority requiring the
such payment.
(c) Total Monetary Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Legally
Mandated Site, Monetary Commissions
paid in connection with ICS calls from
the Facility.
(d) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Legally Mandated, Monetary Site
Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payment
between the relevant entities.
(i) Fixed Site Commissions: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of Legally Mandated Site
Commissions that were both Monetary
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid the
Legally Mandated, Fixed, Monetary Site
Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If these Site
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Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(ab) If the Legally Mandated, Fixed,
Monetary Site Commission was
imposed at the contract level (e.g., a
minimum annual guarantee due
annually under a contract covering
multiple Facilities), allocate the Site
Commission payments among all
Facilities covered by the contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe
the methodology used to allocate the
Legally Mandated, Fixed, Monetary Site
Commission payments among Facilities
covered by the contract.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year
of the Reporting Period, enter the total
amount of all Legally Mandated Site
Commissions that not only were
Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed
Site Commissions but also were paid, at
the signing of a contract or during the
first year of the contract, in connection
with the provision of ICS at the Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you made
these upfront payments. If those Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(ii) Variable Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of Legally Mandated
Site Commissions that were both
Monetary Site Commissions and
Variable Site Commissions and that
were paid in connection with ICS calls
from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Legally Mandated, Variable, Monetary
Site Commissions. If these Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(e) Total In-Kind Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Legally
Mandated Site Commissions that were
also In-Kind Site Commissions and that
were paid in connection with ICS calls
from the Facility.
(i) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Legally Mandated, In-Kind Site
Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If those Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(ii) In the Word template, describe
these in-kind payments in detail.
Specifically describe each Security
Service provided at the Facility that you
classify as an In-Kind Site Commission
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payment. Also specifically describe any
other payment, gift, exchange of services
or goods, fee, technology allowance, or
product provided the Facility that you
classify as an In-Kind Site Commission
payment.
(iii) Fixed Site Commissions: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of Legally Mandated Site
Commissions that were both In-Kind
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Legally Mandated, Fixed, In-Kind Site
Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(ab) If the Legally Mandated, Fixed,
In-Kind Site Commission was imposed
at the contract level (e.g., a minimum
annual guarantee due annually under a
contract covering multiple Facilities),
allocate the Site Commission among all
Facilities covered by the contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe
the methodology used to allocate the
Legally Mandated, Fixed, In-Kind Site
Commission payments among Facilities
covered by the contract.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year
of the Reporting Period, enter the total
amount of all Legally Mandated Site
Commissions that not only were In-Kind
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions but also were paid, at the
signing of a contract or during the first
year of the contract, in connection with
the provision of ICS at the Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you made
these upfront payments. If those Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(iv) Variable Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the amount of Legally Mandated Site
Commissions that were both In-Kind
Site Commissions and Variable Site
Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Legally Mandated, Variable, In-Kind
Site Commissions. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(3) Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions: Enter the total amount of
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Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid in connection with
ICS calls from the Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions Site Commissions in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility. If the Site Commissions were
paid to more than one entity, allocate
the payment among the relevant
entities.
(b) Total Monetary Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Contractually
Prescribed, Monetary Site Commissions
paid related to the Facility.
(i) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed, Monetary Site
Commissions. If the Site Commissions
were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the
relevant entities.
(ii) Fixed Site Commissions: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
total amount of Contractually Prescribed
Site Commissions that were both
Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed
Site Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed, Fixed,
Monetary Site Commissions in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility. If these Site Commissions were
paid to more than one entity, allocate
the payments among the relevant
entities
(ab) If the Contractually Prescribed,
Fixed, Monetary Site Commission was
imposed at the contract level (e.g., a
minimum annual guarantee due
annually under a contract covering
multiple Facilities), allocate the Site
Commission among all Facilities
covered by the contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe
the methodology used to allocate the
Contractually Prescribed, Fixed,
Monetary Site Commission payments
among Facilities covered by the
contract.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year
of the Reporting Period, enter the total
amount of all Contractually Prescribed
Site Commissions that not only were
Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed
Site Commissions but also were paid, at
the signing of a contract or during the
first year of the contract, in connection
with the provision of ICS at the Facility.
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(aaa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which made these
upfront payments. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(iii) Variable Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions that were
both Monetary Site Commissions and
Variable Site Commissions and that
were paid in connection with ICS calls
from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed, Variable,
Monetary Site Commissions. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(c) Total In-Kind Site Commissions:
For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions that were
also In-Kind Site Commissions and that
were paid related in connection with
ICS calls from the Facility.
(i) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed, In-Kind Site
Commissions. If the Site Commissions
were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the
relevant entities.
(ii) In the Word template, describe
these in-kind payments in detail.
Specifically describe each Security
Service provided at the Facility that you
classify as an In-Kind Site Commission
payment. Also specifically describe any
other payment, gift, exchange of services
or goods, fee, technology allowance, or
product provided the Facility that you
classify as an In-Kind Site Commission
payment.
(iii) Fixed Site Commissions: For each
Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
amount of Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions that were both In-Kind
Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, In-Kind
Site Commissions in connection with
ICS calls from the Facility. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(ab) If the Contractually Prescribed,
Fixed, In-Kind Site Commission was
imposed at the contract level (e.g., a
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minimum annual guarantee due
annually under a contract covering
multiple Facilities), allocate the Site
Commission among all Facilities
covered by the contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe
the methodology used to allocate the
Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, In-Kind
Site Commission payments among
Facilities.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year
of the Reporting Period, enter the
amount of all Contractually Prescribed
Site Commissions that not only were InKind Site Commissions and Fixed Site
Commissions but also were paid, at the
signing of a contract or during the first
year of the contract, in connection with
the provision of ICS at the Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you made
these upfront payments. If those Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(iv) Variable Site Commissions: For
each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the amount of Contractually Prescribed
Site Commissions that were both InKind Site Commissions and Variable
Site Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the name of the
entity or entities to which you paid
Contractually Prescribed, Variable, InKind Site Commissions. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among
the relevant entities.
(4) Site Commission Allocation
Methodology: In the Word template,
fully describe, document, explain, and
justify the allocation methodology you
used to allocate Site Commission
payments between your ICS and nonICS operations at each Facility during
each Year of the Reporting Period in
situations where you made Site
Commission payments for both ICS and
non-ICS Operations.
c. Security Services Not Classified as
Site Commissions
Reporting in response to the following
questions (1) through (4) must be
exclusive of the data reported in
connection with Site Commissions to
prevent double-counting.
(1) On the Excel template, fully
allocate and report the total dollar
amount of costs the Company incurred
to provide the following categories of
services at each Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Law enforcement support services
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(i) In the Word template, for each
Facility and for each Year of the
Reporting Period, identify by name and
describe each service you classify as a
law enforcement support service,
including a description of the specific
tasks and functions covered by this
service and whether you routinely offer
this service in connection with ICS.
(b) Call security services
(i) In the Word template, for each
Facility and for each Year of the
Reporting Period, identify by name and
describe each service you classify as a
call security service, including a
description of the specific tasks and
functions covered by this service and
whether you routinely offer this service
in connection with ICS.
(c) Call recording services
(i) In the Word template, for each
Facility and for each Year of the
Reporting Period, identify by name and
describe each service you classify as a
call recording service, including a
description of the specific tasks and
functions covered by this service and
whether you routinely offer this service
in connection with ICS.
(d) Call monitoring services
(i) In the Word template, for each
Facility and for each Year of the
Reporting Period, identify by name and
describe each service you classify as a
call monitoring service, including a
description of the specific tasks and
functions covered by this service
whether you routinely offer this service
in connection with ICS.
(e) Voice biometrics services
(i) In the Word template, for each
Facility and for each Year of the
Reporting Period, identify by name and
describe each service you classify as a
voice biometric service, including a
description of the specific tasks and
functions covered by this service and
whether you routinely offer this service
in connection with ICS.
(f) Other Security Services
(i) In the Word template, for each
Facility and for each Year of the
Reporting Period, identify by name and
describe each Security Service that is
not included in one of the foregoing
subcategories, including a description of
the specific tasks and functions covered
by each service and whether you
routinely offer each service in
connection with ICS.
(2) In the Word template, specifically
describe each Security Service you
provided at the Facility that you do not
classify as a Site Commission and that
is not offered in connection with ICS.
(3) In the Word template, specifically
describe any other payment, gift,
exchange of goods or services, fee,
technology allowance, or product
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provided for security purposes at the
Facility that you do not classify as a Site
Commission payment.
(4) In the Word template, fully
describe, document, explain, and justify
the allocation methodology you use to
allocate the costs of your Security
Services between ICS and non-ICS
operations at each Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period in
situations where Security Services
offered by you also shared elements or
overlapped with your non-ICS
operations at each Facility.
d. Ancillary Services Information
(1) Automated Payment Fee
Revenues: Enter the amount of
Automated Payment Fee Revenues the
Accounting Entity received from
Customers for ICS calls originating in
the Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(2) Automated Payment Fees Paid to
An Affiliate: Enter the amount of
Automated Payment Fee revenue the
Accounting Entity paid to any non-ICS
Affiliate for ICS calls originating in the
Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(3) Affiliates Used in Providing
Automated Payment Service: List each
Affiliate, if any, that the Accounting
Entity used in providing its Automated
Payment Service at each Facility for
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(4) Third Parties Used in Providing
Automated Payment Service: List each
Third Party, if any, that the Accounting
Entity used in providing its Automated
Payment Service at each Facility for
each Year of the Reporting Period and
enter the amount of Automated Pay
Service for which the Company was
billed by each listed Third Party at each
Facility for each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(5) Automated Payment Fees and
Third-Party Transaction Fees Charged
in the Same Transaction: In the Word
template and for each Facility for each
Year of the Reporting Period, identify
any transactions for which both
Automated Payment Fees and ThirdParty Transaction Fees were charged,
describe the services provided for the
transaction, and apportion the fees
charged for the services provided for
each.
(6) Payment Card Processing Revenue
for Automated Payment Fees: Of the
amount reported for Automated
Payment Fee Revenue above, enter the
amount of that revenue attributable to
payment card processing fees charged in
connection with calls at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
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16585
(a) In the Word template, describe
these payment card processing
functions performed at each Facility,
including whether they were performed
by the Provider, an Affiliate, or a Third
Party. If such functions were performed
by an Affiliate or Third Party, identify
the Affiliate or Third Party.
(7) Fees for Single-Call and Related
Services: Enter the amount of Fees for
Single-Call and Related Services the
Accounting Entity received from
Customers in connection with its ICSRelated Operations at the Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(8) Single-Call and Related Services
Revenues Paid to An Affiliate: Enter the
amount of revenues from Fees for
Single-Call and Related Services
Customers paid to any Affiliate for ICS
calls originating in the Facility during
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(9) Entities Charging the Accounting
Entity for Billing Services: List each
entity that charged the Accounting
Entity for billing services for Single-Call
and Related services at each Facility for
each year during the Reporting Period.
Indicate whether each listed entity is a
Third Party.
(10) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for
Billing Services: Enter the amount the
Accounting Entity paid to a Third Party
for billing services in connection with
Single-Call and Related Services at each
Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(11) Single-Call and Related Services
Fees Passed through to Customers: Enter
the amount the Accounting Entity paid
to Third Parties for billing services in
connection with Single-Call and Related
Services that the Company passed
through to Customers at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(12) Amounts Paid to Other Entities
for Billing Services: Enter the amount
the Accounting Entity paid to entities
other than Third Parties for billing
services in connection with Single-Call
and Related Services at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(13) Amounts Paid to Other Entities
for Billing Services Passed Through to
Customers: Enter the amount the
Accounting Entity paid to entities other
than Third Parties for billing services in
connection with Single-Call and Related
Services that the Company passed
through to Customers at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(14) Other Entities that Charged
Customers for Single-Call and Related
Services: In the Word template, state
whether any entity other than the
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Company charged Customers SingleCall and Related Services Fees in
connection with the Company’s ICSRelated Operations at each Facility for
each Year during the Reporting Period.
If so, list each such entity, indicate
whether each listed entity is a Third
Party, and provide the amount of such
fees each listed entity charged
Customers at each Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(15) Live Agent Fees: Enter the
amount of Live Agent Fee revenue the
Accounting Entity received from
Customers in connection with its ICSRelated Operations at the Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(16) Affiliates Used to Provide Live
Agent Service: List each Affiliate, if any,
that the Accounting Entity used in
providing its Live Agent Service at each
Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(17) Third Parties Used to Provide
Live Agent Service: List each Third
Party, if any, that the Accounting Entity
used in providing its Live Agent Service
at each Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(18) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for
Live Agent Service: Enter the amount
the Accounting Entity paid to each
listed Third Party for Live Agent Service
at each Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(19) Live Agent Fee Revenue Paid to
an Affiliate: Enter the amount of Live
Agent Fee revenues the Accounting
Entity paid to any non-ICS Affiliate for
ICS calls originating in the Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(20) Paper Bill/Statement Fee
Revenue: Enter the amount of Paper
Bill/Statement Fee revenue generated by
calls originating in the Facility during
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(21) Affiliates Used to Provide Paper
Bill/Statement Service: List each
Affiliate, if any, that the Accounting
Entity used in providing its Paper Bill/
Statement Fee Service at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(22) Third Parties Used to Provide
Paper Bill/Statement Service: List each
Third Party, if any, that the Accounting
Entity used in providing its Paper Bill/
Statement Service at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(23) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for
Paper Bill/Statement Service: Enter the
amount the Accounting Entity paid to
each listed Third Party for Paper Bill/
Statement Service at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
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(24) Paper Bill/Statement Fee
Revenue Paid to an Affiliate: Enter the
amount of Paper Bill/Statement Fee
revenue paid by the Accounting Entity
to any non-ICS Affiliate for ICS calls
originating in the Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(25) Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees: Enter the amount of
revenue from Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees the Accounting Entity
received from Customers in connection
with its ICS-Related Operations at the
Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(26) Per-Transaction Charges for
Third-Party Transactions: Enter the pertransaction fee(s) charged to an end user
for transferring money or processing
other financial transactions to facilitate
an end user’s ability to make account
payments via a Third Party, including a
Third Party that is an Affiliate of the
Provider. For each fee, indicate whether
the Third Party receiving the payment is
an Affiliate or non-Affiliate.
(27) Payment Card Processing
Revenue from Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees: Of the amount
reported for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees above, enter the
amount of that revenue applicable to
charging Customers for payment card
processing for each Facility during each
Year during the Reporting Period.
(a) In the Word template, describe the
payment card processing services in
connection with revenue reported for
Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees,
including whether they were performed
by the Provider, an Affiliate, or a Third
Party. If such services were provided by
an Affiliate or a Third Party, identify the
Affiliate or Third Party.
(28) Entities Charging the Accounting
Entity for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services: List each entity
that charged the Accounting Entity for
providing Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services at each Facility for
each Year of the Reporting Period.
Indicate whether each listed entity is a
Third Party.
(29) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for
Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services: Enter the amount the
Accounting Entity paid to Third Parties
for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services at each Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(30) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for
Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services Passed Through to Customers:
Enter the amount the Accounting Entity
paid to Third Parties for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services that the
Company passed through to Customers
at each Facility for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
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(31) Amounts Paid to Other Entities
for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services: Enter the amount the
Accounting Entity paid to entities other
than Third Parties for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services at each
Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(32) Amounts Paid to Other Entities
for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services Passed Through to Customers:
Enter the amount the Accounting Entity
paid to entities other than Third Parties
for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services that the Company passed
through to Customers at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(33) Other Entities that Charged
Customers for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services: In the Word
template, state whether any entity other
than the Company charged Customers
for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services in connection with the
Company’s ICS-Related Operations at
each Facility for each Year of the
Reporting Period. If so, list each such
entity and provide the amount of such
fees each listed entity charged
Customers at each Facility for each Year
of the Reporting Period.
(34) Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees Paid to an Affiliate:
Enter the amount of Third-Party
Financial Transaction Fees paid by the
Accounting Entity to any non-ICS
Affiliate for ICS calls originating in the
Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
V. Certification Form
Each Provider of Inmate Calling
Services must submit a signed
certification form as part of its
Mandatory Data Collection response.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or other
senior executive of the Provider must
complete the form and certify that,
based the executive’s own reasonable
inquiry, that all statements and
information contained in the Provider’s
Mandatory Data Collection response are
true, accurate, and complete. The
Certification Form is Appendix C to
these instructions.
(1) Name of Service Provider: Provide
the name under which the Provider
offers ICS. If the Provider offers ICS
under more than one name, provide all
relevant names.
(2) Reporting Years: Provide the
relevant time period for the information
the certification covers.
(3) Officer Name, Title: Provide the
name and title of the officer completing
the certification form. The officer must
be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
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Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or other
senior executive of the Provider who
can attest to the truthfulness, accuracy,
and completeness of the information
provided.
(4) Mailing Address of Officer:
Provide the business mailing address of
the officer identified in item (3).
(5) Telephone Number: Provide the
business telephone number, with area
code, of the officer identified in item (3).
(6) Email Address: Provide the
business email address of the officer
identified in item (3).
(7) Certification: This section requires
the person who signs the certification
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form on behalf of the Provider to
declare, under penalty of perjury, that
(1) the signatory is an officer of the
above-named Provider and is authorized
to submit the attached Mandatory Data
Collection response on behalf of the
Provider; (2) the signatory has examined
the attached Mandatory Data Collection
response and determined that all
requested information has been
provided; and (3) based on information
known to the signatory, or provided to
the signatory by employees responsible
for the information being submitted, and
on the signatory’s own reasonable
inquiry, all statements and information
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contained in the Provider’s Mandatory
Data Collection response are true,
accurate, and complete.
(8) Signature of Authorized Officer:
The signature of the officer identified in
item (3) is required in this block.
(9) Date: The date the officer
identified in item (3) signs the form is
required in this block.
(10) Printed Name of Authorized
Officer: The printed name of the officer
identified in item (3) is required in this
block.
[FR Doc. 2022–05359 Filed 3–22–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16560-16587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05359]
[[Page 16559]]
Vol. 87
Wednesday,
No. 56
March 23, 2022
Part II
Federal Communications Commission
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47 CFR Part 64
Third Mandatory Data Collection for Calling Services for Incarcerated
People; Final Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 16560]]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 64
[WC Docket No. 12-375, DA 22-52; FRS 69893]
Third Mandatory Data Collection for Calling Services for
Incarcerated People
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of Economics
and Analytics (WCB/OEA) adopt an Order defining the contours and
specific requirements of the forthcoming Third Mandatory Data
Collection for calling services for incarcerated people.
DATES: The effective date of the Order is delayed indefinitely. The
Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the
Federal Register announcing the effective date once the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has provided the approval required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WC Docket No. 12-375,
by any of the following methods:
Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: https://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and one copy of each filing.
Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission.
Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive,
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.
U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority
mail must be addressed to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the
Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings.
This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety
of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. See FCC
Announces Closure of FCC Headquarters Open Window and Change in Hand-
Delivery Policy, Public Notice, DA 20-304 (March 19, 2020). https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-closes-headquarters-open-window-and-changes-hand-delivery-policy.
People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible
formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic
files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or call the
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (TTY).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik Raven-Hansen, Pricing Policy
Division of the Wireline Competition Bureau, at (202) 418-1532 or via
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the FCC's Order, DA 22-
52, released January 18, 2022. The full text of this Order is available
at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-22-52A1.pdf.
I. Introduction
1. By this Order, the WCB/OEA adopt instructions, a reporting
template, and a certification form to implement a Third Mandatory Data
Collection related to calling services for incarcerated people. The
reporting template consists of a Word document and Excel spreadsheets.
For simplicity, the Commission refers to these respective portions of
the reporting template as the Word template and the Excel template. The
Commission's actions today largely adopt the proposals contained in the
Third MDC Proposal document, with certain refinements and reevaluations
responsive to record comments.
II. Background
2. In the 2021 ICS Order, the Commission directed WCB/OEA to
develop a new data collection ``related to providers' operations,
costs, demand, and revenues.'' The Commission has conducted two prior
mandatory data collections (MDCs) relating to inmate calling services
(calling services or ICS) in the past--the 2014 First Mandatory Data
Collection and the 2019 Second Mandatory Data Collection. The
Commission explained that it would use the collected information to set
permanent interstate and international inmate calling services
provider-related rate caps that more closely reflect providers' costs
of serving correctional facilities. The Commission also emphasized that
the information would enable it to evaluate and, if warranted, revise
the current caps for ancillary service charges.
3. The Commission delegated authority to WCB/OEA to implement this
Third Mandatory Data Collection and directed WCB/OEA to develop a
template and instructions for the collection. The Commission also
directed WCB/OEA to consider suggestions in the record regarding, among
other matters, data granularity, cost allocation, and specificity in
definitions and instructions in designing the data collection, and ``to
require each provider to fully explain and justify each step of its
costing process'' including, where appropriate, ``to specify the
methodology the provider shall use in any or all of those steps.''
4. Pursuant to this delegation, WCB/OEA developed proposals for the
Third Mandatory Data Collection and issued a Public Notice seeking
comments on all aspects of the proposed collection. Concurrently,
pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Commission
published a document in the Federal Register seeking comment on
potential burdens of the proposed one-time reporting requirements.
5. The Commission received comments from numerous ICS providers,
public interest advocates, and other interested parties in response to
the Public Notice, and one comment on the PRA document. The Commission
received comments or reply comments in response to this Public Notice
from Benj Azose; Global Tel*Link Corporation (GTL); NCIC Inmate
Communications (NCIC); Pay Tel Communications, Inc. (Pay Tel); Prison
Policy Initiative, Inc. (PPI); Securus Technologies, LLC (Securus);
Worth Rises; and the Wright Petitioners, the Benton Institute for
Broadband & Society, and Public Knowledge (collectively, Public
Interest Parties). GTL filed the comment in response to the PRA Notice.
Recently, GTL issued a press release announcing it had changed its name
to ViaPath Technologies. For purposes of this Order, to avoid confusion
with reference to the record, the Commission will continue to refer to
this entity as GTL. The Commission has thoroughly considered all of
these filings in implementing this final data collection. The
Commission has also made a small number of minor conforming edits to
the instructions and reporting template to, for example, ensure
consistency in the use of defined terms.
III. Discussion
A. Implementing the Third Mandatory Data Collection
6. Pursuant to delegated authority, the Commission adopts the
instructions, template, and certification form to implement the Third
Mandatory Data Collection. Commenters generally
[[Page 16561]]
support the broad contours and specific requirements of the data
collection as proposed in Third MDC Proposal document. In particular,
the Commission received neither any comments criticizing the proposal
to adopt separate Word- and Excel-formatted template forms, nor any
proposals for an alternative organization or reporting structure. The
Commission therefore implements the proposed structure.
7. Commenters did, however, offer suggestions to ``improve the
quality, accuracy, and utility of the data collected.'' In response to
these suggestions, the Commission has reevaluated some of the proposals
and refined certain aspects of the instructions and templates, as set
forth in greater detail below. These refinements include expanding the
reporting period for cost data from one year to three years, revising
certain proposed definitions, revamping the reporting of costs related
to site commissions and security services, and reorganizing the
reporting of operating expenses. The Commission concludes that these
and the other modifications the Commission makes appropriately balance
the need for ``detailed and specific instructions and templates'' and
the desire to avoid unduly burdening providers. This conclusion is
consistent with the Commission's finding in the 2021 ICS Order that the
benefits of conducting this data collection ``far outweigh any burden
on providers'' given the ``adverse impact that unreasonably high rates
and ancillary services charges have on incarcerated people and those
family and loved ones they call.'' Commenters reinforce this Commission
finding. In particular, commenters highlight the importance of the
Third Mandatory Data Collection considering that the ``flaws in prior
data collections impeded meaningful rate-setting analysis and,
ultimately, led to the Third MDC.''
8. In finalizing the requirements for the data collection, the
Commission does not resolve issues that are pending in the ICS
rulemaking, such as the extent to which security costs are or are not
related to ICS, or whether the Commission should change its rules, as
some parties have suggested. As the Commission explained in the 2021
ICS Order, the purpose of this data collection is to provide the
Commission with sufficient information to resolve various issues it is
considering as part of that rulemaking, including the adoption of
permanent interstate and international rate caps. Therefore, the
Commission agrees with Worth Rises and others that this Order ``is not
the proper administrative vehicle'' to revise the scope of the data
collection or change Commission rules. In this regard, the Commission
disagrees with GTL's suggestion that the Commission already has or will
get certain information regarding, for example, ``site commission
payments, correctional facilities served, and annual ICS and ancillary
service charge revenues'' from the ICS Annual Reports. As the
Commission explained in the 2021 ICS Order, ``while the Annual Reports
contain useful and relevant marketplace information on providers' rates
and charges, the Commissions disagrees with the contention that the
Annual Reports provide sufficient data to establish just and reasonable
interstate inmate calling services rates.'' The Commission does not
revisit this view here. The Annual Reports do not require the type of
detailed and disaggregated cost reporting that the Commission requires
in this data collection, which the Commission has determined is an
``essential prerequisite to adopting permanent interstate rate caps for
both provider-related and facility-related costs.''
9. In the sections that follow, the Commission first addresses
proposals to change specific data requests and then turns to proposals
for more general revisions to the instructions.
B. Specific Data Requests
1. Categories of Information Requested
10. The Commission adopts a requirement for ICS providers to report
customer prepayments separately and modify the definition and thus the
calculation of ``Net Capital Stock'' to reflect the subtraction of
customer deposits. PPI proposes this additional reporting requirement
because ``customer prepayments are a material balance-sheet item for
ICS carriers.'' The Commission finds that customer prepayments are a
source of non-investor supplied capital that should be subtracted from
the providers' net capital stock because providers are able to use
these monies to finance their operations. This subtraction treats
customer deposits as zero interest, non-investor supplied capital,
since the return on net capital stock reflected in the providers'
annual total expenses will be reduced in proportion to the reduction in
net capital stock. The Commission also requires providers to report the
interest, if any, paid on customer prepayments separately from other
interest expenses; and the Commission allows providers to add the
interest paid on the customer deposits directly to their capital
expense and annual total expenses. The Commission modifies the
definition of ``Capital Expenses'' to make this clear.
2. Factors Affecting the Costs of Providing Interstate and
International Inmate Calling Services
11. In the Third MDC Proposal document, the Commission sought
feedback about the types of data it should collect to help it
understand the factors that affect the costs of providing interstate
and international calling services at the facility level. The
Commission proposed to collect data on billed minutes, unbilled
minutes, average daily population (ADP), the number of telephones and
kiosks installed, the opening and closing of accounts, admissions,
releases, and weekly turnover rate. Based on record support, the
Commission finds it appropriate to collect information on each of these
metrics, including figures for new account generation and account
termination. Securus argues that it would be sufficient to collect only
ADP and data on the opening and closing of accounts while GTL asserts
that the number of kiosks or telephones and account generation and
termination are inaccurate indicators of demand. GTL asks us to rely
solely on billed and unbilled minutes to determine demand. The
Commission declines to implement these proposals. As an initial matter,
the ADP reported for a facility may not always accurately indicate the
demand for ICS at the facility or otherwise fully capture the factors
affecting providers' costs. Thus, other metrics are critical in
assessing cost causality. Obtaining data on activities like account
set-up and termination will help the Commission understand if and how
such activities impact providers' costs. In view of the above, the
Commission finds GTL's suggestion that it can rely solely on billed and
unbilled minutes too narrow. Instead, the Commission finds that
collecting additional information on facility population metrics and
account generation and termination will help the Commission better
understand the providers' cost structures, including at relatively
small facilities.
12. The Commission further adopts the proposal to require providers
to submit weekly turnover rate data, where it is available. These data
will supplement, and help the Commission correct potential flaws in,
other population metrics (i.e., facility-level ADP data and the figures
for account generation and account termination). Some commenters
disagree with this approach, arguing that it will impose a significant
burden on providers because the facilities keep the pertinent data and
[[Page 16562]]
often lag in reporting the measures, leaving ICS providers without a
reliable way to track arrests and releases. Given the record evidence
indicating that turnover rates may play a significant role in cost
causality at smaller facilities, these data are important. Providers
can work with the respective facilities they serve to compile this data
where providers otherwise have no other way to ascertain it. The
Commission therefore declines the suggestion that the Commission
refrains from collecting turnover data, where available, simply because
such data may not be available for all facilities. The Commission
concludes that the various population measures the Commission adopts
collectively supplement one-another and will help the Commission
understand provider cost drivers, particularly at smaller jails.
3. Site Commission Data
13. The Commission takes a series of steps to reform the proposals
concerning site commission data in response to the record in an effort
to obtain more detailed and disaggregated information. First,
consistent with the Commission's actions in the 2021 ICS Order, the
Commission adopts the proposal to require ICS providers to categorize
their site commission payments as either legally mandated or
contractually prescribed for each of calendar years 2019 through 2021.
GTL claims that requiring this categorization for three calendar years
would impose a significant burden on providers because they had no
obligation to separate site commission payments before the rules
adopted in the 2021 ICS Order became effective on October 26, 2021. The
Commission finds that GTL's characterization of the burden is
overstated. Once a provider establishes whether site commission
payments were legally mandated or contractually prescribed as of
October 26, 2021, the additional burden of determining their
categorization during earlier portions of the reporting period should
be relatively minor, particularly where the provider operated under the
same facility contract for the prior two years.
14. Second, after considering record comments, generally, regarding
the proposed site commission data and various ways of supplementing
reportable site commission data, the Commission modifies, on its own
motion, the instructions and reporting requirements for site
commissions to require providers to disaggregate their reported site
commission payment information between monetary and in-kind payments
and, further, between fixed and variable payments. The Commission
likewise requires providers to disclose each entity to which they pay
site commissions at each facility in any fashion, and the amount of the
same. The Commission finds that this additional disaggregated
information will improve the Commission's understanding of the market
and the role that site commissions play in the provision of inmate
calling services.
15. Third, the Commission adopts Securus's proposal that it require
providers to identify and report up-front site commission payments at
the beginning of a contract as a subset of fixed site commissions. The
Commission agrees that this information will ``provide a more accurate
picture of overall site commissions,'' and the Commission finds that
the associated burden on providers will be minimal.
16. The Commission also adopts a new requirement instructing
providers to explain how they allocate site commission payments between
ICS and non-ICS operations. The Commission agrees with PPI that this
will resolve uncertainty in situations where carriers make site
commission payments for both ICS and non-ICS services. Gathering this
information is also consistent with the directive that the Commission
ensure providers allocate common expenses between their ICS operations
and other operations. Although Securus urges us to reject this
proposal, claiming that it will ``further inject[ ] the Commission into
unregulated services over which it has no jurisdiction,'' this
information will help the Commission determine what portion, if any, of
site commission payments are properly attributable to ICS.
17. The Commission rewords the instructions on the allocation of
site commissions at the facility level to correct for a loophole that
could otherwise result in some of a provider's total site commission
payments not being allocated to any facility. Specifically, the
Commission instructs providers to fully allocate any reported site
commissions among the facilities associated with each site commission
payment during the reporting period. One commenter suggests that the
Commission should require providers to identify the contract that
governs ICS at each facility and require disclosure of the amounts and
types of site commissions paid under that contract so that the
Commission may understand instances where site commission payments were
received by non-facility entities such as a governmental agency. The
Commission adopts the requirement for providers to report each entity
to which they pay site commissions at each facility in any fashion, and
the amount of the same as a less burdensome alternative that will help
clarify site commission allocations at the facility level.
18. The Commission declines to adopt additional reporting
requirements regarding how site commission payments are spent or how
the expenditures are related to ICS. To be useful, such information
would need to be broken down into categories similar to those that the
Commission requires for provider costs. In addition, providers would
most likely have to obtain this detailed categorized information from
facility administrators, who, in turn, would have to expend significant
efforts in compiling the requested information. In many cases, these
administrators may be reluctant to provide accurate information about
their use, especially where it bears no relationship to inmate calling.
Given these circumstances, the Commission declines to require providers
to collect and report this information.
4. Information on Security Services
19. In the Third MDC Proposal document, the Commission proposed to
require providers to report their security costs in connection with
their ICS and non-ICS-related operations as part of their reporting on
site commission payments and sought comment on a number of associated
issues. After considering the comments, the Commission expands the data
collection to include additional inquiries regarding providers'
security and surveillance services outside the site commission section,
including inquiries requiring narrative explanations describing such
services. ICS providers should be mindful that any reporting in the
separate subcategories outside the Site Commissions section must be
exclusive of the data reported in connection with site commissions to
prevent double-counting of security and surveillance costs. This
approach is consistent with Worth Rises' and the Public Interest
Parties' arguments that the collection should capture all security
costs, not just those incurred in the context of site commission
payments, since many security and surveillance costs would be excluded
under the proposed instructions. The Commission agrees and revises the
instructions accordingly.
20. The Commission declines, however, to adopt a proposal that it
collect more detailed information on security and surveillance costs
spanning over 30 suggested categories of information. The Commission
agrees with certain ICS providers that the requested level of
granularity would be
[[Page 16563]]
overly burdensome. The Commission similarly declines to collect
security and surveillance costs data ``at a granular level without ICS
provider labeling'' or a breakdown of security costs included and
excluded from in-kind site commission payments as requested by another
commenter. The Commission invites providers to include in their written
responses in the Word template any information they have that would be
responsive to Worth Rises' requests. While the collection of robust
security and surveillance cost data is a critical component of this
data collection, the Commission finds that further granularity in
reported security costs is unnecessary in light of the revisions it
incorporates into the security and surveillance data collection as well
as the adoption of instructions that require ICS providers to submit
narrative explanations of such costs and cost allocations. The
Commission directs providers to include in their narrative responses
any information they have that would provide more granular information
about their security and surveillance costs.
21. Finally, the Commission declines to address the issue of what
categories, if any, of security and surveillance costs may be
recoverable through interstate and international ICS rates. That issue
is expressly teed up in the Commission's 2021 ICS Notice and is a
matter for the Commission to decide as part of its rulemaking
proceeding. The record confirms it is not the proper subject of this
data collection Bureau-level Order.
5. Ancillary Service Charges Data
22. Although the Commission declines to modify the definition of
``Revenue-Sharing Agreement'' as discussed below, the Commission
revises the instructions to require providers to identify the payor and
payee in each Revenue-Sharing Agreement, as requested by PPI. The
Commission agrees that this additional information indicating the flow
of funds between such entities will shed useful light on revenue-
sharing practices and help the Commission better understand how the
marketplace for these agreements functions.
6. Other Proposals
23. Video Calling Services. One commenter requests that the
Commission expands the data collection to require the reporting of
detailed cost and other data specifically on providers' video calling
services. As an initial matter, the Commission requires providers to
report costs for non-ICS services, including any video services they
offer. The Commission declines, however, to require providers to report
detailed cost and other data on video services at this time. In GTL v.
FCC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
(D.C. Circuit) vacated the Commission's reporting requirements related
to video calling, finding that the Commission had not sufficiently
explained how its statutory authority extends to such services. The
Commission has not reached this question on remand. The Commission made
no reference to video services in the guidelines it directed WCB/OEA to
use in developing the data collection.
24. Additional Data Concerning Contracts. The Commission also
declines to adopt requests that it collect all contracts between ICS
providers and correctional facilities. Although collection of all, or a
sample of, such contracts might assist the interpretation of facility-
level data, the Commission finds at this time that the burden on
providers of such a collection would outweigh any possible benefits,
and would substantially increase the administrative burdens associated
with processing the related data. Given that the Commission has
authority to ask providers to produce specific contracts at any time if
the need arises, the Commission declines to impose such an obligation
at this time. The Commission made no reference to video services in the
guidelines it directed WCB/OEA to use in developing the data
collection.
25. Information Concerning Patent Assets/Royalty Expenditures. The
Commission is not persuaded to expand the collection to obtain
information concerning the potential use of patents as a tool for
dominant carriers to prevent competition, as one commenter asks. The
commenter does not articulate why or how the information it requests,
such as the identity of the payor/licensor or a copy of any contract,
would aid the Commission's review of inmate calling services costs and
pricing. The Commission also finds that the production of this
information would lie outside the scope of this collection while unduly
burdening providers. Accordingly, the Commission declines to require
providers to submit information regarding patents.
26. Miscellaneous. The Commission revises all references to
``credit card'' in the instructions and templates to instead refer to
``payment card,'' a change that will avoid confusion and help us obtain
data associated with both debit and credit cards. The Commission
clarifies that this adopted revision only relates to this data
collection and does not extend to definitions contained in the
Commission's rules. The Commission, declines, however, to create three
new call categories: (1) Traditional billed calls (paid for by end
users), (2) facility-paid calls, and (3) unbilled calls (for which
carriers receive no compensation). The Commission finds the creation of
these new reporting categories unnecessary and that the burdens
associated with requiring providers to classify each call into one of
these three new categories outweigh the potential benefits.
27. The Commission revises the relevant portions of the
instructions to require providers to submit individual-facility data
where multiple facilities are covered by a single contract. As the
record reflects, providers with multi-facility contracts often merge or
repeat the same data for several facilities covered by a single
contract. Where the responsive data are available, ICS providers must
submit individual data for each facility even if that facility is
covered by the same contract as other facilities. The Commission
declines, however, a request to require providers to submit separate,
unredacted site commission data. Although certain site commission data
may be publicly available, the Commission cannot properly prejudge
potential provider requests for confidential treatment of other site
commission data. Instead, any such requests will be evaluated in
accordance with the Protective Order in this proceeding. Filings
containing legitimate confidential information can be appropriately
redacted and filed pursuant to the guidance and limitations set forth
in the Protective Order and the standard set forth in section 0.459 of
the Commission's rules.
28. The Commission also implements the proposal to allow ICS
providers to elect whether to use the default weighted average cost of
capital (WACC) of 9.75% or an alternative WACC. If an ICS provider
chooses to use a higher alternative WACC, the provider must submit a
narrative response fully documenting and justifying the alternative.
The Commission reminds providers that if they elect to claim a WACC
greater than 9.75% and do not fully document, explain, and justify
their calculations, then WCB/OEA may apply the default WACC of 9.75%
instead. The Commission agrees with the Public Interest Parties'
argument that an adequate response requires providers to submit
calculations and work papers as both are necessary to establish that
the provider's alternative WACC estimate reflects the provider's own
and a demonstrably comparable-group of firms' financial data and
economic circumstances, the use of widely accepted methods to estimate
debt and equity costs and capital
[[Page 16564]]
structure, and the collective risks of providing ICS, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement Service, as
specified in the instructions.
C. General Revisions Related to the Adopted Instructions
1. Definitions
29. Accounting Entity, Affiliate, Business Segment, and Company.
The Commission adopts the definitions of ``Accounting Entity,''
``Affiliate,'' ``Business Segment,'' and ``Company'' set forth in the
proposed instructions. Although the Commission appreciate concerns that
these definitions could be read to allow selective reporting that would
adversely affect the results of the data collection, as the Commission
explains, the Commission finds it unnecessary to revise the definition
of ``Company'' to mean ```the legal entity that contains the Accounting
Entity.''' Investments and expenses to be assigned, attributed, or
allocated to or among Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other
Ancillary Services, and non-ICS Services are presumptively limited to
those investments and expenses reflected in the existing financial
reports that are routinely and specifically prepared for the accounting
entity for management, shareholder, or creditor review. The provider
may rebut this presumption with data and analysis but faces a high bar
given the obvious incentives to shift investments and expenses to rate-
regulated services. Although the Commission appreciates concerns that
these definitions could be read to allow selective reporting that would
adversely affect the results of the data collection, the Commission
finds it unnecessary to revise the definition of ``Company'' to mean
``the legal entity that contains the Accounting Entity.'' As noted
above, this data collection is not the appropriate vehicle to modify
the Commission's existing rules. Accordingly, commenter suggestions
that urge the Commission to change the definitions of terms contained
in the Commission's rules are also outside the scope of this data
collection.
30. Accordingly, the Commission adheres to the proposal to define
``Company'' as synonymous with ``Accounting Entity,'' which means ``the
smallest group of separate Business Segments that collectively account
for 100% of the Provider's ICS-Related Operations and ICS-related
investments, expenses, and revenues.'' Together with ``Business
Segment,'' these terms ground the cost-reporting process in existing
financial reports, while allowing us to avoid the cost allocation
issues and reporting issues that adversely impacted the Commission's
earlier mandatory data collections. In contrast, the definition of
``Company'' suggested by one commenter would broaden the scope of the
cost-reporting process significantly without improving cost-reporting
results. If a calling services provider organizes its operations in a
manner aimed at inflating its reported costs of providing calling
services to incarcerated people, that fact should be apparent in the
provider's response to the data collection.
31. Security Services. The Commission revises the proposed
definition of ``Security Services'' to prevent an overinclusive reading
of the term. The revised definition is as follows: ``Security Services
means any security and surveillance system, product, or service that a
Provider supplies to a Facility, including any such system, product, or
service that allows Incarcerated Persons to make telephone calls as
permitted by the Facility; helps the Facility ensure that Incarcerated
Persons do not call persons they are not allowed to call; helps monitor
and record on-going calls; or inspects and analyzes recorded calls.
Security Services also include other related systems, products, and
services, such as a voice biometrics system, a PIN system, or a system
concerning the administration of subpoenas concerning telephone calls.
The classification of a system, product, or service as a Security
Service does not mean that it is part of a Provider's ICS-Related
Operations.'' Under the proposed definition, ``Security Services''
would include ``any security and surveillance system, product, or
service that a Provider supplies to a Facility'' as well as ``any
service that allows Incarcerated Persons to make telephone calls as
permitted by the Facility.'' As commenters explain, this proposed
definition could ``encompass a wide variety of non-security related
services'' or ``would classify all ICS costs as `security services.''
The Commission agrees that, without amendment, the definition could
skew provider responses. The revised definition removes this ambiguity,
and also addresses concerns that the proposed definition is unclear and
potentially overbroad. For further clarity, the Commission also removes
the last sentence from the proposed definition as unnecessary and
potentially confusing, in accord with comments in the record. The
related requests for information the Commission adopts ask providers to
identify and describe supplied Security Services in the context of In-
Kind Site Commissions or ICS-related Operations. ``ICS-Related
Operations means the actions or tasks performed by the Provider or
authorized personnel to deliver Inmate Calling Services and related
Ancillary Services to Incarcerated Persons and those they call,
including but not limited to billing, customer service, and other
requirements as determined by contract or by law. It excludes all Site
Commission payments, including In-Kind Site Commission payments.''
32. Revenue-Sharing Agreement. The Commission declines to adopt the
suggestion that it narrow the definition of ``Revenue-Sharing
Agreement'' so that it applies only to ``a contract for services to be
rendered by an Affiliate or Third Party, which also provides for
payments to the Provider.'' The Commission concludes that the proposed
definition is tailored to identify the general relationship between the
provider and the contracted party or parties within the specific
context identified in each of the related information requests,
including the scenarios discussed in the record. Because the definition
encompasses agreements regarding the provision of ICS or any ancillary
service that ``directly or indirectly'' result in payments to
providers, it encompasses both the practices of concern identified in
the record and any additional, as yet undisclosed, revenue sharing
practices in which providers have engaged.
33. Site Commission-Related Definitions. The Commission also does
not modify the definition of ``Monetary Site Commission'' to include
site commissions that ``take the form of a payment in money or an
equivalent accounting entry.'' Doing so would obscure the data
regarding site commissions, rather than bring clarity to it. As
proposed, the instructions intentionally delineate between monetary
site commissions and in-kind site commissions by focusing on the actual
exchange of money. This proposal would effectively reclassify an in-
kind site commission, like the provision of certain equipment, as a
monetary site commission, collapsing the distinction the Commission
intends to capture between in-kind site commissions and monetary site
commissions. The Commission does agree, however, with PPI's suggestion
that it clarify that the definition of ``Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions'' excludes legally mandated site commission payments even
when such legally mandated
[[Page 16565]]
payments are reflected in a contract. This clarification appropriately
recognizes that a contract for the provision of inmate calling services
may recite or incorporate state mandates for the payment of site
commissions that are not the type of discretionary negotiated payments
contemplated by the term ``Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions.''
34. Capital Expenses. The Commission finds it unnecessary to make
the definition of ``Capital Expenses'' more comprehensive by
specifically ``captur[ing] expenditures on intangible assets such as
technology licenses o[r] expenses on software.'' The current definition
already includes annual amounts related to the amortization of
capitalized expenditures on such intangible assets. This clarification
appropriately recognizes that a contract for the provision of inmate
calling services may recite or incorporate state mandates for the
payment of site commissions that are not the type of discretionary
negotiated payments contemplated by the term ``Contractually Prescribed
Site Commissions.''
35. Average Daily Population. On its own motion, the Commission
revises the definition of ``Average Daily Population'' to make clear
that data reported for that measure must reflect actual populations,
rather than any estimate. A provider unable to provide exact ADP data
must provide its best estimate and, in the Word template, indicate that
fact and provide the basis for its estimate.
2. Adopting a Three-Year Reporting Period
36. The Commission expands the proposed reporting period from one
year to three years for the entire Mandatory Data Collection, including
the cost data, as supported by the record. This action revises the
proposal to generally collect data for each calendar year from 2019
through 2021, but to limit the collection of cost data to only calendar
year 2021. Commenters, including both service providers and public
interest groups, convince us that collecting cost data for three years
will help prevent atypical, one-time expenses from being considered
normal company costs, which they argue is a potential downside to
collecting only a single year's cost data. This potentiality becomes
particularly acute if providers incurred large one-time costs related
to COVID-19, as the record suggests may have happened. Additionally,
the Commission finds that the difference in burden between providing
one year versus three years of cost data is marginal and far outweighed
by the benefits of collecting cost data for three years. The adoption
of a three-year reporting period also accounts for providers that argue
that data for the year 2021 is the most relevant and the best indicator
of costs. The three-year reporting period the Commission adopts
includes the year 2021 such that if that year proves most relevant, the
collected information will speak for itself. Further, the Commission
finds that adopting a consistent three-year period for all the data
requests will reduce confusion among reporting providers, as well as
include the one-year time period prior to any anomalous effects caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic. In inviting comment on the proposed
instructions and templates, the Commission asked commenters how it
should ``require providers that track costs only on a contract level to
respond.'' GTL offers no specific proposal for how the Commission could
structure contract-level reporting to avoid the issues the Commission
encountered in the Second Mandatory Data Collection. GTL argues that
this average ``grossly underestimate[s]'' providers' response times for
that data collection as outlined in that Notice. Instead of providing
an alternative estimate, GTL simply points out that it provides calling
services to over 1,900 facilities and that, even if it took only an
hour per facility to respond to the data collection, GTL alone would
spend over 1,900 hours preparing its response. The Commission rejects
GTL's argument. As the Commission has recognized, GTL is the largest
calling services provider, ``with an estimated market share approaching
50%.'' Given that market share, the Commission would expect that GTL's
total response time would far exceed any industry average, regardless
of the number of estimated hours. Nevertheless, the Commission will
update its average burden estimate to account for the additional effort
required to produce the additional two years of cost data that are now
required and the other changes made in this Order. The Commission's
revised estimate, which will be included in the subsequent PRA document
related to this data collection, will reflect the likely burden of the
data collection.
3. Rejecting Revisions to Financial Data Requests
37. The Commission adopts the proposed requests for financial data
set forth in the Public Notice and accompanying draft instructions and
template--including conformance with generally accepted accounting
principles--with a few minor exceptions suggested by the record as
reflected herein. GTL argues that the financial data requests are
``impossible to satisfy,'' are formatted specifically for dominant
carriers, and are beyond the Commission's authority. The Commission
disagrees. GTL fails to provide any specific explanation for why it
would not be able to comply with the proposed request. GTL's claims are
also contradicted by the comments of other providers, indicating that
ICS providers ``already have access'' to the requested data, and that
the requests are ``consistent with existing ICS provider recordkeeping
practices.'' The Commission agrees with PPI that any purported
similarity to accounting rules for dominant carriers is ``irrelevant,''
especially when corporations are ``frequently called upon to reformat
[accounting] information for different reporting purposes.'' Finally,
collecting this financial information is well within the Commission's
statutory authority and the authority the Commission delegated to WCB/
OEA for this collection.
38. The Commission declines one commenter's request that the
Commission eliminate the proposed reporting concerning non-ICS
services, as well as its suggestion that mandating such reporting is
beyond the Commission's authority. Collecting the requested information
regarding non-ICS services is essential if the Commission is to ensure
that, consistent with section 201(b) of the Communications Act, the
costs relied upon to set rates for regulated services--in this case,
ICS and associated ancillary services--do not include the costs of
nonregulated activities. Additionally, this information will help the
Commission verify the accuracy and reasonableness of providers' cost
allocations. Although the commenter complains of the burden involved in
providing this information, the instructions enable providers to report
non-ICS services' costs collectively, substantially reducing the
burdens that would otherwise be associated with providing more granular
information about the costs of nonregulated services. In addition, many
rows of the data requests will not apply to non-ICS services, in which
case providers only have to report amounts for relatively general
categories such as ``Maintenance, repair, and engineering of site
plant, equipment, and facilities,'' which should further limit the
burden involved. At the same time, the Commission declines to broaden
the financial data requests to include federal income taxes paid,
because the
[[Page 16566]]
collection already requests that providers report ``[o]ther income tax-
related adjustments.''
4. Adopting Cost Allocation Procedures as Proposed
39. The Commission adopts the cost allocation procedures as
proposed in the Public Notice and decline to implement alternative
proposals for the reasons that follow. As the Public Interest Parties
recognize, ``[t]he Third MDC provides a detailed methodology for
providers to implement the allocation consistently.'' The instructions
require providers to fully document, explain, and justify all cost
allocations they make. This already comprehensive requirement obviates
the need to yield to record requests that the Commission provide
examples and guidance regarding direct attribution, or that the
Commission provide more detailed information on the methodology for
such allocations. Other commenters seek revisions to the allocation of
common costs relying on direct costs, either by allowing alternative
methodologies of common cost allocation, or by suggesting that the
Commission should consider whether, or when, additional common cost
allocation metrics are appropriate. The Commission declines to modify
the instructions requiring a direct cost allocation of common costs.
While the Commission is aware that using direct costs to allocate
common or indirect costs ``can be a problem if the direct costs are a
very small share of total costs,'' the Commission notes that this cost
allocation method is the last two steps in a hierarchy of
methodologies. Thus, the Commission does not expect it to be used for a
significant portion of any provider's costs, assuming each provider
does its due diligence with respect to identifying and measuring the
actual factors that drive its costs. Authorizing alternative approaches
to the allocation of common costs would sacrifice the desired
uniformity in the allocation process. The Commission similarly declines
a request that it reorder the third and fourth cost allocation steps.
The Commission finds no sound reason why the inversion of these two
steps would be beneficial or efficient.
40. Other comments suggest adding a contract-level allocation step
to the hierarchy of allocation instructions. However, the instructions
already explain that contract-level costs that are not directly
assignable to facilities are to be treated as shared costs and provide
steps for allocating such shared costs. The Commission finds no reason
to make any changes to these instructions. The Commission is also
unpersuaded that an allocation methodology based upon ADP will result
in improved cost attribution, as one of the key objectives of the data
collection is to ascertain from the cost data how costs vary among
facilities that have different ADPs.
5. Adopting Certain Revisions to Response Granularity
41. The Commission implements the proposal to require providers to
submit data both at the company-wide level and at the correctional
facility level. However, the Commission adjusts the reporting of
operating expenses between the company-wide level and the facility
level to ensure consistency in reporting of these expenses at all
levels and to avoid imposing additional burdens on reporting providers.
The Commission disagrees with commenters that argue that providers
should be able to report cost information only at the contract level.
The Commission finds that making such a change would substantially
increase the likelihood of recreating the same data issues the
Commission confronted in the context of the Second Mandatory Data
Collection.
42. The Commission initially proposed an allocation of operating
costs for facilities that differed from that sought at the company
level. The record persuades us to revise the requirements on the
allocation of operating costs among facilities to parallel the level of
disaggregation required at the company level. As Securus explains, the
proposed instructions would require 16 categories of operating expenses
to be reported at the company level, but only four categories of
operating expenses to be reported at the facility level. Securus
explains that requiring similar levels of disaggregation for both
company and facility data ``would assist the Commission in identifying
the different cost drivers between larger and smaller facilities'' and
``help the Commission and interested parties understand and validate
the cost-causative methodologies used.'' The Commission agrees that
adopting a similar level of disaggregation for facility data as for
company-wide data will yield more useful cost allocation results. In
addition, requiring consolidation of accounts at the facility level
appears to require an additional step for providers, thereby imposing
an unnecessary burden. As the Commission seeks to maximize the benefits
of the data collection while minimizing burdens to the extent possible,
the Commission concludes that the same level of disaggregation should
be required for both company-wide and facility-specific data.
Considering that the Commission adopts facility-level disaggregation of
operating expenses, the Commission clarifies that providers may use the
same number of allocators they would have used to allocate expenses
from the company-wide disaggregated accounts to the facility-level
consolidated accounts. Thus, providers may use the same allocators for
more than one cost category, instead of a separate allocator for each
cost category. The proposed instructions and Excel template required:
(a) 16 categories of operating expenses to be reported at the company-
wide level (site commissions are included); (b) 15 to be reported at
the company-wide, service specific level (site commissions are
excluded); and (c) four to be reported at the facility-specific, ICS
level (reflecting an aggregation of the company-wide, service specific
categories). The Commission modifies these instructions and the
template to require 15 categories of operating expenses to be reported
at the facility-specific, ICS level. (Site commissions are excluded.)
43. The Commission declines to adopt GTL's proposal to permit
providers to report information on a contract-only basis, rather than
at the company and facility levels. GTL claims that reporting
information at the company and facility levels would be ``directly
contrary to the Commission's finding that `many providers assess their
inmate calling services operations on a contract-by-contract basis.'''
The Commission disagrees. The Commission made this observation in
connection with its analysis of the responses to the Second Mandatory
Data Collection and identified contract-level reporting as one of the
principal limitations in the reported data. In requiring the Third
Mandatory Data Collection, the Commission directed WCB/OEA to
``incorporate lessons learned from the two prior data collections'' and
to ``[e]nsure that the provider has directly assigned to specific
contracts or facilities investments and expenses directly attributable
to inmate calling services to the extent feasible.'' The decision to
require facility-level reporting instead of contract-level reporting is
a direct response to the Commission's directives to avoid a repeat of
the problems that affected prior data collections. Accordingly, the
Commission is unpersuaded that it should permit contract-level
reporting, especially considering that other ICS providers support
facility-level reporting.
6. Financial Reports
44. The Commission adopts the proposal to require all providers to
[[Page 16567]]
submit audited financial statements or reports, or similar
documentation, for the reporting period, to the extent they have been
produced in the ordinary course of business. Providers must either
submit these reports for each year of the reporting period or certify
that they have not produced such reports in the ordinary course of
business.
7. Effective Date
45. The Commission's actions in this Order shall be effective on
the date specified in a document to be published in the Federal
Register announcing approval by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB).
46. Pursuant to the Commission's directive set forth in the 2021
ICS Order, responses to this Third Mandatory Data Collection will be
due 120 days after WCB announces in a public document that OMB has
approved the data collection.
IV. Procedural Matters
47. Supplemental Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis. As
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA),
the Commission has prepared a Supplemental Final Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (FRFA) relating to this Order.
48. Final Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis. The Order contains new
or modified information collection requirements subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. It will be
submitted to OMB for review under section 3507(d) of the PRA. OMB, the
general public, and other Federal agencies will be invited to comment
on the new or modified information collection requirements contained in
this proceeding. In addition, the Commission notes that pursuant to the
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198; see 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission previously sought specific comment on
how the Commission might further reduce the information collection
burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The
Commission has assessed the effects of the data collection on small
business concerns, including those having fewer than 25 employees, and
find that to the extent such entities are subject to the collection,
any further reduction in the burden of the collection would be
inconsistent with the objectives behind the collection.
49. Congressional Review Act. The Commission will not send a copy
of this Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), see 5 U.S.C.
801(a)(1)(A), because it does not adopt any rule as defined in the CRA,
5 U.S.C. 804(3).
V. Supplemental Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as
amended (RFA), the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and the Office of
Economics and Analytics (OEA) (collectively, WCB/OEA) have prepared
this Supplemental Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (Supplemental
FRFA) of the possible significant economic impact on small entities by
the policies and rules adopted in this Order pertaining to the
forthcoming Third Mandatory Data Collection for inmate calling services
(ICS). A Supplemental Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(Supplemental IRFA) was included with a Public Notice seeking comment
on proposals to implement the Third Mandatory Data Collection in the
Commission's Inmate Calling Services proceeding. WCB/OEA sought written
public comment on the proposals in that Notice, including comment on
the Supplemental IRFA. WCB/OEA did not receive comments directed toward
the IRFA. The Commission will send a copy of the Order, including this
Supplemental FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration (SBA). In addition, the Order and the
Supplemental FRFA (or summaries thereof) will be published in the
Federal Register.
A. Need for, and Objectives of, the Data Collection
2. In this Order, WCB/OEA adopt policies and specific requirements
to implement the forthcoming Third Mandatory Data Collection for ICS.
In the 2021 ICS Order, the Commission adopted a new data collection
requirement. The Commission determined that this data collection would
enable it to adopt permanent interstate and international rate caps,
protect consumers against unjust and unreasonable ancillary service
charges, and improve its continuing review of the inmate calling
services marketplace.
3. Pursuant to their delegated authority, WCB/OEA have prepared
instructions and a template for the Third Mandatory Data Collection and
are issuing the Order to adopt all aspects of these documents.
B. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response
to the Supplemental IRFA
4. WCB/OEA did not receive comments specifically addressing the
rules and policies proposed in the Supplemental IRFA.
C. Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration
5. The Chief Counsel did not file any comments in response to the
rules and policies proposed in the Supplemental IRFA.
D. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which
the Third Mandatory Data Collection Will Apply
6. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and where
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be
affected by the Third Mandatory Data Collection. The RFA generally
defines the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the
terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small
governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business''
has the same meaning as the term ``small-business concern'' under the
Small Business Act. A ``small-business concern'' is one which: (1) Is
independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of
operation; and (3) satisfies any additional criteria established by the
SBA.
7. Regulatory Flexibility Analyses were incorporated in the 2020
ICS Notice, 2021 ICS Order, and the Third MDC Proposal document. In
those analyses, the Commission described in detail the small entities
that might be affected. Accordingly, in this Order, for the
Supplemental FRFA, the Commission hereby includes by reference the
descriptions and estimates of the number of small entities from these
previous Regulatory Flexibility Analyses.
E. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other
Compliance Requirements for Small Entities
8. The Third Mandatory Data Collection requires ICS providers to
submit, among other things, data and other information on calls,
demand, operations, company and contract information, information about
facilities served, revenues, site commission payments, and ancillary
fees. WCB/OEA estimate that approximately 20 ICS providers will be
subject to this one-time reporting requirement. In the aggregate, WCB/
OEA estimate that responses will take approximately 47,100 hours and
cost approximately $418,570.
[[Page 16568]]
F. Steps Taken To Minimize the Significant Economic Impact on Small
Entities and Significant Alternatives Considered
9. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant
alternatives that it has considered in reaching its proposed approach,
which may include the following four alternatives (among others): ``(1)
the establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or
timetables that take into account the resources available to small
entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of
compliance and reporting requirements under the rules for such small
entities; (3) the use of performance rather than design standards; and
(4) an exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for
such small entities.''
10. The Third Mandatory Data Collection is a one-time request and
does not impose a recurring obligation on providers. Because the
Commission's 2021 ICS Order requires all ICS providers to comply with
the mandatory data collection, the collection will affect smaller as
well as larger ICS providers. WCB/OEA have taken steps to ensure that
the data collection template is competitively neutral and not unduly
burdensome for any set of providers and have considered the economic
impact on small entities, as identified in comments filed in response
to the Third MDC Proposal document and the Supplemental IRFA, in
finalizing the instructions and the template for the Third Mandatory
Data Collection. In response to the comments, WCB/OEA have refined
certain aspects of the data collection, including by expanding the
reporting period for cost data, revising certain proposed definitions,
and reorganizing the manner in which providers report certain costs.
These modifications avoid unduly burdening responding providers while
ensuring that providers have sufficiently detailed and specific
instructions to respond to the data collection.
G. Report to Congress
11. The Commission will send a copy of the Order, including this
Supplemental FRFA, in a report a report to be sent to Congress pursuant
to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. In
addition, the Commission will send a copy of the Order, including this
Supplemental FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration. A copy of the Order, and Supplemental FRFA (or
summaries thereof) will also be published in the Federal Register.
VI. Ordering Clauses
12. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority
contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i)-(j), 155(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 276,
and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151,
152, 154(i)-(j), 155(c), 201(b), 218, 220, 276, and 403, and the
authority delegated pursuant to sections 0.21, 0.91, 0.291, 0.201(d),
0.271, 0.291 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.21, 0.91, 0.201(d),
0.271, 0.291, this Order is adopted.
13. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a
copy of this Order, including the Supplemental Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration.
Federal Communications Commission.
Lynne Engledow,
Deputy Chief, Pricing Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau.
Note: The following appendix, Third Mandatory Data Collection
Instructions and Template, will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Third Mandatory Data Collection Instructions and Template
I. Data Collection Overview
In the 2021 ICS Order, the Commission determined that a Third
Mandatory Data Collection would enable it to adopt permanent interstate
and international rate caps for inmate calling services (ICS) and to
evaluate and, if warranted, revise the current Ancillary Service Charge
caps for those services. The Commission delegated authority to the WCB/
OEA to implement this Third Mandatory Data Collection, ``including
determining and describing the types of information required related to
providers' operations, costs, demand, and revenues.'' The Commission
also delegated authority to WCB/OEA ``to require each provider to fully
explain and justify each step of its costing process and, where [WCB/
OEA] deem it appropriate, to specify the methodology the provider shall
use in any or all of those steps.''
The Commission directed WCB/OEA to develop a template and
instructions for the collection. The Commission also directed that WCB/
OEA consider, in designing the data collection, various suggestions
regarding data granularity, cost allocation, and specificity in
definitions and instructions received from parties in response to the
2020 ICS Notice, among other matters. Further, the Commission directed
WCB/OEA to ``incorporate lessons learned from the two prior [ICS] data
collections to ensure that [the Commission] collect[s], to the extent
possible, uniform cost, demand, and revenue data from each provider.''
These instructions and the accompanying template are designed to
implement the Commission's directives. The template consists of a Word
document and Excel spreadsheets. For simplicity, we refer to these
respective portions of the template as the Word template and the Excel
template.
II. General Instructions
Our instructions first identify the entities which we require to
respond to this data collection. We then review the information we
require them to provide and describe the procedure for submitting the
requisite responses.
Throughout these instructions, the terms ``you'' and ``your'' refer
to any entities directed to respond to these data requests which
qualify as Inmate Calling Service Providers as we define them below.
You may contact the Commission staff at
[email protected] if you have questions regarding whether
your Company must file a data collection response or the requirements
for such a response.
A. Who Must Submit Data
All ICS Providers, as defined in our rules and as further described
below, must submit complete, accurate, and truthful responses to this
data collection. See Part III, below, for the definition of ``ICS
Provider.'' Each group of affiliated Providers shall respond as a
single entity, regardless of the number of separately incorporated
companies or other entities within that group that provide ICS. See
Part III, below, for the definitions of ``Accounting Entity'' and
``Affiliates,'' which collectively make clear which entities must file
responses to this Data Collection.
A Subcontractor is included as an entity acting as an ICS Provider
if it partners with or serves an ICS Provider which holds a direct
contractual relationship with a correctional authority, and also, for
example, completes calls for ICS Customers, bills Customers for those
calls, and retains the revenue from those calls. Subcontractors are
therefore not exempted from the definition of an ICS Provider on the
grounds that they lack a direct contractual relationship with a
correctional authority. Alternatively, where a Subcontractor completes
calls but the ICS Provider bills Customers for those calls and then
pays the Subcontractor, that Subcontractor may
[[Page 16569]]
also meet the definition of an ICS Provider. In contrast, an entity
that provides billing and collection for Calling Services provided by a
separate entity and remits those revenues may not, without more, meet
the definition of an ICS Provider.
Providers (and all Subcontractors thereof who meet the definition
herein) must complete all portions of this data collection unless
otherwise indicated. Section II.C below provides instructions as to how
certain data shall be reported.
B. What Must Be Submitted
You must fully and completely respond to each request for
information in this data collection by using the Word and Excel
templates attached to these instructions. Providers must report their
information according to the best information in their possession,
custody, or control.
Your full response shall consist of several parts:
(1) A Word document containing responses that require a narrative
explanation (see Appendix A to these instructions);
(2) An Excel spreadsheet containing responses that indicate
specific numbers, percentages, and or information (see Appendix B to
these instructions);
(3) An audited financial statement or report for each Year from
2019 through 2021; and
(4) A signed certification of truthfulness, accuracy, and
completeness (see Appendix C to these instructions).
The Word and Excel templates and any additional spreadsheets must
be submitted in machine-readable and manipulatable formats. As
indicated, you also must submit an audited financial statement or
report for each Year from 2019 through 2021, or similar documentation,
to the extent they have been produced in the ordinary course of
business. Additionally, all responses must be accompanied by a
certification by an officer of the Provider that, based on information
and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, the statements and
information contained in the submission are true, accurate, and
complete. You must complete the certification form provided in Appendix
C before submitting your response. Submissions made without a completed
certification form will be rejected and returned for correction and
resubmission.
We caution Providers that they must proceed in good faith and with
absolute candor in responding to this data collection. We also caution
that any failure to timely file an accurate, complete, and truthful
response to this data collection may subject the Provider to sanctions,
including, but not limited to, monetary forfeitures. See 47 U.S.C. 502,
503(b). Willful false statements in responses to this data collection
also are punishable by fine or imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. 1001.
As a general matter, these instructions direct you to enter your
responses to requests for certain information or numbers at specific
places in these appendices. Where these instructions require you to
provide the workpapers, formulas, calculations, or data underlying your
responses, report and display the required information as clearly and
succinctly as possible.
Narrative responses are to be provided in the Word template. Use
that template to provide any additional information needed to ensure
that your response is full and complete, and to identify and explain
any caveats associated with your response. The Word template shall also
include formulas, explanations, and appropriate references for
calculations, where necessary, including any explanations needed to
make your entries on the Excel template transparent and understandable.
Unless otherwise stated, use the Excel template to provide your
responses to the inquiries that follow. As a general matter, your
entries on that template will be for specific numbers or percentages
(e.g., a Facility's Average Daily Population) or discrete information
(e.g., a Facility's geographical coordinates). The Excel template has
formulas in certain cells that operate in accordance with these
instructions and use data you enter in other cells to facilitate a
complete reporting of the required data. Data that you are required to
``report'' include both the data that you enter in the cells and the
data that are automatically generated by the Excel formulas. The Excel
template uses ``N/A'' to identify cells in which no data are to be
reported. Following the same format, you should add additional rows or
columns to this template as necessary to complete your responses.
Where indicated, please provide your responses for the three-year
Reporting Period--from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. Where
inquiries do not specify a format for the Reporting Period, answer the
question on a year-by-year basis, rather than in the aggregate for the
Reporting Period.
You must submit a valid entry on the designated template in
response to each request in this data collection. If a request does not
apply to your Company, enter ``N/A'' in the appropriate field, and use
the Word document to fully explain the reasons for this response. If
your responses are deemed incomplete or are not submitted in the
required format, your filing may be rejected and returned to you for
correction and resubmission.
C. Filing Deadline and Submission
The Commission will submit this data collection, including all
required forms, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13.
Within seven business days of our receiving that approval, we will
issue a Public Notice announcing that approval and setting the deadline
by which you must submit your response to this data collection, which
will be 120 days after we issue the Public Notice announcing OMB
approval. We also will publish a notice in the Federal Register
announcing OMB's approval of the data collection and the due date for
your response.
You must submit public versions of your response by filing and
certifying the completed templates and certification form
electronically, using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS), by accessing the ECFS at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/.
You may file any information that you believe should be afforded
confidential treatment pursuant to the guidance and limitations in the
Protective Order in this proceeding and by adhering to the standard set
forth in section 0.459(b) of the Commission's rules. You may access the
Protective Order through this link: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2434A1.pdf. Confidential versions of the reports must
be submitted to the Secretary's office using the original Word and
Excel templates provided by the Commission and in a machine-readable
and manipulatable format. You must also provide courtesy copies of the
confidential filing to WCB/OEA via email at
[email protected].
If your response is not completed properly, it may be rejected and/
or returned to you. For further information and any questions on
completing your response, please contact Erik Raven-Hansen, Wireline
Competition Bureau, Pricing Policy Division, at 202-418-1532 or at
[email protected], or Richard Kwiatkowski, Office of Economics
and Analytics, Economic Analysis Division, at 202-418-1383 or at
[email protected].
III. Relevant Definitions
Accounting Entity means the smallest group of separate Business
Segments that collectively account for 100% of the
[[Page 16570]]
Provider's ICS-Related Operations and ICS-related investments,
expenses, and revenues.
Admissions means the number of Incarcerated Persons booked into and
housed in a Facility by formal legal documents and the authority of the
courts or other official agency, including repeat offenders booked on
new charges as well as persons sentenced to weekend programs who enter
the Facility for the first time. It excludes Incarcerated Persons
reentering the Facility after an escape, work release, medical
appointment, treatment facility appointment, or bail and court
appearance.
Affiliates means any two or more companies, partnerships, or other
legal entities where (a) one entity directly or indirectly owns or
controls the other or others, (b) a Third Party controls or has the
power to control both or all, (c) the entities share common ownership
or have interlocking directorates, or (d) the entities share employees,
equipment, and/or facilities. For purposes of this definition, the term
``own'' means to own an equity interest (or the equivalent thereof) of
more than 10%.
Affiliate Group means the Company and its ICS and non-ICS
Affiliates.
Ancillary Service Charge means any charge Consumers may be assessed
for, or in connection with, the interstate or international use of
Inmate Calling Services that is not included in the per-minute charges
assessed for such individual calls. Ancillary Service Charges that may
be assessed are limited only to those listed in 47 CFR 64.6000(a)(1)-
(5) and consist of Automated Payment Fees, Live Agent Fees, Paper Bill/
Statement Fees, Fees for Single-Call and Related Services, and Third-
Party Financial Transaction Fees. All other Ancillary Service Charges
are prohibited in connection with interstate and international Inmate
Calling Services. For purposes of this definition, ``interstate''
includes any jurisdictionally mixed charge, as defined in 47 CFR
64.6000(u).
Ancillary Services means Permissible Ancillary Services and Other
Ancillary Services.
Annual Total Expenses means the sum of annual Operating Expenses
and annual Capital Expenses.
Automated Payment Fees means credit card payment fees, debit card
payment fees, and bill processing fees, including fees for payments
made by interactive voice response (IVR), through the internet, or by
use of an Incarcerated Person Kiosk.
Automated Payment Service means any service providing Customers of
Inmate Calling Services with credit card payment, debit card payment,
and bill processing services, including enabling payments by
interactive voice response (IVR), web, or Incarcerated Person Kiosk.
Average Daily Population or ADP means the sum of all Incarcerated
Persons in a Facility for each day of a Year, divided by the number of
days in the Year.
Billed Calls means the number of Inmate Calling Services calls
supplied during a Year for which payment is demanded.
Billed Uses means the number of times Automated Payment Service,
Live Agent Service, or Paper Bill/Statement Service is put into action
during a Year and for which payment is demanded.
Billed Transactions means the number of discrete instances where a
seller supplies Single-Call and Related Service or Third-Party
Financial Transaction Service and a buyer agrees to pay a price for
that service.
Billed Minutes means the number of Inmate Calling Services minutes
supplied during a Year for which payment is demanded.
Billed Revenues means gross sales, without adjustment for
uncollectable accounts or expenses related to producing these sales,
derived from the number of units of a service supplied during a Year
for which payment is demanded.
Business Segment means a component of a Company that generates its
own revenues and creates its own products, product lines, or services
and for which a financial report is routinely prepared for management,
shareholder, or creditor review.
Capital Expenses means the sum of (a) the Return that debt,
preferred stock, and equity investors require; (b) interest paid on
customer prepayments or deposits; (c) depreciation expense; (d)
amortization expense; and (e) federal and state income tax expense
attributable to the fraction of the Return attributable to equity
holders.
Cash Working Capital means the average investor-supplied capital a
firm needs to fund its day-to-day operations.
Company means the Accounting Entity unless otherwise indicated.
Consumer means the party paying a Provider of Inmate Calling
Services.
Contractually Prescribed Site Commission means a Site Commission
payment, other than a Legally Mandated Site Commission payment,
required pursuant to a contract negotiated between a Facility and a
Provider.
Customer means the Incarcerated Person or the person who pays for
ICS if that person is not the Incarcerated Person.
Discretionary Tax or Discretionary Fee means a fee that a Provider
must remit to federal, state, or local governments and may, but is not
required to, recover it from Customers, including but not limited to
fees for the Universal Service Fund.
Facility means a Prison or Jail as those terms are defined
elsewhere in this document.
Fees for Single-Call and Related Services means billing
arrangements whereby an Incarcerated Person's collect calls are billed
through a Third Party on a per-call basis, where the called party does
not have an account with the Provider of Inmate Calling Services or
does not want to establish an account.
Fixed Site Commission means a Site Commission that is assessed or
paid without regard to ICS usage or revenues. Fixed Site Commissions
include, but are not limited to, minimum annual guarantee payments,
other lump-sum payments, and payments in kind that Providers make
pursuant to ICS contracts.
Gross Investment means the book value of an asset prior to
subtracting accumulated depreciation or amortization.
Incarcerated Person means a person detained in a Prison or Jail,
regardless of the duration of the detention.
Incarcerated Person Kiosk means a self-service transaction machine
that a Provider of Inmate Calling Services owns or leases and makes
available to Incarcerated Persons at a Facility to obtain ICS-Related
Services, such as obtaining a calling card or depositing money in a
prepaid account.
Incarcerated Person Telephone means a telephone instrument or other
device capable of initiating telephone calls and set aside by a
Facility for use by Incarcerated Persons.
Inmate Calling Services, Calling Services, and ICS mean a service
that allows Incarcerated Persons to make calls to individuals outside
the Facility where the Incarcerated Person is being held, regardless of
the technology used to deliver the service.
ICS-Related Operations means the actions or tasks performed by the
Provider or authorized personnel to deliver Inmate Calling Services and
related Ancillary Services to Incarcerated Persons and those they call,
including but not limited to billing, customer service, and other
requirements as determined by contract or by law. It excludes all Site
Commission payments, including In-Kind Site Commission payments.
ICS-Related Products and/or Services means any hardware, software,
[[Page 16571]]
applications, devices, products, or services used by a Provider or
under a Provider's direction as part of its ICS-Related Operations.
ICS-Related Products and/or Services also may support a Company's non-
ICS Products and Services.
In-Kind Site Commission means a Site Commission that does not take
the form of a Monetary Site Commission.
Intrastate Communication means any communication that originates
and terminates in the same state, territory, or possession of the
United States (other than the Canal Zone), or the District of Columbia.
International Communication means a communication or transmission
from any state, territory, or possession of the United States, or the
District of Columbia to points outside the United States.
Interstate Communication means, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 153(28),
communication or transmission (a) from any state, territory, or
possession of the United States (other than the Canal Zone), or the
District of Columbia, to any other state, territory, or possession of
the United States (other than the Canal Zone), or the District of
Columbia, (b) from or to the United States to or from the Canal Zone,
insofar as such communication or transmission takes place within the
United States, or (c) between points within the United States but
through a foreign country. Interstate Communication shall not, for
purposes of these instructions, include wire or radio communication
between points in the same state, territory, or possession of the
United States, or the District of Columbia, through any place outside
thereof, if such communication is regulated by a state commission.
Jail means a facility of a local, state, or federal law enforcement
agency that is used primarily to hold individuals who are: (a) Awaiting
adjudication of criminal charges; (b) post-conviction and committed to
confinement for sentences of one year or less; or (c) post-conviction
and awaiting transfer to another facility. The term also includes city,
county or regional facilities that have contracted with a private
company to manage day-to-day operations; privately owned and operated
facilities primarily engaged in housing city, county or regional
Incarcerated Persons; facilities used to detain individuals operated
directly by the Federal Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, or pursuant to a contract with those agencies;
juvenile detention centers; and secure mental health facilities.
Legally Mandated Site Commission means a Site Commission payment
required by state statutes or laws and regulations that are adopted
pursuant to state administrative procedure statutes where there is
notice and an opportunity for public comment such as by a state public
utility commission or similar regulatory body with jurisdiction to
establish Inmate Calling Services rates, terms, and conditions and that
operate independently of the contracting process between Facilities and
Providers.
Live Agent Fee means a fee associated with the optional use of a
live operator to complete Inmate Calling Services Transactions.
Live Agent Service means providing Customers of Inmate Calling
Services the optional use of a live operator to complete Inmate Calling
Services Transactions.
Mandatory Tax or Mandatory Fee means a fee that a Provider is
required to collect directly from Customers and remit to federal,
state, or local governments.
Maximum Call Duration means the maximum limit, if any, that a
Provider or Facility imposes on the length of ICS calls from a
Facility.
Monetary Site Commission means a Site Commission that takes the
form of a monetary payment.
Net Capital Stock means Gross Investment in assets, net of
accumulated depreciation and amortization, accumulated deferred federal
and state income taxes, and customer prepayments or deposits, plus an
allowance for Cash Working Capital.
Net Investment means the book value of an asset after subtracting
accumulated depreciation or amortization.
Operating Expenses means recurring expenses incurred to supply a
service on a continuous basis, including but not limited to maintenance
and repair of plant, equipment, and facilities; billing, collection,
and customer care; general and administrative expense; other overhead
expense; tax expense other than income tax expense; bad debt expense;
and the Inmate Calling Service-specific expenses specified in this data
request.
Other Ancillary Services means an ancillary service that is not a
Permissible Ancillary Service.
Paper Bill/Statement Fees means fees associated with providing
Customers of Inmate Calling Services an optional paper billing
statement.
Paper Bill/Statement Service means providing Customers of Inmate
Calling Services an optional paper billing statement.
Permissible Ancillary Services means Automated Payment Service,
Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service, Single-Call and
Related Services, and Third-Party Financial Transaction Services, as
defined in Part 64 of the Commission's rules and these instructions.
Prison means a facility operated by a territorial, state, or
federal agency that is used primarily to confine individuals convicted
of felonies and sentenced to terms in excess of one year. The term also
includes public and private facilities that provide outsource housing
to other agencies such as the State Departments of Correction and the
Federal Bureau of Prisons; and facilities that would otherwise fall
under the definition of Jail but in which the majority of Incarcerated
Persons are post-conviction or are committed to confinement for
sentences of longer than one year.
Provider, ICS Provider, and Provider of Inmate Calling Services
mean any communications service provider that provides Inmate Calling
Services, regardless of the technology used, as defined in 47 CFR
64.6000(s). This definition includes all entities acting as
Subcontractors as defined below, to the extent that their activities
otherwise include the provision of Inmate Calling Services.
Releases means the number of Incarcerated Persons released after a
period of confinement (e.g., sentence completion, bail or bond
releases, other pretrial releases, transfers to other jurisdictions,
and deaths). It includes Incarcerated Persons who have completed
weekend programs and are leaving the Facility for the last time. It
excludes temporary discharges, such as discharges for work, medical or
treatment appointments, court appearances, furloughs, and day
reporting.
Reporting Period means the three-year period from January 1, 2019,
to December 31, 2021. Where inquiries do not specify a format for
reporting, provide responses for each year of the Reporting Period.
Return means the product of a Company's Net Capital Stock and its
Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
Revenue-Sharing Agreement means any agreement, whether express,
implied, written, or oral between a Provider or any Affiliate and a
Third Party, such as a financial institution, or between a Provider and
any of its Affiliates that, over the course of the agreement, directly
or indirectly results in the payment of all or part of the revenue
received from the provision of ICS or any Ancillary Service to the
other party to the agreement.
Security Services means any security and surveillance system,
product, or
[[Page 16572]]
service that a Provider supplies to a Facility, including any such
system, product, or service that allows Incarcerated Persons to make
telephone calls as permitted by the Facility; helps the Facility ensure
that Incarcerated Persons do not call persons they are not allowed to
call; helps monitor and record on-going calls; or inspects and analyzes
recorded calls. Security Services also include other related systems,
products, and services, such as a voice biometrics system, a PIN
system, or a system concerning the administration of subpoenas
concerning telephone calls. The classification of a system, product, or
service as a Security Service does not mean that it is part of a
Provider's ICS-Related Operations.
Single-Call and Related Services means billing arrangements whereby
an Incarcerated Person's collect calls are billed through a Third Party
on a per-call basis, where the called party does not have an account
with the Provider of Inmate Calling Services.
Site Commissions means any form of monetary payment, in kind
payment, gift, exchange of services or goods, fee, technology
allowance, or product that a Provider of Inmate Calling Services or
Affiliate of a Provider of Inmate Calling Services may pay, give,
donate, or otherwise provide to an entity that operates a correctional
institution, an entity with which the Provider of Inmate Calling
Services enters into an agreement to provide ICS, a governmental agency
that oversees a Facility, the city, the county, or state where a
Facility is located, or an agent of any such Facility.
Subcontractor means an entity that provides ICS to a Facility and
has a contract or other arrangement with another Provider for provision
of ICS to that Facility. A Subcontractor need not have a contractual
relationship with the Facility.
Third Party means an entity that is not a Provider, an Affiliate of
a Provider, or a Facility.
Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees means the exact fees, with
no markup, that Providers of Inmate Calling Services are charged by
Third Parties to transfer money or process financial transactions to
facilitate a Customer's ability to make account payments via a Third
Party.
Third-Party Financial Transaction Services means the transfer of
money or the processing of financial transactions to facilitate a
Customer's ability to make account payments via a Third Party.
Unbilled Calls means the number of Inmate Calling Services calls
supplied during a Year for which payment is not demanded.
Unbilled Minutes, Unbilled Minutes of Use, and Unbilled MOU mean
the number of Inmate Calling Services minutes supplied during a Year
for which payment is not demanded.
Variable Site Commissions means Site Commissions that are assessed
on a per-unit basis, such as a per-minute basis, percentage of ICS
revenue, or number of ICS phones at a Facility.
Weekly Turnover Rate means the percentage calculated by subtracting
the average number of weekly Releases during a Year from the average
number of weekly Admissions during that Year and then dividing the
resulting number by the Average Daily Population for that Year.
Weighted Average Cost of Capital means the sum of the cost of
equity, the cost of preferred stock, and the cost of debt, each
expressed as an annual percentage rate and weighted by its proportion
in the capital structure.
Year means a calendar year, from January 1 through December 31 of
any given year.
IV. Required Information
This Part sets forth the information you must provide in your
response to this data collection. In some cases, the data are to be
reported on the attached Word template, while other questions require a
narrative response on the Excel template. In general, this Part
proceeds from the general (Company-level data) to the specific
(Facility-level data).
This Part begins by asking you to provide general information about
your Company, including information pertaining to your ICS-Related
Operations. Next, we direct you to provide financial data and related
information at the Company level. We then direct you to disaggregate
that financial information into service-specific categories and provide
detailed instructions regarding cost allocation in connection with this
step. We also instruct you how to report data where a Provider has an
agreement with another entity for the provision of ICS. Next, we
require you to report Company-level Ancillary Services and Site
Commission data, followed by data regarding transactions with
Affiliates. Finally, following the instructions for reporting Company-
level data, we direct you to report certain financial information at
the Facility level.
A. General Information
This section directs you to provide general information and data
about your Company and its Affiliates, among other matters, in total
for the Reporting Period, unless otherwise specified.
(1) Company Name: Enter the Company's name.
(2) Accounting Entity: Enter the name of each corporation,
partnership, or other legal entity within the Accounting Entity.
(3) Contact Person: Enter the name, title, email address, and phone
number of the person whom the Commission may contact to inquire about
the Company's response to the collection.
(4) Holding Company Name: Enter the name of Company's ultimate
parent, if any.
(5) Filing Date: Enter the filing date using the following format:
``MM/DD/YYYY'' to indicate the month, day, and year.
(6) Headquarters Address: Enter the physical address where the
Company's headquarters are located.
(7) Publicly Listed: Identify whether the Company is a corporation
or part of a corporation whose ownership is dispersed among the general
public in many shares of stock which are freely traded on a stock
exchange or in over-the-counter markets.
(8) ICS-Related Services: List all ICS-Related Services, including
any Ancillary Services, that the Company provided at or for Facilities,
or to Incarcerated Persons or those they call, during the Reporting
Period. List all such services even if the Company only provided them
at some Facilities.
(9) Non-ICS Business Segments:
(a) List all non-ICS Business Segments that the Company engaged in
during the Reporting Period.
(b) Provide the Billed Revenues for each listed Business Segment
during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(c) In the Word template, describe generally the operations of each
listed non-ICS Business Segment.
(d) List all non-ICS Business Segments the Company or an Affiliate
provided at or for Facilities, or to Incarcerated Persons or those they
call, during the Reporting Period. List all such Business Segments even
if the Company or Affiliate provided them only at some Facilities.
(e) In the Word template, describe in detail all non-ICS Business
Segments the Company or an Affiliate provided at or for Facilities, or
to Incarcerated Persons or those they call, during the Reporting
Period.
(f) In the Word template, describe in detail how, if at all, the
Company's ICS Business Segments and non-ICS Business Segments interact
with each other.
(10) Assets:
(a) List each type of asset that the Company used in its ICS-
Related Operations during the Reporting Period.
[[Page 16573]]
Exclude any type of asset whose Net Investment is less than 5% of the
Company's total Net Investment.
(b) Provide the Net Investment in each listed type of asset as of
December 31, 2021.
(c) List each ICS-Related Product or Service that each listed type
of asset supported.
(d) List each non-ICS-Related Product or Service, if any, that each
listed type of asset supported.
(11) Non-ICS Affiliates: List the names of all of the Company's
non-ICS Affiliates during the Reporting Period.
(12) Non-ICS Affiliates' Annual Revenues: Enter total Billed
Revenues for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(13) Non-ICS Affiliates' Business Segments:
(a) List all Business Segments in which non-ICS Affiliates engaged
during the Reporting Period.
(b) Identify each non-ICS Affiliate that participated in the supply
of each Business Segment on your list.
(14) Non-ICS Affiliates' Annual Revenues by Business Segments:
Enter total Billed Revenues for each Year of the Reporting Period by
each non-ICS Affiliate for each Business Segment on your list.
(15) Affiliate Transactions: List all types of assets and services
that the Company obtained from a non-ICS Affiliate that were used in
the provision of ICS-Related Services during the Reporting Period. For
each type of asset and service that you list, identify for each Year of
the Reporting Period:
(a) Each non-ICS Affiliate that provided those assets or services;
(b) The amounts the Company paid its non-ICS Affiliates for those
assets and services; and
(c) The non-ICS Affiliates' Net Investment in those assets and the
Annual Total Expenses incurred to provide those services.
(16) Accounting and Record Keeping Systems: In the Word template,
describe in detail the Accounting Entity's accounting and record-
keeping systems.
(17) Mandatory Data Collection Response: In the Word template,
provide an overview of how the Company used its accounting and record-
keeping system to respond to this Mandatory Data Collection. As part of
this overview, explain the process by which the Company used data from
income statements, balance sheets, general ledger, subledger, journals,
department, division, or other organization group accounts or
subaccounts, and other records or sources of financial data to develop,
compile, assign, attribute, allocate or report Company-wide, service-
specific, and Facility-specific revenues, investments, and expenses, as
required by this Mandatory Data Collection. Identify the sources for
all depreciation and amortization schedules or asset life projections
used to determine the amount of depreciation and amortization expenses
reported and how these expenses are derived using these schedules and
projections or other methods in lieu of or in combination with these
schedules and projections. Explain how Company-wide, service-specific,
Facility-specific, department, division, or other organization group
data are used to determine how costs are incurred in order to assign,
attribute, or allocate investments and expenses, as required by this
Mandatory Data Collection, including, for example, data as to the
number of calls or call minutes, ADP, headcounts, labor hours, or
salaries; computer processing, electronic equipment or other inside or
outside plant equipment, circuit, and electric power use or capacity;
internal or external maintenance or computer-center help desk requests,
tickets, orders or dispatch numbers; and purchase orders, transactions,
or other measures of resource use and cost-causation.
(18) Representative Information: In the Word template, address in
detail whether the information collected though the data collection
will be representative of the Company's future ICS-Related Operation
given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on those operations during
the Reporting Period. Identify for the two-year period January 1, 2022,
to December 31, 2023, any specific known and measurable changes to the
Company's ICS-related investments, expenses, revenues, and demand that
are not reflected in the data collected through this data collection.
(19) Sources: In the Word template, identify the source for any
data or any document included in or relied upon in your response.
B. Overview Information
This section provides an overview of your ICS-Related Operations by
incorporating information from other sections of your Excel template.
You should first enter the data required in those other portions into
that template. Once you do that, the data required for this section
will automatically be entered into this portion of the template. All of
those data will be at the Accounting Entity level.
(1) Company Name
(2) Facilities
(a) Number of Facilities
(b) Number of Prisons
(c) Number of Jails with ADP of 1,000 and above
(d) Number of Jails with ADP below 1,000
(e) Number of contracts
(f) Number of Prison contracts
(g) Number of Jail contracts
(3) Annual Total Expenses for each Year of the Reporting Period for:
(a) Inmate Calling Services
(b) Automated Payment Service
(c) Live Agent Service
(d) Paper Bill/Statement Service
(4) Revenues during each Year of the Reporting Period for:
(a) Inmate Calling Services
(b) Permissible Ancillary Services
(c) Other Ancillary Services
(d) Non-ICS Products and Services
(5) Site Commissions paid during each Year of the Reporting Period:
(a) Total Site Commissions
(i) Total Monetary Site Commissions
(ii) Total In-Kind Site Commissions
(b) Legally Mandated Site Commissions
(c) Total Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions
C. Company-Wide Information
This section seeks general financial data and other information
about the Company and directs you to determine the Annual Total
Expenses the Company incurs to provide Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement
Service during the Reporting Period.
1. Overall Financial Information
This subsection directs you to provide financial data and other
information in the aggregate for the entire Company (i.e., Accounting
Entity). All financial data must comply with generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP). The carrying value of all assets, both
tangible and intangible, shall reflect the results of the most recent
impairment testing, and any adjustments required to account for any
impairment loss shall be separately identified. In the Word template,
explain in detail the process the Company used to comply with this
requirement and provide any additional information needed to make that
process fully transparent and understandable. Alternatively, explain in
detail in the Word template why an impairment test is not now
necessary, when impairment testing normally occurs under Company
policy, and identify with specificity any accounting adjustments that
were made at the time of the most recent impairment testing.
(1) Annual Revenues: Enter the total Billed Revenues for the
Accounting Entity for Inmate Calling Services for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(2) Investment and Expense Data: Provide the following investment
and
[[Page 16574]]
expense data in the aggregate for the Accounting Entity for the
Reporting Period:
(a) Capital Assets: Report year-end amounts for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items specified below. Report amounts
for items (i), (ii) or (iii), and (iv) separately for each of the
following types of assets: (aa) Tangible assets; (bb) capitalized
research and development; (cc) purchased software; (dd) internally
developed software; (ee) trademarks; (ff) other identifiable intangible
assets; and (gg) goodwill. Report a single amount for each of items
(v), (vi), and (vii).
(i) Gross Investment;
(ii) Accumulated depreciation;
(iii) Accumulated amortization;
(iv) Net Investment;
(v) Accumulated deferred federal income taxes;
(vi) Accumulated deferred state income taxes; and
(vii) Customer prepayments or deposits.
(b) Capital Expenses: Report the annual amount for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items specified below. Report amounts
for items (i) or (ii) separately for each of the following types of
assets: (aa) Tangible assets; (bb) capitalized research and
development; (cc) purchased software; (dd) internally developed
software; (ee) trademarks; (ff) other identifiable intangible assets;
and (gg) goodwill. Report a single amount for each of items (iii),
(iv), and (v).
(i) Depreciation;
(ii) Amortization;
(iii) Interest other than interest paid on customer prepayments or
deposits;
(iv) Interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits; and
(v) Other income tax-related adjustments.
(c) Operating Expenses: Report the annual amount for each Year of
the Reporting Period for each of the items specified below. Each
expense must be reported for a particular category; for example, do not
report expense incurred for termination of International Communication
as an expense incurred for Interstate and Intrastate Communication.
Exclude any charges for asset impairment loss.
(i) Maintenance, repair, and engineering of site plant, equipment,
and facilities;
(ii) Origination, switching, and transporting of Interstate,
International and Intrastate Communication and termination of
Interstate and Intrastate Communication;
(iii) Termination of International Communication;
(iv) Field service;
(v) Network operations;
(vi) Call center;
(vii) Data center;
(viii) Security Services relating to the Company's ICS-Related
Operations, non-ICS Operations, or both;
(ix) Payment of Site Commissions;
(x) Billing, collection, client management, and customer care;
(xi) Sales and marketing;
(xii) General and administrative;
(xiii) Other overhead;
(xiv) Taxes other than income taxes;
(xv) Transactions related to mergers and acquisitions; and
(xvi) Bad debt.
(d) Income Tax Rates: Report separately for each Year of the
Reporting Period each state income tax rate applicable to the Company.
Report total Billed ICS Revenues separately for each state. The Excel
template uses these reported data to calculate an ICS-Related
Operations revenue-weighted average of the individual state income tax
rates (i.e., the sum of the products of each state tax rate multiplied
by the percentage of the Company's total Billed ICS Revenues derived
from ICS supplied at Facilities located in each corresponding state).
The result of this calculation is used to calculate state income tax
expense reported separately for specific services as instructed below.
2. Service-Specific Financial Information
The preceding subsection instructs you to provide financial
information at the Company level. We now require you to determine the
Annual Total Expenses the Company incurs to provide Inmate Calling
Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service for each Year of the Reporting Period. This
process involves several steps.
First, we instruct you to assign, attribute, or allocate the
reported Company-wide investments and expenses (without separation
between federal and state jurisdictions) among Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/Statement
Service, Other Ancillary Services, and non-ICS Services in accordance
with the cost allocation instructions set forth below. We also instruct
you to calculate federal and state income taxes for Inmate Calling
Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service. We do not require the reporting of Company-wide
federal and state income tax expenses or the reporting of these
expenses for Other Ancillary Services or non-ICS Services. We also do
not require the reporting of Company-wide amounts for Cash Working
Capital, Net Capital Stock, or Return or the reporting of these items
for Other Ancillary Services or non-ICS Services.
We next instruct you to provide the results of your cost
assignments, attributions, and allocations separately for Inmate
Calling Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and
Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other Ancillary Services, and non-ICS
Services, which shall include amounts for investments, Capital
Expenses, and Operating Expenses. We also instruct you to report your
federal and state income tax calculations for Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement
Service.
We then require you to make two elections. We first instruct you to
elect whether to use the default Weighted Average Cost of Capital or an
alternative Weighted Average Cost of Capital. We then instruct you to
elect whether to include an allowance for Cash Working Capital. If you
elect an alternative Weighted Average Cost of Capital greater than
9.75% or include an allowance for Cash Working Capital, we require you
to report the components of those elections.
We instruct you to provide the Company's Annual Total Expenses
(without separation between federal and state jurisdictions) of
providing Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment Service, Live
Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement Service and to make certain
elections relating to adjustments to Annual Total Expenses. Finally, we
also instruct you to elect whether to adjust the Company's Annual Total
Expenses and thus to report Annual Total Expenses for the federal
jurisdiction alone (covering both Interstate and International
Communications), either to recognize any cost differentials between
interstate/international Inmate Calling Services and intrastate Inmate
Calling Services that should be reflected in an interstate rate cap or
for any other reason.
a. Cost Allocation Instructions
You must assign or allocate Company-wide investments and expenses
(without separation between federal and state jurisdictions) among
Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other Ancillary Services, and non-ICS
Services using the hierarchy of methods specified below. For purposes
of these cost allocation instructions, Inmate Calling Services,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/Statement
Service, Other Ancillary
[[Page 16575]]
Services, and non-ICS Services are each a separate ``service.'' Also,
any costs the Company incurs in providing Single-Call and Related
Services or Third-Party Financial Transaction Services shall be
included in its Inmate Calling Services costs.
(1) First, to the extent possible, directly assign investments used
exclusively to provide a particular service to that service; likewise,
to the extent possible, directly assign expenses incurred exclusively
to provide a particular service to that service. Calculate federal and
state income taxes separately for Inmate Calling Services, Automated
Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement Service
as specified in items 7 and 8 below.
(2) Second, group shared investments and expenses into shared
investment and expense categories based on business function, activity,
or task. Group common investments and expenses into common investment
and expense categories based on business function, activity, or task.
(a) Any investments and expenses that are not directly assignable
to a specific service are shared or common investments and expenses.
(b) Shared investments are for assets used exclusively to supply a
specific subset of services that are not assignable or attributable to
a particular service. Shared expenses are expenses incurred solely to
supply a specific subset of services that are not assignable or
attributable to a specific service.
(c) Common investments are for assets not assignable or
attributable to a specific service or subset of services. Common
expenses are expenses that are not assignable or attributable to a
specific service or subset of services.
(3) Third, to the extent possible, directly attribute categories of
shared investments and expenses, and categories of common investments
and expenses, to particular services based on direct analysis of
factors that cause a particular business function, activity, or task
and thus investments or expenses to increase or decrease.
(4) Fourth, where neither direct assignment nor direct attribution
is possible, allocate categories of shared investments and expenses,
and categories of common investments and expenses, to particular
services based on an indirect, cost-causative link to another
investment and expense or another investment or expense category (or
group of categories) for which direct assignment or attribution is
possible.
(5) Fifth, where none of the methods described above is possible,
allocate categories of shared investments and expenses to the
particular services that share the investments and expenses in
proportion to each service's share of the total of all investments or
expenses already directly assigned or attributed to these particular
services. Allocate categories of common investments and expenses to
particular services in proportion to each service's share of the total
of all investments or expenses already directly assigned or attributed
to all services.
(6) The sums of the investment and expense amounts assigned to,
attributed to, or allocated among Inmate Calling Service, Automated
Payment Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service,
Other Ancillary Services, and non-ICS Services shall equal the total
investment and expense amounts respectively reported for the Company
above (excluding federal and state income taxes, Cash Working Capital
and Net Capital Stock, which are only reported for Inmate Calling
Service, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/
Statement Service).
(7) Federal income taxes: First, subtract reported interest expense
other than interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits (and any
amount reported for other income tax-related adjustments) from Return
to determine federal taxable income. Second, divide the federal income
tax rate by 1 minus the federal income tax rate to determine a federal
income tax gross-up factor. Third, multiply the federal income tax
gross-up factor by federal taxable income to determine the amount of
federal income tax to report.
(8) State income taxes: First, add the portion of federal income
tax not deductible for state income tax purposes to federal taxable
income to determine state taxable income. Second, divide the weighted
average of the individual state income tax rates by 1 minus the
weighted average of the individual state income tax rates to determine
a state income tax gross-up factor. Third, multiply the state income
tax gross-up factor by state taxable income to determine the amount of
state income tax to report.
(9) Fully document, explain, and justify all cost assignments,
attributions, and allocations using the Word template and submit
additional workpapers developed using Excel spreadsheets.
b. Cost Allocation Results
Report the results of your cost assignments, attributions, and
allocations separately for Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment
Service, Live Agent Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other
Ancillary Services, and non-ICS Services on the Excel template, as
specified below. Report your federal and state income tax calculations
separately for Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment Service, Live
Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement Service on the Excel template,
as specified below.
(1) Capital Assets: Report the year-end amount for each Year of the
Reporting Period for each of the items specified below. Report amounts
for items (a), (b) or (c), and (d) separately for each of the following
types of assets: (i) Tangible assets; (ii) capitalized research and
development; (iii) purchased software; (iv) internally developed
software; (v) trademarks; (vi) other identifiable intangible assets;
and (vi) goodwill. Report a single amount for each of items (e) through
(i).
(a) Gross Investment;
(b) Accumulated depreciation;
(c) Accumulated amortization;
(d) Net Investment;
(e) Accumulated deferred federal income taxes;
(f) Accumulated deferred state income taxes;
(g) Customer prepayments or deposits;
(h) Cash Working Capital (see d.(1) and (2) below); and
(i) Net Capital Stock.
(2) Capital Expenses and Related Tax Information: Report the annual
amount or a percentage for each Year of the Reporting Period for each
of the items specified below. Report amounts for items (a) and (b)
separately for each of the following types of assets: (i) Tangible
assets; (ii) capitalized research and development; (iii) purchased
software; (iv) internally developed software; (v) trademarks; (vi)
other identifiable intangible assets; and (vii) goodwill. Report a
single amount for each of items (c) through (p).
(a) Depreciation;
(b) Amortization;
(c) Weighted Average Cost of Capital (see c.(1) and (2) below);
(d) Return;
(e) Interest other than interest paid on customer prepayments or
deposits;
(f) Interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits;
(g) Other income tax-related adjustments;
(h) Federal taxable income;
(i) Federal income tax rate;
(j) Federal income tax gross-up factor;
(k) Federal income tax;
(l) Federal income tax not deductible for state income tax
purposes;
(m) State taxable income;
(n) State income tax rate;
(o) State income tax gross-up factor; and
(p) State income tax.
[[Page 16576]]
(3) Operating Expenses: Report the annual amount for each Year of
the Reporting Period for each of the items specified below. Exclude any
charges for asset impairment loss.
(a) Maintenance, repair, and engineering of site plant, equipment,
and facilities;
(b) Origination, switching, and transporting of Interstate,
International and Intrastate Communication and termination of
Interstate and Intrastate Communication;
(c) Termination of International Communication;
(d) Field service;
(e) Network operations;
(f) Call center;
(g) Data center;
(h) Security Services relating to the Company's ICS-Related
Operations, non-ICS Operations, or both;
(i) Billing, collection, client management, and customer care;
(j) Sales and marketing;
(k) General and administrative;
(l) Other overhead;
(m) Taxes other than income taxes;
(n) Transactions related to mergers and acquisitions; and
(o) Bad debt.
c. Weighted Average Cost of Capital
(1) Elect, by checking the appropriate box on the Excel template,
whether to use the default Weighted Average Cost of Capital of 9.75%
(which is the Commission's currently authorized rate of return for
incumbent local exchange carriers regulated on a rate-of-return basis)
for each Year of the Reporting Period or an alternative Weighted
Average Cost of Capital reflecting the Company's own and a demonstrably
comparable-group of firms' financial data and economic circumstances,
use of widely accepted methods to estimate current debt and equity
costs and capital structure, and the collective risks of providing ICS,
Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper Bill/Statement
Service.
(2) If you elect to use an alternative Weighted Average Cost of
Capital greater than 9.75%, report on the Excel template the components
of the Company's current Weighted Average Cost of Capital and the
Weighted Average Cost of Capital itself, as specified below. Use this
singular estimate of the Company's current Weighted Average Cost of
Capital to calculate Return for each Year of the Reporting Period. In
the Word template, fully document by submitting data, formulas, cost of
equity analyses using, for example, the Discounted Cash Flow Model or
Capital Asset Pricing Model, calculations, and worksheets, explain, and
justify the development of each claimed component. Failure to fully
document, explain, and justify each claimed component may result in the
application of the default Weighted Average Cost of Capital of 9.75%.
(a) Cost of debt;
(b) Cost of preferred stock;
(c) Cost of equity;
(d) Total debt outstanding in dollars and as a percent of total
capital outstanding (the sum of debt, preferred stock, and equity
outstanding);
(e) Total preferred stock outstanding and as a percent of total
capital outstanding;
(f) Total equity outstanding and as a percent of total capital
outstanding; and
(g) Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
d. Cash Working Capital
(1) Elect, by checking the appropriate box on the Excel template,
whether to include an allowance for Cash Working Capital in the
Company's Net Capital Stock.
(2) If you elect to include an allowance for Cash Working Capital
in the Company's Net Capital Stock, report the allowance claimed for
each Year of the Reporting Period on the Excel template separately for:
(a) Inmate Calling Services; (b) Automated Payment Service; (c) Live
Agent Service; and (d) Paper Bill/Statement Service. Submit a lead-lag
study or the equivalent that estimates the average number of days
between the payment of expenses and the receipt of revenues and average
daily cash expenses as support for each claimed allowance. Fully
document, explain, and justify each claimed allowance in the Word
template.
e. Annual Total Expenses
(1) Report Company-wide Annual Total Expenses separately for: (a)
Inmate Calling Services; (b) Automated Payment Service; (c) Live Agent
Service; and (d) Paper Bill/Statement Service. Exclude reported
interest expense other than interest paid on customer prepayments or
deposits from Annual Total Expenses. The allowance for interest expense
other than interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits is
included in the Return component of the Annual Total Expenses
calculation. Include reported interest paid on customer prepayments or
deposits in Annual Total Expenses. Exclude expense reported for
termination of International Communication from Annual Total Expenses.
f. Optional Allocations and Adjustments
(1) In the Word template, state whether the Company elects to
further separate its investments, expenses, Net Capital Stock, and
Annual Total Expenses between interstate/international and intrastate
Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
and Paper Bill/Statement Service to reflect any measurable differences
between the cost incurred to provide interstate/international and
intrastate services. If you elect to separate the Company's
investments, expenses, Net Capital Stock, and Annual Total Expenses
between interstate/international and intrastate Inmate Calling
Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and Paper
Bill/Statement Service, you must: (a) Fully document, explain, and
justify this separation in the Word template; and (b) submit additional
Excel spreadsheets, similar in design and level of data disaggregation
to those in the Excel template, showing in detail each aspect of the
Company's separations processes. These showings in the Word template
and Excel spreadsheets must fully document and justify each aspect of
the processes by which the separated interstate/international Inmate
Calling Services investment and expenses are further assigned,
attributed, or allocated to or among each of the Company's Facilities,
and how the Net Capital Stock and Annual Total Expenses for each of
these Facilities are developed. Electing this cost allocation option
does not relieve the Company of its obligation to report its
unseparated investments, expenses, Net Capital Stock, and Annual Total
Expenses in the Excel template and in accordance with the instructions
for reporting unseparated data.
(2) In the Word template, state whether the Company elects to
further adjust its investments, expenses, Net Capital Stock, and Annual
Total Expenses developed in accordance with the instructions set out in
this document, for any other reason. If you elect to make such an
adjustment, you must: (a) Fully document, explain, and justify it in
the Word template; and (b) submit additional Excel spreadsheets,
similar in design and level of data disaggregation to those in the
Excel template, showing in detail each aspect of the Company's
adjustments, including all changes to the Company's data, cost
allocation procedures, and results. If the Company also elects to
further separate its investments, expenses, Net Capital Stock, and
Annual Total Expenses as specified in Part IV.C.2.f.(1), above, you
also must separately justify and document the impact of any further
adjustments in response to this Inquiry upon your
[[Page 16577]]
results under Part IV.C.2.f.(1). Electing this additional adjustment
option does not relieve the Company of its obligation to report its
unseparated and unadjusted investments, expenses, Net Capital Stock,
and Annual Total Expenses on the Excel template and in accordance with
the instructions for reporting unseparated and unadjusted data.
3. Other Company-Wide Information
This subsection directs you to report Company-wide data on Site
Commissions, Security Services, Ancillary Services, and Affiliate
Transactions. It also provides instructions on reporting data and other
information where a Provider subcontracts with another entity for the
provision of ICS.
a. Site Commissions
(1) Total Site Commissions: Enter the total amount of all Site
Commissions paid by the Company during each Year of the Reporting
Period, without regard to whether the Site Commission was Legally
Mandated, Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, Variable, Monetary, or In-
Kind.
(a) Enter the percentage of the total Site Commissions paid by the
Company during each Year of the Reporting Period that were attributable
to the Company's ICS-Related Operations.
(2) Total Legally Mandated Site Commissions: Enter the total amount
of Legally Mandated Site Commissions paid by the Company during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Total Monetary Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site, Monetary
Commissions paid by the Company.
(i) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site Commissions
paid by the Company that were both Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed
Site Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site Commissions that
not only were Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but
also were paid by the Company at the signing of a contract for ICS or
during the first year of a contract for ICS.
(ii) Total Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site
Commissions paid by the Company that were both Monetary Site
Commissions and Variable Site Commissions.
(b) Total In-Kind Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site Commissions
paid by the Company that were also In-Kind Site Commissions.
(i) In the Word template, describe these in-kind payments in
detail. Specifically describe each Security Service that you classify
as an In-Kind Site Commission payment. Also specifically describe any
other payment, gift, exchange of services or goods, fee, technology
allowance, or product that you classify as an In-Kind Site Commission
payment.
(ii) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site Commissions
paid by the Company that were both In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed
Site Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site Commissions that
not only were In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but
also were paid by the Company at the signing of a contract for ICS or
during the first year of a contract for ICS.
(iii) Total Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site
Commissions paid by the Company that were both In-Kind Site Commissions
and Variable Site Commissions.
(3) Total Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions: Enter the
total amount of Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions paid by the
Company during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Total Monetary Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid by the Company that were also Monetary Site
Commissions.
(i) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of all Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid by the Company that were both Monetary Site
Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions
that not only were Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions
but also were paid by the Company at the signing of a contract for ICS
or during the first year of a contract for ICS.
(ii) Total Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the total amount of all Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions paid by the Company that were both Monetary
Site Commissions and Variable Site Commissions.
(b) Total In-Kind Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions that paid by the Company that were also In-Kind Site
Commissions.
(i) In the Word template, describe these in-kind payments in
detail. Specifically describe each Security Service that you classify
as an In-Kind Site Commission payment. Also specifically describe any
other payment, gift, exchange of services or goods, fee, technology
allowance, or product that you classify as an In-Kind Site Commission
payment.
(ii) Total Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of all Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions paid by the Company that were both In-Kind Site Commissions
and Fixed Site Commissions.
(aa) Total Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of all Contractually Prescribed that not only
were In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but also were
paid by the Company at the signing of a contract for ICS or during the
first year of a contract for ICS.
(iii) Total Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the
Reporting Period, enter the total amount of all Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions paid by the Company that were both In-Kind
Site Commissions and Variable Site Commissions.
(4) Site Commissions Allocation Methodology: In the Word template,
fully describe, document, explain, and justify the allocation
methodology you use to allocate Site Commission payments between ICS
and non-ICS operations in situations where you made Site Commission
payments for both ICS and non-ICS Operations.
b. Security Services Not Classified as Site Commissions
Reporting in response to the following questions (1) through (3)
must be exclusive of the data reported in connection with Site
Commissions to prevent double-counting.
(1) On the Excel template, report the total dollar amount of costs
the Company incurred to provide the following categories of services
for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Law enforcement support services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by name and describe each
service you
[[Page 16578]]
classify as a law enforcement support service, including a description
of the specific tasks and functions covered by this service and whether
you routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(b) Call security services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by name and describe each
service you classify as a call security service, including a
description of the specific tasks and functions covered by this service
and whether you routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(c) Call recording services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by name and describe each
service you classify as a call recording service, including a
description of the specific tasks and functions covered by this service
and whether you routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(d) Call monitoring services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by name and describe each
service you classify as a call monitoring service, including a
description of the specific tasks and functions covered by this service
whether you routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(e) Voice biometrics services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by name and describe each
service you classify as a voice biometric service, including a
description of the specific tasks and functions covered by this service
and whether you routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(f) Other services.
(i) In the Word template, identify by name and describe each
Security Service you provide that is not classified under one of the
foregoing subcategories, including a description of the specific tasks
and functions covered by each service and whether you routinely offer
each service in connection with ICS.
(2) In the Word template, specifically describe each Security
Service provided by you that you do not classify as a Site Commission
and is not offered in connection with ICS.
(3) In the Word template, specifically describe any other payment,
gift, exchange of goods or services, fee, technology allowance, or
product provided for security purposes that you do not classify as a
Site Commission payment.
c. Ancillary Services
This subsection directs you to provide certain Company-level
information on your Ancillary Services expenses and revenues, and
Revenue-Sharing Agreements in connection with your Ancillary Services.
First, this subsection directs you to report expenses you incurred in
providing Ancillary Services and includes inquiries requiring you to
report subsets of those expenses and/or provide narratives in the Word
template. Second, this subsection directs you to report revenues earned
from providing Ancillary Services and similarly includes questions
requiring you to report subsets of those revenues and/or provide
narrative responses. Third, this subsection directs you to identify and
provide information regarding Revenue-Sharing Agreements relating to
your Ancillary Services in the Word template.
(1) Ancillary Services: Enter ``Yes'' if you charged Customers
Automated Payment Service Fees, Live Agent Service Fees, Paper Bill/
Statement Service Fees, Fees for Single-Call and Related Services,
Third-Party Financial Transaction Services Fees during the Reporting
Period. Otherwise, enter ``No.''
(a) In the next cell, enter ``Yes'' if you charged Customers more
than one Permissible Ancillary Service Charge fee in connection with
the same interstate, international, or mixed-jurisdictional transaction
during the Reporting Period.
(i) If you answered ``Yes,'' describe in detail the circumstances
relating to those charges in the Word template. Your description shall
include, in addition to all other relevant information, a list of the
specific transactions for which you charged multiple fees, the fee
charged in each transaction, the functions that were covered by each
fee, and the total amounts that Customers paid for each fee.
(2) Ancillary Services Expenses: Enter your Annual Total Expenses
in providing Automated Payment Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service,
and Live Agent Service for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Automated Payment Services: Enter the Annual Total Expenses
incurred in providing Automated Payment Service for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, identify each Affiliate, if any, that the
Company used in providing its Automated Payment Service.
(ii) In the next cell, enter ``Yes'' if the Company used a Third
Party in providing its Automated Payment Service. Otherwise Enter
``No.''
(aa) If you entered ``Yes,'' identify each such Third Party in the
next cell.
(bb) Enter the amount the Company paid to each listed Third Party
for providing Automated Payment Service for each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(iii) In the Word template, describe payment card processing
services offered in connection with your Automated Payment Service for
each Year of the Reporting Period. Identify whether the payment card
processing was performed by the Company, an Affiliate, or a Third
Party. If provided by an Affiliate or Third Party, identify the
Affiliate or Third Party.
(b) Live Agent Services: Enter the Annual Total Expenses applicable
to your Live Agent Service for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, identify each Affiliate, if any, that the
Company used in providing its Live Agent Service.
(ii) In the next cell, enter ``Yes'' if the Company used a Third
Party in providing its Live Agent Service. Otherwise enter ``No.''
(aa) If you entered ``Yes,'' identify each such Third Party in the
next cell.
(bb) In the next cell, enter the amount the Company paid each
listed Third Party for each Year of the Reporting Period to provide
Live Agent Service.
(c) Paper Bill/Statement Services: Enter the Annual Total Expenses
applicable to your Paper Bill/Statement Service for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, identify each Affiliate that the Company used
in providing its Paper Bill/Statement Service.
(ii) In the next cell, enter ``Yes'' if the Company used a Third
Party in providing its Paper Bill/Statement Service. Otherwise, enter
``No.''
(aa) If you entered ``Yes,'' identify each such Third Party in the
next cell.
(bb) In the next cell, enter the amount the Company paid each
listed Third Party for each Year of the Reporting Period to provide.
(d) Single-Call and Related Services:
(i) List each entity that charged the Company for billing services
for Single-Call and Related Services during each Year of the Reporting
Period. Indicate whether each listed entity is a Third Party.
(ii) Enter the amount the Company paid each Third Party for billing
services in connection with Single-Call and Related Services for each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(iii) Enter the amount the Company paid a Third Party for billing
services in connection with Single-Call and Related Services that the
Company passed through to Customers for each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(iv) Enter the amount the Company paid to an entity other than a
Third Party for billing services in connection with Single-Call and
Related Services for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(v) Enter the amount the Company paid to an entity other than a
Third
[[Page 16579]]
Party for billing services in connection with Single-Call and Related
Services for each Year of the Reporting Period that the Company passed
through to Customers.
(vi) In the Word template, state whether any entity other than the
Company charged Customers Single-Call and Related Services Fees in
connection with the Company's ICS-Related Operations during each Year
of the Reporting Period. If so, list each such entity, indicate whether
each listed entity is a Third Party, and provide the amount of such
fees each listed entity charged Customers during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(e) Third-Party Financial Transaction Services:
(i) Payment Card Processing for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services: In the Word template, describe payment card processing
services performed in connection with Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services during each Year of the Reporting Period. Identify whether the
payment card processing was performed by the Company, an Affiliate, or
a Third Party. If provided by an Affiliate or Third Party, identify the
Affiliate or Third Party.
(ii) List each entity that charged the Company for providing Third-
Party Financial Transaction Services during the Reporting Period in
connection with the Company's ICS-Related Operations. Indicate whether
each listed entity is a Third Party.
(iii) Enter the amount the Company paid to a Third Party for Third-
Party Financial Transaction Services during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(iv) Enter the amount the Company paid to a Third Party for Third-
Party Financial Transaction Services that the Company passed through to
Customers during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(v) Enter the amount the Company paid to an entity other than a
Third Party for Third-Party Financial Transaction Services during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(vi) Enter the amount the Company paid to an entity other than a
Third Party for Third-Party Financial Transaction Services that the
Company passed through to Customers during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(vii) In the Word template, state whether any entity other than the
Company charged Customers for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services in connection with the Company's ICS-Related Operations during
each Year of the Reporting Period. If so, list each such entity and
provide the amount of such fees each listed entity charged Customers
during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(3) Ancillary Services Revenues: Enter the total revenues you
received from Customers for providing Permissible Ancillary Services
during each Year of the Reporting Period. This total shall include fees
Customers paid the Company for Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service, Single-Call and Related
Services, Third-Party Financial Transaction Services, and Other
Ancillary Services.
(a) Automated Payment Service Revenues: Enter the total amount of
revenues the Company received from charging Automated Payment Fees
during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(i) Payment Card Processing Revenues for Automated Payment Service:
Of the amount reported for Total Automated Payment Fee Revenues above,
enter the amount of those revenues applicable to payment card
processing for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(aa) In the Word template, describe the payment card processing
services in connection with Automated Payment Service revenue. Identify
whether the payment card processing was performed by the Company, an
Affiliate, or a Third Party. If payment card processing was performed
by an Affiliate or Third Party, identify the Affiliate or Third Party.
(ii) Automated Payment Service Revenue-Sharing Agreements: If the
Provider has a Revenue-Sharing Agreement with an Affiliate or Third
Party in connection with Automated Payment Service, including for any
payment card processing functions enter ``Yes.'' Otherwise, enter
``No.''
(aa) If you answered ``Yes,'' you must provide the information
requested below under the ``Ancillary Services Revenue-Sharing
Agreements'' heading in the Word template.
(b) Live Agent Fee Revenues: Enter the total revenues the Company
received from charging the Live Agent Fee for each Year during the
Reporting Period.
(i) In the next cell, enter ``Yes'' if an Affiliate or Third Party
charged the Live Agent Fee for each Year during the Reporting Period.
Otherwise, enter ``No.'' If you entered ``Yes,'' identify each such
Affiliate or Third Party in the next cell and provide the amount
charged by the Affiliate or Third Party next to the name.
(c) Paper Bill/Statement Fee Revenues: Enter the total revenues the
Company received from charging the Paper Bill/Statement Fee for each
Year during the Reporting Period.
(d) Single-Call and Related Services Revenues: Enter the total
amount of revenues the Company received from charging Fees for Single-
Call and Related Services for each Year during the Reporting Period.
(i) Single-Call and Related Services: Of the amount reported for
Total Single-Call and Related Services Revenues above, enter the amount
of those revenues the Company received from charging the adopted, per-
minute rate in connection with Single-Call and Related Services. This
amount should exclude any Third-Party charges passed through to
Customers as part of providing Single-Call and Related Services.
(ii) Single-Call and Related Services Revenue-Sharing Agreements:
If the Provider has a Revenue-Sharing Agreement with an Affiliate or a
Third Party in connection with Single-Call and Related Services enter
``Yes.'' Otherwise, enter ``No.''
(aa) If you answered ``Yes,'' you must provide the information
requested below under the ``Ancillary Services Revenue-Sharing
Agreements'' heading in the Word template.
(e) Third-Party Financial Transaction Fee Revenue: Enter the total
revenues the Company received from charging Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees for each Year during the Reporting Period.
(i) Payment Card Processing Revenues from Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services: Of the amount reported for Total Third-Party
Financial Transaction Fee Revenue, enter the amount of that revenue
applicable to payment card processing for each Year during the
Reporting Period.
(ab) In the Word template, describe these payment card processing
services, including whether they were performed by the Provider, an
Affiliate, or a Third Party. If provided by an Affiliate or a Third
Party, identify each Affiliate or Third Party. State whether the
Company charged Customers payment card processing fees for each Year
during the Reporting Period. If so, enter the amount of such fees
charged to Customers for each Year during the Reporting Period.
(ii) Third-Party Financial Transaction Fee Revenue-Sharing
Agreements: If the Provider has a Revenue-Sharing Agreement with an
Affiliate or a Third Party in connection with Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees, enter ``Yes.'' Otherwise, enter ``No.''
(aa) If you answered ``Yes,'' you must provide the information
requested below under the ``Ancillary Services Revenue-Sharing
Agreements'' heading in the Word template.
(4) Ancillary Services Revenue-Sharing Agreements: In the Word
template, identify any Revenue-Sharing Agreements between the Provider
and
[[Page 16580]]
any Affiliate and/or Third Party in connection with any Ancillary
Service.
(a) For each Revenue-Sharing Agreement identified, provide, at a
minimum, the following information:
(i) The parties to the agreement;
(ii) Identify each payor and each payee under the agreement;
(iii) Whether any party to the agreement is an Affiliate or Third
Party;
(iv) The Ancillary Service for which revenue is required to be
shared under the agreement;
(v) The amount of revenue to be shared under the terms of the
agreement;
(vi) The total amount of revenue shared for each Year during the
Reporting Period;
(vii) The total amount of revenue shared for each Ancillary
Service; and
(viii) The effective and termination dates of the agreement.
d. Affiliate Transactions
(1) In the Word template, describe in detail all types of
transactions between the Accounting Entity and its non-Accounting
Entity Affiliates.
(2) Provider's Payments to Non-Accounting Entity Affiliates:
(a) Total ICS Revenue Paid to Non-Accounting Entity Affiliates:
Enter the amount of ICS revenue the Provider paid to any non-Accounting
Entity Affiliate during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(b) Total Automated Payment Fee Revenue Paid to Non-Accounting
Entity Affiliates: Enter the amount of Automated Payment Fee revenue
the Provider paid to any non-Accounting Entity Affiliate during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(c) Total Single-Call and Related Services Revenue Paid to Non-
Accounting Entity Affiliates: Enter the amount of revenue from charging
Fees for Single-Call and Related Services the Provider paid to any non-
Accounting Entity Affiliate during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(d) Total Live Agent Fee Revenue Paid to Non-Accounting Entity
Affiliates: Enter the amount of Live Agent Fee revenue the Provider
paid to any non-Accounting Entity Affiliate during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(e) Total Paper Bill/Statement Fee Revenue Paid to Non-Accounting
Entity Affiliates: Enter the amount of Paper Bill/Statement Fee revenue
the Provider paid to any Affiliate during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(f) Total Third-Party Financial Transaction Fee Revenue Paid to
Non-Accounting Entity Affiliates: Enter the amount of Third-Party
Financial Transaction Fee Revenue the Provider paid to any non-
Accounting Entity Affiliate during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(g) International Termination Payments to Affiliates: Enter the
total amounts paid by the Company to an affiliated international
service provider during each Year of the Reporting Period to terminate
International ICS Calls originating from the Facility.
e. Instructions Relating to Subcontracts To Provide Inmate Calling
Services
This subsection provides instructions on reporting data and other
information where a Provider subcontracts with another entity for the
provision of ICS. The primary goal in requiring the submission of these
data is to prevent double counting of costs and/or revenues between a
Company and other entities when they have a contractual or other
arrangement to provide ICS to the same Facility. Further, we also seek
to understand the nature of any such arrangements.
Subcontractor Reporting of Cost and Revenue Data: In reporting cost
and revenue data, Subcontractors shall not treat any Billed Revenue
passed on to a Provider as an expense and shall otherwise report
investments, expenses, and revenues in accordance with the instructions
set forth in this document.
(1) Provider Reporting of Cost Data: Where a Provider has a
Subcontractor:
(a) The Provider shall directly assign, attribute, or allocate its
investments and expenses based on the cost allocation hierarchies set
forth in these instructions to or among:
(i) Inmate Calling Services, Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service, Other Ancillary Services, and
non-ICS Services;
(ii) Further directly assign, attribute, or allocate the Provider's
Inmate Calling Services investments and expenses to or among (i)
Provider-supplied facilities; and (ii) Subcontractor-supplied
facilities.
(2) Narrative Description of a Subcontract to Provide ICS: If a
Provider contracts with a Subcontractor to provide any aspect of ICS,
the Provider and the Subcontractor shall explain each such arrangement
in the Word templates of their respective responses. At a minimum, each
such explanation shall include:
(a) The name of the Provider with the contractual or other
agreement with a Facility or contracting authority for the provision of
ICS;
(b) The name of the Subcontractor;
(c) The services provided by the Subcontractor under the agreement;
(d) The unique identifier and address for the Facilities at which
the Subcontractor provides services under the agreement;
(e) A description of the ICS-Related Operations provided by the
Provider and the Subcontractor;
(f) The types of ICS calls billed by the Provider and the
Subcontractor; and
(g) A description of any Revenue-Sharing Agreement between the
Provider and the Subcontractor.
D. Facility-Specific Information
The previous section directs you to provide general financial data
and other information at the Company level. In this section, we direct
you to provide financial data and other information at the Facility
level. You must submit individual data for each Facility even if that
Facility is covered by the same contract as other Facilities. Those
data must be specific to the Facility in question and not simply a
repeat of data reported for other Facilities covered by the same
contract.
1. Facility-Specific Financial Information
Part IV.C.2, above, directs you to provide Company-wide financial
information. We now direct you to provide financial information at the
Facility level. We begin by providing cost allocation instructions. We
then direct you to provide the results of the cost allocation process.
We also direct you to provide Annual Total Expenses for ICS at each
Facility as well as Facility-specific demand and revenue data. In
particular, this subsection seeks Inmate Calling Service demand,
revenue, and expense information allocated by Facility in accordance
with the cost allocation instructions set forth below.
a. Cost Allocation Instructions
In Part IV.C.2, above, we direct you to allocate your Company-wide
investments and expenses to Inmate Calling Services, among other
services, in accordance with certain instructions. We now provide
instructions on how you are to allocate the Company-wide investments
and expenses allocated to Inmate Calling Services among the Facilities
at which the Company provides Calling Services to incarcerated people.
To the extent possible, you must assign or allocate Company-wide
investments and expenses for Inmate Calling Services among Facilities
using the hierarchy of methods specified below.
(1) First, to the extent possible, directly assign investments used
[[Page 16581]]
exclusively to provide Inmate Calling Services at or for a particular
Facility to that Facility; likewise, to the extent possible, directly
assign expenses incurred exclusively to provide Inmate Calling Services
at or for a particular Facility to that Facility. Calculate federal and
state income taxes relative to Inmate Calling Services for a particular
Facility as specified in 6 and 7 below.
(2) Second, group shared investments and expenses into shared
investment and expense categories based on business function, activity,
or task. Group common investments and expenses into common investment
and expense categories based on business function, activity, or task.
(a) Any investments and expenses that are not directly assignable
to a specific Facility are shared or common investments and expenses.
(b) Shared investments are for assets used exclusively to provide
Inmate Calling Services at or for a specific subset of Facilities that
are not assignable or attributable to a particular Facility. Shared
expenses are expenses incurred solely to provide Inmate Calling
Services at or for a specific subset of Facilities that are not
assignable or attributable to a specific Facility.
(c) Common investments are for assets not assignable or
attributable to a specific Facility or subset of facilities. Common
expenses are expenses that are not assignable or attributable to a
specific Facility or subset of Facilities.
(3) Third, to the extent possible, directly attribute categories of
shared investments and expenses, and categories of common investments
and expenses, to particular Facilities based on direct analysis of
factors that cause a particular business function, activity, or task--
and thus investments or expenses--to increase or decrease.
(4) Fourth, where neither direct assignment nor direct attribution
is possible, allocate categories of shared investments and expenses,
and categories of common investments and expenses, to particular
Facilities based on an indirect, cost-causative link to another
investment and expense or another investment or expense category (or
group of categories) for which direct assignment or attribution is
possible.
(5) Fifth, where none of the methods described above is possible,
allocate categories of shared investments and expenses to the
particular Facilities that share the investments and expenses in
proportion to each Facility's share of the total of all investments or
expenses already directly assigned or attributed to these particular
Facilities. Allocate categories of common investments and expenses to
particular Facilities in proportion to each Facility's share of the
total of all investments or expenses already directly assigned or
attributed to all Facilities.
(6) Federal income taxes: First, subtract reported interest expense
other than interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits (and any
amount reported for other income tax-related adjustments) from Return
to determine federal taxable income. Second, divide the federal income
tax rate by 1 minus the federal income tax rate to determine a federal
income tax gross-up factor. Third, multiply the federal income tax
gross-up factor by federal taxable income to determine the amount of
federal income tax to report.
(7) State income taxes: First, add the portion of federal income
tax that is not deductible for state income tax purposes to federal
taxable income to determine state taxable income. Second, divide the
individual state income tax rate applicable to a particular Facility by
1 minus the individual state income tax rate applicable to that
Facility to determine a state income tax gross-up factor. Third,
multiply the state income tax gross-up factor by state taxable income
to determine the amount of state income tax to report.
The sums of the investment and expense amounts assigned to,
attributed to, or allocated among Facilities shall equal the total of
the Company-wide investment and expense amounts reported for Inmate
Calling Services. The sums of the federal and state income taxes
calculated separately for each of the Facilities shall equal the
Company-wide federal and state income tax amounts reported for Inmate
Calling Services. Fully document, explain, and justify all cost
assignments, attributions, and allocations in the Word template.
b. Cost Allocation Results
Report the results of your cost assignments, attributions, and
allocations in the Excel template.
(1) Capital Assets: Report the year-end amount related to the
provision of Inmate Calling Services at or for each Facility for each
Year of the Reporting Period for each of the items specified below. For
Cash Working Capital (item (h)), please report the average amount.
(a) Gross Investment;
(b) Accumulated depreciation;
(c) Accumulated amortization;
(d) Net Investment;
(e) Accumulated deferred federal income taxes;
(f) Accumulated deferred state income taxes;
(g) Customer prepayments or deposits;
(h) Cash Working Capital; and
(i) Net Capital Stock.
(2) Capital Expenses and Related Tax Information: Report the annual
amount or percentages related to the provision of Inmate Calling
Services at or for each Facility for each Year of the Reporting Period
for each of the items specified below.
(a) Depreciation;
(b) Amortization;
(c) Weighted Average Cost of Capital;
(d) Return;
(e) Interest other than interest paid on customer prepayments or
deposits;
(f) Interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits;
(g) Other income tax-related adjustments;
(h) Federal taxable income;
(i) Federal income tax rate;
(j) Federal income tax gross-up factor;
(k) Federal income tax;
(l) Federal income tax not deductible for state income tax
purposes;
(m) State taxable income;
(n) State income tax rate;
(o) State income tax gross-up factor; and
(p) State income tax.
(3) Operating Expenses: Report the annual amount related to the
provision of Inmate Calling Services at or for each Facility for each
Year of the Reporting Period for each of the items specified below.
Each expense must be reported for a particular category; for example,
do not report expense incurred for termination of International
Communication as an expense incurred for Interstate and Intrastate
Communication. Exclude any charges for asset impairment loss.
(a) Maintenance, repair, and engineering of site plant, equipment,
and facilities;
(b) Origination, switching, and transporting of Interstate,
International and Intrastate Communication and termination of
Interstate and Intrastate Communication;
(c) Termination of International Communication;
(d) Field service;
(e) Network operations;
(f) Call center;
(g) Data center;
(h) Security Services relating to the Company's ICS-Related
Operations;
(i) Billing, collection, client management, and customer care;
(j) Sales and marketing;
(k) General and administrative;
(l) Other overhead;
(m) Taxes other than income taxes;
(n) Transactions related to mergers and acquisitions; and
(o) Bad debt.
[[Page 16582]]
c. Facility-Specific Annual Total Expenses
Report the separate Facility-specific Annual Total Expenses for
Inmate Calling Services for each Facility at which you provided Calling
Services to incarcerated people. Exclude reported interest expense
other than interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits from
Annual Total Expenses. The allowance for interest expense other than
interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits is included in the
Return component of the Annual Total Expenses calculation. Include
reported interest paid on customer prepayments or deposits in Annual
Total Expenses. Exclude expense reported for termination of
International Communication from Annual Total Expenses.
d. Facility-Specific Demand and Revenue Data
(1) Demand for Inmate Calling Services: Report on the Excel
template the annual demand for Inmate Calling Services for each Year of
the Reporting Period. Provide separate data for each Facility at which
you provided Calling Services to incarcerated people. Annual demand
shall be expressed in the units and for the categories specified below.
Billed and Unbilled Minutes and Calls reported for different categories
shall sum to the relevant total reported for Billed and Unbilled
Minutes and Calls. You must submit individual data for each Facility
even if that Facility is covered by the same contract as other
Facilities. Those data must be specific to the Facility in question and
not simply a repeat of data reported for other Facilities covered by
the same contract. If you repeat or merge data across multiple
facilities covered by a single contract, explain in the Word template
why you did so and how you reported the data.
(a) Total Billed Calls;
(b) Billed Calls separately for (i) Interstate Communication, (ii)
International Communication, and (iii) Intrastate Communication;
(c) Total Unbilled Calls;
(d) Total Billed and Unbilled Calls;
(e) Total Billed Minutes;
(f) Billed Minutes separately for (i) Interstate Communication,
(ii) International Communication, and (iii) Intrastate Communication;
(g) Total Unbilled Minutes;
(h) Total Billed and Unbilled Minutes;
(i) Average Daily Population;
(aa) If you do not know a Facility's Average Daily Population, so
indicate and provide your best estimate of that Average Daily
Population. Explain the basis for this estimate in the Word template.
(j) Total number of ICS accounts opened;
(k) Total number of ICS accounts closed;
(l) Total Admissions;
(m) Total Releases;
(n) Weekly Turnover Rate;
(o) Number of Incarcerated Person Telephones Installed; and
(p) Number of Incarcerated Person Kiosks Installed.
(2) Demand for Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, Paper
Bill/Statement Service, Single-Call and Related Services, and Third-
Party Financial Transaction Service: Report on the Excel template the
annual demand for Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, Paper
Bill/Statement Service, Single-Call and Related Services, and Third-
Party Financial Transaction Service. Provide separate data for each
Facility at which you provided Calling Services to incarcerated people.
Express demand for Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service, and
Paper Bill/Statement Service as the number of Billed Uses. Express
demand for Single-Call and Related Services and Third-Party Financial
Transaction Service as the number of Billed Transactions. Billed demand
reported for each Facility shall sum to the relevant total for all
Facilities.
(3) Revenues from Inmate Calling Services: Report on the Excel
template the annual Billed Revenues from Inmate Calling Services for
each Year of the Reporting Period. Provide separate data for each of
the categories specified below for each Facility at which you provided
Calling Services for incarcerated people. Billed Revenues reported for
different categories shall sum to the relevant total reported for
Billed Revenues.
(a) Total Billed Revenues;
(b) Billed Revenues separately for (i) Interstate Communication,
(ii) International Communication, and (iii) Intrastate Communication;
(4) Revenues from Automated Payment Service, Live Agent Service,
Paper Bill/Statement Service, Single-Call and Related Services, and
Third-Party Financial Transaction Service: Report on the Excel template
the annual Billed Revenues from Automated Payment Service, Live Agent
Service, Paper Bill/Statement Service, Single-Call and Related
Services, and Third-Party Financial Transaction Service. Provide
separate data for each Facility at which you provided Calling Services
for incarcerated people. Billed Revenues reported for each Facility
shall sum to the relevant total for all Facilities.
2. Other Facility-Specific Information
The following information requires you to report various Facility-
level data in the Excel template.
a. General Information
(1) Unique Identifier for Contract: Enter a unique identifier for
each contract under which the Company provides Inmate Calling Services.
(2) Counterparty to Contract: For each contract identified above,
list the name of the party or entity that entered into the contract
with the Provider.
(3) Unique Identifier for Facility: Enter a unique identifier for
each Facility at which the Company offers Inmate Calling Services.
(4) Facility Address: Enter the complete address (street address,
city, state, and ZIP Code) of the physical location of each Facility.
(5) Facility Geographical Coordinates: Enter the geographical
coordinates of each Facility.
(6) Facility Type (Jail or Prison): Indicate whether each Facility
is a Prison (P) or a Jail (J).
(7) Maximum Call Duration: Enter in minutes the Maximum Call
Duration for ICS calls originating from each Facility. If neither the
Facility nor the Company imposes a limit on the length of ICS calls
placed from the Facility, enter ``N/A.''
b. Site Commissions
This subsection directs you to report Facility-specific data on
Site Commissions. You must fully allocate all reported Site Commissions
during the Reporting Period among the Facilities associated with each
Site Commission payment.
(1) Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Site Commissions paid by the Company that was
related to the Facility, without regard to whether the Site Commission
was Legally Mandated, Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, Variable,
Monetary, or In-Kind.
(a) For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the percentage of
the total Site Commissions paid by the Company that was related to the
Facility and that was attributable to the Company's ICS-Related
Operations.
(b) List the non-ICS Products and Services that the Company
provided at the Facility during each year of the Reporting Period.
(c) In the Word template, identify for each Year of the Reporting
Period any Site Commissions paid by the Company that related to any
Facility and that
[[Page 16583]]
included both a monetary payment and an in-kind payment. Provide the
name of the Facility, the entity to which you paid the Site Commission,
and the amount of the monetary payment, and describe in detail the in-
kind payment, including any Security Service.
(d) In the Word template, list for each Year of the Reporting
Period each entity to which you paid a Site Commission. Provide the
name of the Facility for which that entity is responsible and the
amount paid to that entity without regard to whether the Site
Commission was Legally Mandated, Contractually Prescribed, Fixed,
Variable, Monetary, or In-Kind.
(2) Legally Mandated Site Commissions: Enter the total amount of
Legally Mandated Site Commissions paid in connection with ICS calls
from the Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Legally Mandated Site
Commissions in connection with ICS calls from the Facility. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than one entity, allocate the payment
between the relevant entities.
(b) Legally Mandated Site Commission Authority: For each year of
the Reporting Period during which you paid Legally Mandated Site
Commissions in connection with ICS calls from the Facility, provide a
citation to the authority requiring the such payment.
(c) Total Monetary Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site, Monetary
Commissions paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(d) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Legally Mandated,
Monetary Site Commissions in connection with ICS calls from the
Facility. If the Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payment between the relevant entities.
(i) Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site Commissions that were
both Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions and that were
paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid the Legally Mandated,
Fixed, Monetary Site Commissions in connection with ICS calls from the
Facility. If these Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the relevant entities.
(ab) If the Legally Mandated, Fixed, Monetary Site Commission was
imposed at the contract level (e.g., a minimum annual guarantee due
annually under a contract covering multiple Facilities), allocate the
Site Commission payments among all Facilities covered by the contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe the methodology used to
allocate the Legally Mandated, Fixed, Monetary Site Commission payments
among Facilities covered by the contract.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site Commissions that not only
were Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but also were
paid, at the signing of a contract or during the first year of the
contract, in connection with the provision of ICS at the Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you made these upfront
payments. If those Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the relevant entities.
(ii) Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site Commissions
that were both Monetary Site Commissions and Variable Site Commissions
and that were paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Legally Mandated,
Variable, Monetary Site Commissions. If these Site Commissions were
paid to more than one entity, allocate the payments among the relevant
entities.
(e) Total In-Kind Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site Commissions
that were also In-Kind Site Commissions and that were paid in
connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(i) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Legally Mandated, In-
Kind Site Commissions in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
If those Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity, allocate
the payments among the relevant entities.
(ii) In the Word template, describe these in-kind payments in
detail. Specifically describe each Security Service provided at the
Facility that you classify as an In-Kind Site Commission payment. Also
specifically describe any other payment, gift, exchange of services or
goods, fee, technology allowance, or product provided the Facility that
you classify as an In-Kind Site Commission payment.
(iii) Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Legally Mandated Site Commissions
that were both In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions and
that were paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Legally Mandated,
Fixed, In-Kind Site Commissions in connection with ICS calls from the
Facility. If the Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the relevant entities.
(ab) If the Legally Mandated, Fixed, In-Kind Site Commission was
imposed at the contract level (e.g., a minimum annual guarantee due
annually under a contract covering multiple Facilities), allocate the
Site Commission among all Facilities covered by the contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe the methodology used to
allocate the Legally Mandated, Fixed, In-Kind Site Commission payments
among Facilities covered by the contract.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Legally Mandated Site Commissions that not only
were In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but also were
paid, at the signing of a contract or during the first year of the
contract, in connection with the provision of ICS at the Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you made these upfront
payments. If those Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the relevant entities.
(iv) Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the amount of Legally Mandated Site Commissions that were
both In-Kind Site Commissions and Variable Site Commissions and that
were paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Legally Mandated,
Variable, In-Kind Site Commissions. If the Site Commissions were paid
to more than one entity, allocate the payments among the relevant
entities.
(3) Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions: Enter the total
amount of
[[Page 16584]]
Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions paid in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(a) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed Site Commissions Site Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If the Site Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payment among the relevant entities.
(b) Total Monetary Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Contractually Prescribed, Monetary
Site Commissions paid related to the Facility.
(i) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed, Monetary Site Commissions. If the Site Commissions were
paid to more than one entity, allocate the payments among the relevant
entities.
(ii) Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting Period,
enter the total amount of Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions
that were both Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions and
that were paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed, Fixed, Monetary Site Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If these Site Commissions were paid to more
than one entity, allocate the payments among the relevant entities
(ab) If the Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, Monetary Site
Commission was imposed at the contract level (e.g., a minimum annual
guarantee due annually under a contract covering multiple Facilities),
allocate the Site Commission among all Facilities covered by the
contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe the methodology used to
allocate the Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, Monetary Site Commission
payments among Facilities covered by the contract.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the total amount of all Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions that
not only were Monetary Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but
also were paid, at the signing of a contract or during the first year
of the contract, in connection with the provision of ICS at the
Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which made these upfront payments. If
the Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity, allocate the
payments among the relevant entities.
(iii) Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions that were both Monetary Site Commissions and Variable Site
Commissions and that were paid in connection with ICS calls from the
Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed, Variable, Monetary Site Commissions. If the Site
Commissions were paid to more than one entity, allocate the payments
among the relevant entities.
(c) Total In-Kind Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the total amount of Contractually Prescribed Site
Commissions that were also In-Kind Site Commissions and that were paid
related in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(i) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed, In-Kind Site Commissions. If the Site Commissions were paid
to more than one entity, allocate the payments among the relevant
entities.
(ii) In the Word template, describe these in-kind payments in
detail. Specifically describe each Security Service provided at the
Facility that you classify as an In-Kind Site Commission payment. Also
specifically describe any other payment, gift, exchange of services or
goods, fee, technology allowance, or product provided the Facility that
you classify as an In-Kind Site Commission payment.
(iii) Fixed Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the amount of Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions
that were both In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions and
that were paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed, Fixed, In-Kind Site Commissions in connection with ICS
calls from the Facility. If the Site Commissions were paid to more than
one entity, allocate the payments among the relevant entities.
(ab) If the Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, In-Kind Site
Commission was imposed at the contract level (e.g., a minimum annual
guarantee due annually under a contract covering multiple Facilities),
allocate the Site Commission among all Facilities covered by the
contract.
(ac) In the Word template, describe the methodology used to
allocate the Contractually Prescribed, Fixed, In-Kind Site Commission
payments among Facilities.
(ad) Upfront Payments: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter
the amount of all Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions that not
only were In-Kind Site Commissions and Fixed Site Commissions but also
were paid, at the signing of a contract or during the first year of the
contract, in connection with the provision of ICS at the Facility.
(aaa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you made these upfront
payments. If those Site Commissions were paid to more than one entity,
allocate the payments among the relevant entities.
(iv) Variable Site Commissions: For each Year of the Reporting
Period, enter the amount of Contractually Prescribed Site Commissions
that were both In-Kind Site Commissions and Variable Site Commissions
and that were paid in connection with ICS calls from the Facility.
(aa) Recipient: For each Year of the Reporting Period, enter the
name of the entity or entities to which you paid Contractually
Prescribed, Variable, In-Kind Site Commissions. If the Site Commissions
were paid to more than one entity, allocate the payments among the
relevant entities.
(4) Site Commission Allocation Methodology: In the Word template,
fully describe, document, explain, and justify the allocation
methodology you used to allocate Site Commission payments between your
ICS and non-ICS operations at each Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period in situations where you made Site Commission payments
for both ICS and non-ICS Operations.
c. Security Services Not Classified as Site Commissions
Reporting in response to the following questions (1) through (4)
must be exclusive of the data reported in connection with Site
Commissions to prevent double-counting.
(1) On the Excel template, fully allocate and report the total
dollar amount of costs the Company incurred to provide the following
categories of services at each Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(a) Law enforcement support services
[[Page 16585]]
(i) In the Word template, for each Facility and for each Year of
the Reporting Period, identify by name and describe each service you
classify as a law enforcement support service, including a description
of the specific tasks and functions covered by this service and whether
you routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(b) Call security services
(i) In the Word template, for each Facility and for each Year of
the Reporting Period, identify by name and describe each service you
classify as a call security service, including a description of the
specific tasks and functions covered by this service and whether you
routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(c) Call recording services
(i) In the Word template, for each Facility and for each Year of
the Reporting Period, identify by name and describe each service you
classify as a call recording service, including a description of the
specific tasks and functions covered by this service and whether you
routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(d) Call monitoring services
(i) In the Word template, for each Facility and for each Year of
the Reporting Period, identify by name and describe each service you
classify as a call monitoring service, including a description of the
specific tasks and functions covered by this service whether you
routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(e) Voice biometrics services
(i) In the Word template, for each Facility and for each Year of
the Reporting Period, identify by name and describe each service you
classify as a voice biometric service, including a description of the
specific tasks and functions covered by this service and whether you
routinely offer this service in connection with ICS.
(f) Other Security Services
(i) In the Word template, for each Facility and for each Year of
the Reporting Period, identify by name and describe each Security
Service that is not included in one of the foregoing subcategories,
including a description of the specific tasks and functions covered by
each service and whether you routinely offer each service in connection
with ICS.
(2) In the Word template, specifically describe each Security
Service you provided at the Facility that you do not classify as a Site
Commission and that is not offered in connection with ICS.
(3) In the Word template, specifically describe any other payment,
gift, exchange of goods or services, fee, technology allowance, or
product provided for security purposes at the Facility that you do not
classify as a Site Commission payment.
(4) In the Word template, fully describe, document, explain, and
justify the allocation methodology you use to allocate the costs of
your Security Services between ICS and non-ICS operations at each
Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period in situations where
Security Services offered by you also shared elements or overlapped
with your non-ICS operations at each Facility.
d. Ancillary Services Information
(1) Automated Payment Fee Revenues: Enter the amount of Automated
Payment Fee Revenues the Accounting Entity received from Customers for
ICS calls originating in the Facility during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(2) Automated Payment Fees Paid to An Affiliate: Enter the amount
of Automated Payment Fee revenue the Accounting Entity paid to any non-
ICS Affiliate for ICS calls originating in the Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(3) Affiliates Used in Providing Automated Payment Service: List
each Affiliate, if any, that the Accounting Entity used in providing
its Automated Payment Service at each Facility for each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(4) Third Parties Used in Providing Automated Payment Service: List
each Third Party, if any, that the Accounting Entity used in providing
its Automated Payment Service at each Facility for each Year of the
Reporting Period and enter the amount of Automated Pay Service for
which the Company was billed by each listed Third Party at each
Facility for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(5) Automated Payment Fees and Third-Party Transaction Fees Charged
in the Same Transaction: In the Word template and for each Facility for
each Year of the Reporting Period, identify any transactions for which
both Automated Payment Fees and Third-Party Transaction Fees were
charged, describe the services provided for the transaction, and
apportion the fees charged for the services provided for each.
(6) Payment Card Processing Revenue for Automated Payment Fees: Of
the amount reported for Automated Payment Fee Revenue above, enter the
amount of that revenue attributable to payment card processing fees
charged in connection with calls at each Facility during each Year of
the Reporting Period.
(a) In the Word template, describe these payment card processing
functions performed at each Facility, including whether they were
performed by the Provider, an Affiliate, or a Third Party. If such
functions were performed by an Affiliate or Third Party, identify the
Affiliate or Third Party.
(7) Fees for Single-Call and Related Services: Enter the amount of
Fees for Single-Call and Related Services the Accounting Entity
received from Customers in connection with its ICS-Related Operations
at the Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(8) Single-Call and Related Services Revenues Paid to An Affiliate:
Enter the amount of revenues from Fees for Single-Call and Related
Services Customers paid to any Affiliate for ICS calls originating in
the Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(9) Entities Charging the Accounting Entity for Billing Services:
List each entity that charged the Accounting Entity for billing
services for Single-Call and Related services at each Facility for each
year during the Reporting Period. Indicate whether each listed entity
is a Third Party.
(10) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for Billing Services: Enter the
amount the Accounting Entity paid to a Third Party for billing services
in connection with Single-Call and Related Services at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(11) Single-Call and Related Services Fees Passed through to
Customers: Enter the amount the Accounting Entity paid to Third Parties
for billing services in connection with Single-Call and Related
Services that the Company passed through to Customers at each Facility
during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(12) Amounts Paid to Other Entities for Billing Services: Enter the
amount the Accounting Entity paid to entities other than Third Parties
for billing services in connection with Single-Call and Related
Services at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(13) Amounts Paid to Other Entities for Billing Services Passed
Through to Customers: Enter the amount the Accounting Entity paid to
entities other than Third Parties for billing services in connection
with Single-Call and Related Services that the Company passed through
to Customers at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(14) Other Entities that Charged Customers for Single-Call and
Related Services: In the Word template, state whether any entity other
than the
[[Page 16586]]
Company charged Customers Single-Call and Related Services Fees in
connection with the Company's ICS-Related Operations at each Facility
for each Year during the Reporting Period. If so, list each such
entity, indicate whether each listed entity is a Third Party, and
provide the amount of such fees each listed entity charged Customers at
each Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(15) Live Agent Fees: Enter the amount of Live Agent Fee revenue
the Accounting Entity received from Customers in connection with its
ICS-Related Operations at the Facility during each Year of the
Reporting Period.
(16) Affiliates Used to Provide Live Agent Service: List each
Affiliate, if any, that the Accounting Entity used in providing its
Live Agent Service at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(17) Third Parties Used to Provide Live Agent Service: List each
Third Party, if any, that the Accounting Entity used in providing its
Live Agent Service at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(18) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for Live Agent Service: Enter
the amount the Accounting Entity paid to each listed Third Party for
Live Agent Service at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting
Period.
(19) Live Agent Fee Revenue Paid to an Affiliate: Enter the amount
of Live Agent Fee revenues the Accounting Entity paid to any non-ICS
Affiliate for ICS calls originating in the Facility during each Year of
the Reporting Period.
(20) Paper Bill/Statement Fee Revenue: Enter the amount of Paper
Bill/Statement Fee revenue generated by calls originating in the
Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(21) Affiliates Used to Provide Paper Bill/Statement Service: List
each Affiliate, if any, that the Accounting Entity used in providing
its Paper Bill/Statement Fee Service at each Facility during each Year
of the Reporting Period.
(22) Third Parties Used to Provide Paper Bill/Statement Service:
List each Third Party, if any, that the Accounting Entity used in
providing its Paper Bill/Statement Service at each Facility during each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(23) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for Paper Bill/Statement
Service: Enter the amount the Accounting Entity paid to each listed
Third Party for Paper Bill/Statement Service at each Facility during
each Year of the Reporting Period.
(24) Paper Bill/Statement Fee Revenue Paid to an Affiliate: Enter
the amount of Paper Bill/Statement Fee revenue paid by the Accounting
Entity to any non-ICS Affiliate for ICS calls originating in the
Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(25) Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees: Enter the amount of
revenue from Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees the Accounting
Entity received from Customers in connection with its ICS-Related
Operations at the Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(26) Per-Transaction Charges for Third-Party Transactions: Enter
the per-transaction fee(s) charged to an end user for transferring
money or processing other financial transactions to facilitate an end
user's ability to make account payments via a Third Party, including a
Third Party that is an Affiliate of the Provider. For each fee,
indicate whether the Third Party receiving the payment is an Affiliate
or non-Affiliate.
(27) Payment Card Processing Revenue from Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees: Of the amount reported for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees above, enter the amount of that revenue applicable to
charging Customers for payment card processing for each Facility during
each Year during the Reporting Period.
(a) In the Word template, describe the payment card processing
services in connection with revenue reported for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Fees, including whether they were performed by the
Provider, an Affiliate, or a Third Party. If such services were
provided by an Affiliate or a Third Party, identify the Affiliate or
Third Party.
(28) Entities Charging the Accounting Entity for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services: List each entity that charged the
Accounting Entity for providing Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services at each Facility for each Year of the Reporting Period.
Indicate whether each listed entity is a Third Party.
(29) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services: Enter the amount the Accounting Entity paid to
Third Parties for Third-Party Financial Transaction Services at each
Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(30) Amounts Paid to Third Parties for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services Passed Through to Customers: Enter the amount the
Accounting Entity paid to Third Parties for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services that the Company passed through to Customers at
each Facility for each Year of the Reporting Period.
(31) Amounts Paid to Other Entities for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services: Enter the amount the Accounting Entity paid to
entities other than Third Parties for Third-Party Financial Transaction
Services at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(32) Amounts Paid to Other Entities for Third-Party Financial
Transaction Services Passed Through to Customers: Enter the amount the
Accounting Entity paid to entities other than Third Parties for Third-
Party Financial Transaction Services that the Company passed through to
Customers at each Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
(33) Other Entities that Charged Customers for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services: In the Word template, state whether any
entity other than the Company charged Customers for Third-Party
Financial Transaction Services in connection with the Company's ICS-
Related Operations at each Facility for each Year of the Reporting
Period. If so, list each such entity and provide the amount of such
fees each listed entity charged Customers at each Facility for each
Year of the Reporting Period.
(34) Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees Paid to an Affiliate:
Enter the amount of Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees paid by the
Accounting Entity to any non-ICS Affiliate for ICS calls originating in
the Facility during each Year of the Reporting Period.
V. Certification Form
Each Provider of Inmate Calling Services must submit a signed
certification form as part of its Mandatory Data Collection response.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or
other senior executive of the Provider must complete the form and
certify that, based the executive's own reasonable inquiry, that all
statements and information contained in the Provider's Mandatory Data
Collection response are true, accurate, and complete. The Certification
Form is Appendix C to these instructions.
(1) Name of Service Provider: Provide the name under which the
Provider offers ICS. If the Provider offers ICS under more than one
name, provide all relevant names.
(2) Reporting Years: Provide the relevant time period for the
information the certification covers.
(3) Officer Name, Title: Provide the name and title of the officer
completing the certification form. The officer must be the Chief
Executive Officer (CEO),
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Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or other senior executive of the
Provider who can attest to the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness
of the information provided.
(4) Mailing Address of Officer: Provide the business mailing
address of the officer identified in item (3).
(5) Telephone Number: Provide the business telephone number, with
area code, of the officer identified in item (3).
(6) Email Address: Provide the business email address of the
officer identified in item (3).
(7) Certification: This section requires the person who signs the
certification form on behalf of the Provider to declare, under penalty
of perjury, that (1) the signatory is an officer of the above-named
Provider and is authorized to submit the attached Mandatory Data
Collection response on behalf of the Provider; (2) the signatory has
examined the attached Mandatory Data Collection response and determined
that all requested information has been provided; and (3) based on
information known to the signatory, or provided to the signatory by
employees responsible for the information being submitted, and on the
signatory's own reasonable inquiry, all statements and information
contained in the Provider's Mandatory Data Collection response are
true, accurate, and complete.
(8) Signature of Authorized Officer: The signature of the officer
identified in item (3) is required in this block.
(9) Date: The date the officer identified in item (3) signs the
form is required in this block.
(10) Printed Name of Authorized Officer: The printed name of the
officer identified in item (3) is required in this block.
[FR Doc. 2022-05359 Filed 3-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P