Communication Services

The U.S. prison communications industry includes companies that provide prisons, jails, and immigrant detention centers with telecommunications services, including phone calls—primarily via payphone—and video "visitations" conducted via kiosks or tablets. This category also includes other types of prison communication services, such as incoming mail scan technology, email and messaging systems, and cable television.

Following decades of mergers and acquisitions, this industry is now concentrated in the hands of private companies. Only three companies overwhelmingly control the prison communications industry:

The remainder of the prison communications market is divided among smaller, privately held companies.

For our 2023 report on the U.S. prison communications industry, see here.

The list of companies involved in this sector
Select private companies are listed below publicly-traded companies.
(!) symbol means this company is on our divestment list
Publicly-Traded Companies
Private Companies
Louisiana

A Louisiana-based prison communications company that provides phones, video "visitation" technology, messaging systems, and other products to US prisons, jails, and police agencies. As of 2021, the company served US prisons and jails responsible for incarcerating over 24,000 people.

A Kentucky-based prison communications company that provides phones, texting and video "visitation" services, tablets, kiosks, vending machines, and other products to 320 prisons and jails in the US. It is the fifth-largest prison telecom company in the US as of 2021.

A Texas-based prison communications company that provides phone and video "visitation" technology, tablets, and texting devices to US prisons and jails.

A Lousiana-based prison communications company that provides phones, video "visitation" services, kiosks, tablets, commissary ordering systems, and other products to US prisons and jails responsible for incarcerating over 31,000 people as of 2021.

A Nevada-based communications company that provides calling services, software, and other products to US prisons and jails.

Nevada

A Nevada-based prison communications company that provides telecommunications equipment, video "visitation" systems, email services, and other products to jails across the US.

Missouri

A Missouri-based prison communications company that provides phone and messaging services, video "visitation" technology, kiosks, tablets, and other products to 159 prisons and jails across 31 US states.

Owned by prison services conglomerate TKC Holdings, ICSolutions is the third-largest prison communications provider in the US, controlling approximately 9% of the market as of 2021. The company provides over 230 prisons and jails nationwide with telephone, voicemail, email, and video "visitation" services; cell phone detection and control systems; and other products.

A Texas-based prison communications company that provides messaging, video "visitation," voice biometric, call data mining, and other products to prisons, jails, and police departments across 42 US states, the Bahamas, Japan, and South Korea. It is the fourth-largest prison telecom company in the US as of 2021.

A North Carolina–based prison communications company that provides phones, video "visitation" and messaging services, tablets, and other products to prisons and jails—responsible for incarcerating just over 20,000 people as of 2021—across the southeastern US.

A New Jersey–based prison communications company that provides phone and video "visitation" technology, tablets, messaging and commissary systems, and other products to US prisons and jails.

North Dakota

A North Dakota–based prison communications company that provides phone and texting services, video "visitation" technology, and other products to over 160 prisons and jails across Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The largest prison communications company in the US, controlling approximately 42% of the market as of 2021. Along with its subsidiary JPay, it provides phone, video "visitation," e-messaging, and other communication systems to over 3,400 US prisons and jails. It also serves as a customer-facing partner for prison telecom competitors that provide only backend telecom infrastructure.

A Florida-based prison communications company that provides phones, tablets, kiosks, video "visitation" services, mail scanning technology, and other products to approximately 150 prisons and jails in more than 25 states nationwide.

A Wisconsin-based communications company that provides messaging and video "visitation" technology, commissary kiosks, and other products to US jails.

Formerly Global Tel*Link (GTL), ViaPath Technologies is the second-largest prison communications company in the US, controlling approximately 37% of the market as of 2021. It provides phone and video "visitation" services, tablets, kiosks, and other products to nearly 2,000 prisons and jails across all 50 US states and serves as a customer-facing partner for prison telecom competitors that provide only backend telecom infrastructure. It also operates in the "community corrections" industry and, in 2022, launched an expanded "reentry services" program that includes vocational training, career planning, substance use and mental health treatment, and other so-called treatment-oriented programs.

This page was last updated on
13 July 2023