Excitement As New Technology Hits Corona Women's Prison: "We can call from the shower or bathtub!"

"Not a joke," as Joe Biden would say. Its true. On July 1, 2022 is prisoners will experience the next wave of technological development available to California state prisoners. It's well overdue and partially made possible by Covid-19. These tablets are being issued by parent company GTL, Global Tel Link, which already runs all of California's and many other states prisoner calling services. This program has been delayed by almost 2 years due to Covid.

Game changer! Privacy. As prisoners, for the first time, prisoners can make phone call from the privacy of our rooms! As a matter of fact, we can make calls while walking outside on the prison yard. We can call from the shower or bathtub!

We can call while laying in our beds watching TV. We can call from anywhere we are in the prison. Additionally, now all prisoners could be on the phone at the same exact time. No more lines for phone use or prime time calls. Presently, we have 2 phones for each 120 women. That's how its always been. No prisoner ever has enough phone time. Now we will able to talk all day long. In just days, for the first time, each prisoner will have his/her very own phone. Let that sink in.

There's so much more. Video calling. Email service. These are through the web site gettingout.com or the GettingOut app. Movie and music streaming. Pod casts. I have been down almost 18 years. I have never streamed anything. I have never heard a pod cast. Music streaming is $7.99/mo. Pod casts $2.40/mo. Emails and photos will be .05¢ each as opposed to the current .35¢ rates through JPay. We can watch the movies, play the music and do all this from our tablets.

In July 2017 CIW first received the tablet/email service through JPay. The program was better than nothing and you have to start somewhere. But JPAY service sets the bar very low. I am glad to see it go. Change is not easy and induces anxiety. It is necessary to reach something better. This change is only days away. Thursday June 30th at midnight, JPAY service will be no more.

Several other California persons have already begun this new program. I have heard unconfirmed reports of dropped calls and other issues. No system is perfect and I expect hiccups with anything new. I'm cautiously optimistic. I am much less invested in the outcome of this program than my peers because I am on the cusp of release. However, there is no denying how huge this is for prisoners and their families and friends in the community. Make no mistake, this has huge implications. This changes the game.