US Patent 7505573 Inmate called party prepaid card method and system

A system for enabling an inmate to make a telephone call to a called party telephone located outside of a correctional facility includes a facility network having inmate and prepaid platforms associated with a PSTN. A called party provides the prepaid platform with information regarding a prepaid card purchased by the called party and the called party telephone number. The prepaid platform associates the telephone number with a prepaid account of the called party, determines value of the prepaid card based on its information, and then transfers the value to the prepaid account. An inmate uses an inmate telephone within the facility to make a telephone call to the called party telephone via the PSTN. The network completes the call if the call is authorized, the called party has a prepaid account associated with the telephone number, and the value of the prepaid account is sufficient for paying for the call.