City Tele-Coin (CTC): Inmate Phone, Video & Messaging Guide (2026)

Who City Tele-Coin Is

City Tele-Coin (CTC) has been a provider of telecommunications services since 1986, with a core focus on inmate telephone systems and video visitation. Headquartered in Bossier City, Louisiana, CTC serves primarily county jails across the Southern United States. It is a smaller, regional player compared with the national telecom giants, but for the jails it serves, it is the exclusive communications vendor.

Families interact with CTC through citytelecoin.com, where you can set up an account, add funds, and arrange video chat and messaging remotely.

Services CTC Provides

Setting Up & Funding an Account

1. Confirm the jail uses City Tele-Coin. Check the sheriff's or jail's inmate-services page for "City Tele-Coin" or "CTC."
2. Create an account. Register at citytelecoin.com or call 318-746-1114.
3. Register your phone number. Add the number the incarcerated person will call.
4. Add funds. Load a balance with a debit or credit card for calls, video, or messaging.
5. Set up video/messaging. Arrange video visits and e-messaging remotely where the jail allows.

Remote Video & Messaging

The City Tele-Coin website lets you set up video chat and e-messaging from home for facilities that support them. Sessions are scheduled and generally carry a fee. As with any provider, get on the facility's approved visitor list first, schedule early, and test your camera, microphone, and internet before your visit.

Costs & the 2026 FCC Caps

City Tele-Coin calls are subject to the FCC's per-minute rate caps under the Martha Wright-Reed Act, phasing in through 2025 and 2026 to lower call costs. Confirm the current per-minute rate for the specific jail on citytelecoin.com, and watch for funding fees and per-session video charges.

Contact & Support

See also our guides on calling an inmate and setting up a video visit.

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Lowering Costs & Avoiding Problems

Because City Tele-Coin serves smaller county jails, a few practical habits go a long way toward keeping your bill down and your calls reliable. The biggest single factor is simply making sure your funded balance and your registered number stay current — a large share of "the call won't go through" complaints come down to an empty balance, a number that was never verified, or a number the jail has blocked. Register the exact line the incarcerated person will dial, and keep a small buffer on the balance so a call is never cut off mid-conversation.

Watch how you add money, too. Small, frequent top-ups can rack up more per-transaction funding fees than fewer, larger deposits, so if you expect regular calls, funding a slightly larger amount at once is usually cheaper overall. Keep every confirmation number: if the account has a hiccup, the CTC hotline can resolve it far faster when you can read back a transaction reference.

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Finally, plan around the jail's realities. County populations turn over quickly, so your loved one may be released, bailed out, or transferred with little notice. If that happens, calling stops and any remaining balance sits unused — which is why it's worth asking the CTC hotline about refunding an unused balance rather than letting it expire. And remember that at a jail level, service options change from one facility to the next; if a feature you expect (like video or messaging) isn't showing up, it may simply not be enabled at that particular jail.

• Keep your registered number verified and your balance topped up.
• Prefer fewer, larger deposits to minimize per-transaction fees.
• Save all confirmation numbers for faster support.
• Ask about a refund of unused funds after a release or transfer.
• Confirm which CTC services your specific jail has turned on.

Frequently Asked Questions