Weekday
2.48p to a landline
The published HMPPS rate. Same weekly limit. More talk from the same money.
What calls cost themGuide
A landline number for prison calls.
A call from prison to a landline number costs them less than a call to a mobile. There are three ways to have one. The first is free.
Checked against the published rates and HMPPS policy.
The short answer
Calls to a landline cost them about half. And it can ring the mobile you have.
Same credit, twice the talk.
The same £10 of their credit buys
Weekday rates. Half an hour costs them 74p instead of £1.65.
The rate
The number they dial sets the price.
Weekday
5.50p to a mobile
The other published rate. Twice the landline rate. It all comes out of their account.
What calls cost themFree
Buy nothing, if you can
A home phone you already have gets the landline rate. It costs you nothing.
Every option, comparedTheir account
Who keeps the difference.
They ring you. You can't ring in.[1] So every call comes out of their own account, which has a weekly limit. The price is set by the kind of number they dial.
On weekdays, a mobile is 5.50p a minute. A landline is 2.48p. The same money buys twice the talk. The money they save stays in their account. It doesn't come back to you.
Three ways
How to have a landline.
A home phone you already have
Free. It only works when someone is there to pick it up.
A new line in the house
A contract, a socket, a rental. Same limit: someone has to be home.
A landline on the phone you carry
They dial a landline. Your mobile rings. There are two ways to build it.
Already have a home phone that works? Start there. You don't need to buy anything.
On your phone
Two ways to build it.
- Kind one: forwardingThe provider takes the call on a landline number. Then it sends it on to your mobile. Two calls.
- Kind two: on the phone itselfThe landline number sits on your handset. A call to it is a call to you. Nothing is passed on.
ringyard is kind two. £20 a month, unlimited. It installs as an eSIM. You need a phone that takes one. Most from the last six years do. Dial *#06#. If you see an EID, it takes one.
If they talk for only a few minutes a day, a monthly fee can be a lot for the difference. The calculator will say so. If you already have a working home landline, don't buy this.
Why forwarding matters
A forwarded number can stop.
Prisons are told to restrict “numbers linked to call diversion and re-routing services”.[3, 7.9] A forwarded number can be refused at the start. Or it can be taken off later. There are exceptions. They sit in a manual we haven't been able to read.
Questions
The short answers.
Why do prison calls cost less to a landline?
HMPPS sets the rate by the kind of number dialled. On weekdays, a call to a mobile is 5.50p a minute. A call to a landline is 2.48p. The same account, with the same weekly limit, buys twice the minutes. The money they save stays in their account, not yours.
Do I need to buy a number if I already have a home landline?
No. If someone is home to pick it up, that number already gets the landline rate. Buy nothing. A number on the phone you carry is for when nobody is home to answer.
Will the prison allow a landline that rings a mobile?
The prison checks each number. Prisons are told to restrict numbers linked to call diversion and re-routing services. A landline that lives on the handset is built a different way. Nothing is passed on.
What does ringyard sell?
A real UK landline on the phone you have. £20 a month, unlimited. It installs as an eSIM. You need a phone that takes one. No app. Nothing is passed on. The prison checks it, like any number.
Check us
- Staying in touch with someone in prison. GOV.UK, current guidance. Read 23 August 2026. Read it yourself
- Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework. HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice, issued 11 August 2026. Read 26 August 2026. Paragraph 7.9 points to a separate operations manual for exceptions. We have not read it. Read it yourself
If you need it on the phone you carry.
£20 a month. Unlimited. A real landline, as an eSIM. No app. Nothing is passed on. The prison checks it, like any number.
£20 a month · No risk · Stop any time