DALLAS, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Securus Technologies, Inc. a leading provider of inmate communication services and innovative offender and case management software design, today announced that in a partnership with Embarq, it signed an agreement to install, operate, and maintain a sophisticated network that would allow inmates in the State of Texas prison system for the first time to make secure outgoing calls to family and friends.

    Highlights:
    -- Seven (7) year contract with Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
    -- Securus' portion of the contract is worth up to $100 million;
    -- Provides for installation of 4,000 phones to be used on a controlled
       basis to make outbound calls;
    -- 120,000 Texas inmates to have phone privileges by mid 2009;
    -- Providing Secure Call Platform (SCP) that provides closely monitored
       outbound calling on a proprietary sophisticated platform;
    -- This contract represents one of the largest contracts ever signed in
       the inmate telecommunications sector.

The Texas Board of Criminal Justice unanimously approved a seven (7) year contract with Embarq to install a Texas prison-wide uniform telecommunications infrastructure including secure telephones that will digitally record/monitor inmate calls that investigators can also monitor. 'It will be the finest inmate telecommunications system in the United States,' said Board Chairman Oliver Bell, an Austin businessman. 'We are the last state to do this. But we have learned from other states what works well and what doesn't work, and the telecommunications infrastructure that we chose includes all the best features and represents the best value for Texas.'

John Viola, Executive Vice President of Sales for Securus Technologies indicated that, 'We have partnered with Embarq in multiple inmate telecommunications contracts in the past -- and we bring the best technology, the best customer service, the best team of Associates at both Embarq and Securus together to deliver great value to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. We are pleased that the Board has chosen our solution set -- and we will deliver a completed project here that will exceed the TDCJ's expectations -- and I thank them for choosing us.'

Bill Cheek, EMBARQ president-Wholesale Markets, emphasized the scope of the Texas win.