Phone & Video in Hawaii (HI DCR)

How phone calls work

Hawaii DCR’s phone vendor is GTL (ViaPath), billed through ConnectNetwork. Calls are placed by the inmate from phones in the housing unit; families cannot call in. To receive calls, a friend or family member sets up a prepaid AdvancePay account with ConnectNetwork and adds money to it. An inmate cannot set up the account. Inmate-debit calling, paid from the inmate’s own account, is also available.

Set up an account online at the ConnectNetwork website or by phone. Have the inmate’s full name and facility ready.

Call rates

Hawaii’s calling rates are set by GTL/ViaPath and can change. Rather than relying on a figure that may be out of date, confirm the current per-minute rate and any deposit or transaction fees through ConnectNetwork or with the facility before funding an account, as service fees are charged in addition to call costs.

Tablets and video visits

GTL tablets have been issued statewide since 2021 across Hawaii’s prisons and jails. Tablets are free to inmates; premium features — including video visits, movies, and games — cost money. Video visitation happens during assigned times set by each facility.

Booking is handled per facility rather than through one statewide scheduler. Each facility posts its own visitation schedule and runs a visitation line. Video visits with in-state facilities are conducted on the GTL tablets; confirm the current booking method directly with the facility, because the in-state video booking path is not the same as the separate process used for Saguaro (below).

Messaging and media

Tablet messaging and media are available through the GTL/ViaPath system. As with video visits, these are premium features that cost money. Funding for tablet features runs through the same ConnectNetwork account used for calls.

Saguaro Correctional Center (Arizona)

Sentenced Hawaii men are also held at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, a CoreCivic-operated facility that houses inmates from Hawaii alongside separate populations from other states. The way families connect with someone at Saguaro is different from the in-state process.

Phone: Phone service at Saguaro runs through GTL (ViaPath), the same vendor used in-state.

Video: Video visits for the Hawaii population at Saguaro take place on Saturdays. Hawaii families schedule these visits through the State of Hawaii mainland branch at (808) 837-8022. Note the distinction: the other states housed at Saguaro book video through ICSolutions, and that ICSolutions portal does not apply to the Hawaii population — Hawaii’s Saguaro video goes through the mainland branch, not ICSolutions.

Sending money

The trust account the incarcerated person draws on is funded separately from phone and tablet features. For how to put money on an account — including the different process used for Saguaro — see Sending Money.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Staying in Touch.