Free Cell Phones And Minutes For Low Income Users

Free Cell Phones And Minutes For Low Income Users

By:


Phone booths on every street corner are a thing of the past. With so many cell phones out in the market, phone booths have become almost extinct. So if you cant afford a cell phone or home phone, what do you do? Rely on neighbors? One solution is a decades old federal program, started in the 1980s, commonly known as Lifeline and Link Up, which provides low income people with telephone service. This federal program is funded by the little Universal Service Fee on phone bills (both land line and cell phone bills) and this year payments into the fund were expected to reach $1.4 billion.

Free Cell Phones and Minutes for Low Income Users

The Federal Communication Commission approved cell phones under this program in 2008. Instead of a reduction in monthly costs, TracFone Wireless, under its service called SafeLink Wireless, provides a free cell phone and between 68 and 250 free minutes each month (depending on which state you live in). It is important to note that SafeLink phones are not paid by taxpayers or the federal government. TracFone Wireless pays for the phones and also the cost of promoting its SafeLink program to make sure that eligible consumers know about the program. Telephone companies are also required to include a billing insert about the program once each year, to help get the word out about the program. According to Safelinks website, as of October 2009, SafeLink has over 2 million customers and is available in 31 states. Today, there are over 1,700 companies in the United States currently providing discounted telephone service. But, thanks to its extensive outreach program promoting SafeLink, TracFone Wireless is the 2nd largest provider of Lifeline services in the US, second only to AT&T.

Who qualifies for these free phones? If you are receiving help from any low-income programs, you will probably qualify. You may also qualify just on a low income based formula. Each state has its own criteria, but the best place to check is visiting SafeLinks website or by calling 1-800-SAFELINK.

Who needs this service? Many disabled people have no way to call for help or to call a taxi if needed in an emergency. People out of work have an especially hard time getting a job if there is no contact number. The elderly also need a way to call for help, but many still opt for having assistance in helping pay land line phone installation and monthly phone charges also provided by this program. Regardless of their choice, its nice to know there is a program providing help.

Kudos to those of us who pay for phone service. We are actually the ones providing the funding for this federal program. Bet you werent aware of that. Personally I am pleased to be able to donate painlessly every month to this cause. When I say painlessly, I mean that since it is included in my cell phone bill, I never see it. For most of us, this is the ideal way to contribute, if that was your intention in the first place. Its kind of like the taxes on cigarettes in California. Part of those taxes actually goes toward funding cancer treatments. Of course buying cigarettes or paying for a cell phone is voluntary, but the fees and their designations are not. How do you feel about this? Would you like to be able to vote on it, kind of like when we have the choice on our federal tax forms to check the box to pay $1 towards campaign funding? Is this more taxation without representation? Let me know what you think.

About the Author:
Support for CellPlaza.org is provided by batteries4less.com, the leading online retailer of camera replacement batteries, cell phone batteries, chargers and mobile accessories and cordless phone batteries.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Communications Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.