Archive for October, 2009
Tracfone Free Phones Program
October 4th, 2009
Lifeline was created in 1984, initially to assist low-income Americans with setting up and paying for landline service, but cell phone providers have been offering Lifeline supported programs since 2000, said Eric Iversen, director of external relations for the Universal Service Administrative Company.
To qualify for TracFone’s or any other company’s Lifeline program, residents must match income guidelines. A few states that have their existing Lifeline program might have their own criteria, but the qualifying income in all federal default states except Alaska and Hawaii varies from a maximum of $14,621 for one person to a maximum of $49,964 for a family of eight.
Posted in SafeLink Official Program Offers Free Cell Phones
October 4th, 2009
Looking for a way to get a free cell phone? You may be able to get one as part of a new program called SafeLink. The federal government picks up the cost as part of an initiative to make sure everyone has access to a telephone.
The program is for low-income folks who aren’t able to afford telephone service on their own.
If you qualify, you can get a cell phone and 68 minutes a month to use for free.
That might not seem like a lot of talk time, but the whole goal is to make sure those with limited resources at least have a way to contact someone in an emergency.
The program is run by Tracfone Wireless, but backed by the Federal Communications Commission.