Benefits of Using Government Free Phones

By Ed Walters


Imagine getting a free cell phone from government with which you can make and receive free calls. It seems like a lottery. But the famous Obama phones present this lottery to any low income family in America. Of course our President does not have any direct link with this service, but the free government cell phone program became famous and widely known under his name only.

LifeLine program was introduced in 1984, by the Federal Communications commission (FCC) whose ultimate aim was to provide quality communication services at low cost to people who cannot afford it. Only landline telephones were used then. So the program offered discounts in the monthly bills of low income customers who cannot pay the actual telephone rent. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 extended this program further to cover the mobile phones under the name SafeLink Wireless.

FCC set up a tie up with TracFone Wireless, Inc who pays for the free cell phones provided, free airtime and promotion campaigns. The government does not use any of the tax payers money for this program. SafeLink program does not cover the landline telephones. If the customer wishes to participate in the free government cell phone program, they should subscribe out of the Lifeline services if they have any and apply under SafeLink Wireless Lifeline service.

The SafeLink Wireless service is provided throughout America in 31 states. If you wish to check if your state participates in this program or not, login into the SafeLink Website and enter your zip code to know further details. The free cell phones provided under this scheme have lot of facilities like three-way calling, caller ID, call waiting, voice mail and text messaging facilities. This scheme converts the discount given on the bill into free usage minutes for every month. They also provide carry over facilities for these free minutes.

The free government cell phone program benefits citizens who live under the poverty standards set by the government. The free cell phone is given only to a person who does not earn enough to pay for a cell phone on their own. So the eligibility criteria thoroughly checks if the person is really poor, through various ways. Once the background check is cleared the phone will be sent to the customer within one week. The customer need not sign any contract or pay any bill whatsoever to use this free cell phone.




About the Author:



No Response to "Benefits of Using Government Free Phones"

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger