It might be hard to believe but it is true. You can get a cell phone for free plus free talk time without paying a penny. The US government offers certain privileges for people living under poverty line. If you meet their eligibility criteria, you can get a cell phone free of cost and free incoming calls without having to pay any money.
During the Reagan administration in 1984, US government created a federal program called Lifeline which aimed in providing quality telecommunications services, at a reasonable rate to people with low income. This program helped customer under poverty line get a good discount on their monthly telephone bills.
SafeLink Wireless is an extension of the LifeLine program. Under this program, US government offers free cell phones to eligible poor citizens. This plan converts the amount discounted by the LifeLine program in the monthly bills into free minutes and credits them to the customers telephone usage every month.
Apart from talking these minutes can be used for services like sending text messages, calling the 411 directory services or 911 services, using voice mails, making nationwide calls, activation call waiting and caller ID services. SafeLink Wireless services are available to 2 million people spread across 31 states in USA. Trac-One Wireless pays for this free calls used by the SafeLink Customers.
A person generally qualifies to avail the services of SafeLink if they participate in other public assistance programs like Food Stamps, SSI or Medicaid. People who receive assistance from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are also eligible for the service. Even if they do not receive assistance from any of these programs, they can qualify for SafeLink services if the family gross income is below the level government has set up for poverty line ( $ 14,621 for a single person). Every state has a slightly different eligibility criterion for the citizens availing this facility from their area. However most of them are similar in major areas.
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