By Pam Brytes


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.

Lifeline program was introduced in 1984, by the Reagan administration. They created this program to provide cheap yet high quality telecommunication services to people with low income. This program offered a huge discount on such peoples monthly telephone bills.

SafeLink Wireless program is an extension of Lifeline program. It took the discount to the mobile phones. SafeLink program converted the discount amount in the monthly bill into free airtime and allowed the users to use it on a monthly basis. But what if the people using this service cannot afford a cell phone? The US government decided to provide such customers with free government cell phones. People who qualify to get all free government cell phones under the SafeLink program get free airtime also.

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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