OBAMA PHONE INFO:
Lifeline - Affordable Telephone Service for
Income-Eligible Consumers
The Obama Phone is the popular term (not the real program name) for a service available from the "Lifeline Program."
(The following Press Release was published on the FCC website on May 16 2011)
Background
Lifeline is a government benefit program that provides discounts
on monthly telephone service for eligible low-income consumers to
help ensure they have the opportunities and security that telephone
service affords, including being able to connect to jobs, family, and
911 services. Lifeline is supported by the federal Universal
Service Fund (USF).
What Benefits are Available Under the Lifeline
Program?
Lifeline provides discounts on monthly telephone
service (wireline or wireless) for eligible consumers. These
discounts average $9.25 per month, and may be more depending on the
state. Federal rules prohibit eligible low-income consumers from
receiving more than ONE Lifeline service per household. That is,
eligible low-income consumers may receive a Lifeline discount on
either a wireline or a wireless service, but may not receive a
Lifeline discount on both services at the same time. Additionally,
only ONE Lifeline service may be obtained per household. "Household"
is defined as any individual or group of individuals who live
together at the same address as one economic unit. An "economic
unit" is defined as "all adult individuals contributing to
and sharing in the income and expenses of a household." Lifeline
support is available to eligible low-income consumers living in group
living facilities. Lifeline applicants may demonstrate when initially
enrolling in the program that any other Lifeline recipients residing
at their residential address are part of a separate household.
In some cases, Lifeline also includes
Toll Limitation
Service, which enables a telephone subscriber to limit the
amount of long distance calls that can be made from a telephone.
Link Up provides eligible low-income consumers
living on Tribal lands with a one-time discount of up to $100 on the
initial installation or activation of a wireline or wireless
telephone for the primary residence. Tribal Lands Link Up also allows
consumers to pay the remaining amount that they owe on a deferred
schedule, interest-free. Federal rules prohibit eligible low-income
consumers from receiving more than ONE Link Up discount at a primary
residence. Eligible consumers may be eligible for Link Up again only
after moving to a new primary residence. Link Up support is only
offered to carriers who are building out infrastructure on Tribal
lands so not all carriers may discount their activation fee.
Enhanced benefits are provided to low-income consumers who live on
a federally recognized Indian Tribe's reservation, pueblo, or colony;
on a former reservation in Oklahoma; within an Indian allotment;
within an Alaska Native region established by the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act; or Hawaiian Homelands held in trust pursuant
to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. See our consumer
guide on Promoting Telephone Subscribership on Tribal Lands for
more information.
How Do I Qualify for Lifeline Discounts?
The Lifeline program is available to eligible low-income consumers
in every state, territory, commonwealth, and on Tribal lands. You
must be eligible to enroll. To participate in the program, consumers
must either have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal
Poverty Guidelines
or participate in
one of the following assistance programs:
Medicaid;
Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps or SNAP);
Supplemental
Security Income (SSI);
Federal
Public Housing Assistance (Section 8);
Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF);
National
School Lunch Program's Free Lunch Program;
Bureau
of Indian Affairs General Assistance;
Tribally-Administered
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF);
Food
Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR);
Head
Start (if income eligibility criteria are met); or
- State assistance programs (if applicable).
Who Pays for the Lifeline Program?
All telecommunications service providers and certain other
providers of telecommunications must contribute to the federal USF
based on a percentage of their end-user telecommunications revenues.
These companies include wireline telephone companies, wireless
telephone companies, and certain Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
providers.
Some consumers may notice a “Universal Service” line item on
their telephone bills. This line item appears when a company chooses
to recover its USF contributions directly from its customers by
billing them this charge. The FCC does not require this charge to be
passed on to customers. Each company makes a business decision about
whether and how to assess charges to recover its Universal Service
costs.
Can I get more than one discounted service?
No. Federal rules prohibit eligible low-income consumers from
receiving more than
ONE Lifeline discount per household. An
eligible consumer may receive a discount on either a wireline or
wireless service, but not both. If you, or any person in your
household, are currently receiving more than one monthly Lifeline
service, you must select one provider to provide your Lifeline
service and you must contact the other provider to de-enroll from
their program. Subscribers found to be violating this rule may also
be subject to criminal and/or civil penalties. Key provisions of the
Lifeline rules include the following:
Lifeline is a government benefit
program;
Only eligible consumers may enroll
in the program;
The program is limited to one
benefit per household;
Lifeline service is a
non-transferable benefit. Consumers may not transfer their service
(or give their Lifeline-supported phone) to any other individual,
including another eligible consumer;
- In most cases, consumers will be required to provide
documentation to prove the subscriber, one or more of the
subscriber's dependents or the subscriber's household is eligible to
receive Lifeline.
Consumers will be required to make certain certifications upon
signing up for Lifeline and each year after that, including that:
The subscriber or a member of the
subscriber's household participates in a qualifying federal program
or meets the income qualifications for Lifeline;
The subscriber provided proof of
eligibility, if required to do so;
The consumer's household receives
only single Lifeline service;
If applying for Lifeline based on
income, the number of individuals in the consumer's household;
The information contained in the
Lifeline application is true and correct to the best of the
consumer's knowledge and that providing false or fraudulent
information to receive Lifeline benefits is punishable by law;
If applying for Tribal Lands
Lifeline support, that the consumer resides on Federally-recognized
Tribal lands;
- The consumer must acknowledge that he or she may be required
to re-certify continued eligibility for Lifeline and, if the
consumer fails to do so, could lose the Lifeline service.
The subscriber will also be required to provide certain
information to the phone company or a state agency (depending how
consumers in their state sign up for Lifeline), including:
Name and address information –
Consumers who do not have a permanent residential address must
provide a temporary address, which cannot be a P.O. Box. If a
consumer resides at a temporary address, the telephone service
provider or state agency may require confirmation of the address;
Date of birth and the last 4
digits of the consumer's Social Security Number;
Consumers participating in the
Lifeline program must notify the telephone service provider within
30 days if the consumer moves;
- Consumers participating in the Lifeline program must notify
the telephone service provider within 30 days if the consumer is no
longer eligible for Lifeline.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Lifeline
Program
Am I eligible? To see if you are eligible, use
the Lifeline Eligibility Pre-Screening Tool on the Universal Service
Administrative (USAC) website at www.lifelinesupport.org.
How do I enroll? Apply for Lifeline through your
local telephone company or designated state agency. To locate a
Lifeline provider in your state go to www.lifelinesupport.org.
What documentation do I need to provide at enrollment?
Program Eligibility Verification - Acceptable documentation includes:
Current or prior year's statement of benefits from a qualifying
program; notice letter of participation in qualifying program;
program participation documents (or copy); or another official
document of a qualifying program. Income Eligibility Verification -
Acceptable documentation includes: The prior year's state, federal or
Tribal tax return; current income statement from an employer or
paycheck stub; Social Security statement of benefits; Veterans
Administration statement of benefits; Retirement or pension statement
of benefits; Unemployment or Workers' Compensation statement of
benefits; Federal or Tribal notice letter of participation in General
Assistance; or divorce decree, child support award, or other official
document containing income information. The consumer must present the
same type of documentation covering 3 consecutive months within the
previous 12 months, if the documentation does not cover a full year
of income.
Does the phone service have to be in the name of the
person receiving the program benefit? The phone service does
not need to be in the name of the person receiving the benefit;
however, the person who qualifies for Lifeline must be a member of
the same household as the subscriber.
How is Household defined for purposes of the Lifeline
Program? A household is defined as any individual or group
of individuals who live together at the same address and share income
and expenses.
What do I do if I am receiving more than one Lifeline
service? Households with duplicate Lifeline services must
select a single provider and de-enroll from other Lifeline programs.
Consumers violating the one per household rule may be subject to
criminal and/or civil penalties.
Do I need to verify my eligibility? Yes, every
year. Once you are enrolled in Lifeline, you must verify your
continued eligibility on an annual basis. If you become ineligible
for the benefit, either because your income has increased, you no
longer qualify for a federal benefit program, or someone else in your
household gets a Lifeline service, you must contact your provider
immediately to de-enroll from the program, otherwise you may be
subject to penalties.
What if I have free Lifeline? If you receive
Lifeline for free, you must use your service every 60 days in order
to maintain the benefit.
For More Information
To find more information about eligibility and how to apply for
Lifeline and Link Up benefits, visit the Universal
Service Administrative Company's website, call USAC's toll-free
number (1-888-641-8722), call the FCC's toll-free customer service
number (1-888-CALL-FCC), or contact your local telephone company.
For information about other telecommunications issues, visit the
FCC's Consumer
and Governmental Affairs Bureau website, or contact the FCC's
Consumer Center by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or
writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints
Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554.
