The Lifeline program is now available for the residents of Louisiana, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Kentucky, Washington, Rhode Island, Nevada, Iowa, Texas, West Virginia and other states of the country. Under this program, the applicants are entitled to receive free government assisted cell phone service. Along with this free cell phone service come the basic facilities like sending and receiving text messages, making local and local distance voice calls, accessing directory assistance, 911 and voicemail. The program is free of cost in most states with the exception of Oklahoma and Texas. The residents of Oklahoma have to pay $1 per month for the 1000-minute plan and the residents in Texas have to pay a $30 activation fee.
To be able to apply for this government cell phone service, the applicant has to be eligible. The eligibility criteria are almost same throughout the country with a few minor changes in certain states. Normally, the applicant must be participating in any of the government assistance programs like Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Medicaid, National School Lunch Program’s Free Lunch Program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). A person can also apply if their monthly household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
This free cellular phone service is a big step towards making basic communications accessible to everyone irrespective of the financial constraints. The best thing about this government free cell phone program is that it is very easy to apply for one. A number of online providers are readily offering their services in different states. All you need to do is to find an online provider, check their availability in your state and follow the guidelines given on the website and you are all set to get your very own free cell phone.
