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Background
Telephone service is considered a necessity
for daily modern life. Yet the cost of starting and maintaining
such service may be too high for some consumers. Under
Congressional mandate, the federal Universal Service Fund (USF)
supports the Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs.
These programs provide discounts on basic monthly service and
initial installation or activation fees for telephone service at
the primary residence to income-eligible consumers. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), with the help of the Universal
Service Administrative Company (USAC), administers the USF. Here
are some frequently asked questions about the Lifeline and Link-Up
programs.
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What Benefits are Available Under
the Lifeline and Link-Up Programs?
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Lifeline Assistance provides
discounts on basic monthly service at the primary
residence for qualified telephone subscribers. These
discounts can be up to $10.00 per month, depending on
your state.
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Link-Up America helps
income-eligible consumers initiate telephone service.
This program pays one-half (up to a maximum of $30) of
the initial installation fee for a traditional, wireline
telephone or activation fee for a wireless telephone for
a primary residence. It also allows participants to pay
the remaining amount they owe on a deferred schedule,
interest-free.
Residents of Native American Indian
and Alaska Native tribal communities may qualify for
enhanced Lifeline assistance (up to an additional $25.00)
and expanded Link-Up support (up to an additional $70.00).
For more information on these enhanced Lifeline and
Link-Up programs, visit
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tribalfactsheet.html. |
How Do I Qualify for Lifeline and Link-Up
Discounts?
The Lifeline and Link-Up Programs are
available to qualifying consumers in every state, territory, and
commonwealth. Eligibility criteria vary by state. States that have
their own Lifeline program may have their own criteria. For states
that rely solely on the federal Lifeline and Link-Up program
eligibility criteria, subscribers 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:
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Medicaid,
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Food Stamps,
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Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
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Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section
8),
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Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP),
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Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF),
or
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The National School Lunch Program’s Free
Lunch Program.
Residents of Native American Indian and
Alaska Native tribal communities qualify for enhanced Lifeline and
Link-Up support if they meet one of the criteria listed above,
qualify under their state’s Lifeline program (if their state has
its own Lifeline program), or participate in one of the following
assistance programs:
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Bureau of Indian Affairs General
Assistance,
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Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TTANF), or
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Head Start (if income eligibility criteria
are met).
The qualifying income in all federal default
states except Alaska and Hawaii varies from a maximum of $14,621
for a family of one to a maximum of $49,964 for a family of eight.
For each additional person in the household beyond eight, add
$5,049. To find the specific eligibility requirements for your
state, visit the USAC Web site at
www.lifelinesupport.org. You may also call a toll free number
– 1-888-641-8722 – to ask general questions about eligibility, but
not to apply to participate in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs.
To find out how to apply, visit the USAC Web site at
www.lifelinesupport.org, or call your local telephone company.
You can also contact your local telephone
company or your state public service commission for more
information about these programs and to determine whether or not
you qualify for discounts. Contact information for your state
public service commission can be found on the Web site of the
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners,
www.naruc.org/commissions.cfm, or in the blue pages or
government section of your local telephone directory.
Who Pays for the Lifeline and Link-Up
Programs?
All telecommunications service providers and
certain other providers of telecommunications must contribute to
the federal USF based on a percentage of their interstate and
international end-user telecommunications revenues. These
companies include wireline phone companies, wireless phone
companies, paging service 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. These charges
usually appear as a percentage of the consumer’s phone bill.
Companies that choose to collect Universal Service fees from their
customers cannot collect an amount that exceeds their contribution
to the USF. They also cannot collect any fees from a Lifeline
program participant.
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