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Do you live on a federally-recognized
Indian tribe’s reservation, pueblo, colony, or former
reservation in Oklahoma, or within an Indian Allotment or an
Alaska Native region established by the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act? Do you take part in federal or state assistance
programs? Is your income at or below 135% of the federal Poverty
Guidelines?
If you meet any of these requirements, you
may be eligible for telephone service and installation discounts
under the Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs. The
Lifeline Assistance program enables participants living on
tribal lands to receive basic monthly telephone service at their
primary residence for as little as one dollar a month. The
Link-Up America program provides a discount on the initial
installation of a traditional, wireline telephone or activation
of a wireless telephone for a primary residence.
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Background
It is critical that
telecommunications services are available to "all the
people" of the United States, including low-income
consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost
areas.
Because American Indian and Alaska
Native communities, on average, have the lowest reported
telephone subscribership levels in the country, the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted
enhanced programs, paid for by the Universal Service
Fund, to promote using telecommunications services and
building telecommunications infrastructure on tribal
lands. |
Enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up Support for Tribal Lands
Lifeline Assistance provides discounts on
basic monthly service at the primary residence for qualified
telephone subscribers. These discounts vary from state to state,
depending on whether the state has its own Lifeline program.
Lifeline Assistance also includes Toll
Limitation Service, which enables a telephone subscriber to
limit the amount of long distance calls that can be made from a
phone.
Enhanced Lifeline Assistance for tribal
lands provides qualified telephone subscribers living on
tribal lands with discounts of up to $35 per month on basic
monthly telephone service. As a result, depending on current
rates, qualified subscribers on tribal lands may receive basic
local phone service for as little as $1 a month.
Enhanced Link-Up Support for tribal lands
provides qualified subscribers with a one-time discount on initial
installation or activation of a wireline or wireless telephone
for the primary residence. The discount is up to 50% of the
first $60 of the installation fee. Qualified subscribers living
on tribal lands with installation or activation fees above $60
receive an additional discount of up to $70, bringing the total
discount to a maximum of $100. For example, a qualified
subscriber living on tribal lands may only pay $30 of an
installation or activation fee of $60 to $130. Thus, a $70
installation fee may be reduced to $40 for a qualified
subscriber. The Link-Up program also allows subscribers to pay
what they owe on a deferred schedule, interest-free.
Qualifying for Lifeline and Link-Up Support
The Lifeline and Link-Up programs are
available to qualified subscribers in every state, territory,
and commonwealth. Eligibility criteria vary by state. States
that have their own Lifeline program may have their own
eligibility criteria. For states that rely solely on the federal
Lifeline and Link-Up program eligibility criteria, a subscriber
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),
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The National School Lunch Program’s Free
Lunch Program,
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Bureau of Indian Affairs General
Assistance,
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Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TTANF),
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Head Start (if income eligibility criteria
are met), and
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Tribal National School Lunch Program.
The qualifying income in all federal default
states except Alaska and Hawaii varies from a maximum of $14,040
for a family of one to a maximum of $48,060 for a family of
eight. For each additional person in the household beyond eight,
add $4,860. To find the specific income requirement that determines
eligibility for your state, visit the Web site of the Universal
Service Administrative Company (USAC) 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. The telephone number for your state
public service commission can be found on the Web site of the
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners,
www.naruc.org, or in the blue pages or government section of
your local telephone directory.
Qualifying for Enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up Support on Tribal Lands
Subscribers living on tribal lands may be
eligible for Enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up support if they have
an income at or below 135% of the federal Poverty Guidelines,
participate in any of the seven qualifying assistance programs
for regular Lifeline and Link-Up, qualify under their state’s
Lifeline program (if their state has its own Lifeline program),
or participate in any of these additional assistance programs:
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Bureau of Indian Affairs General
Assistance,
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Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TTANF),
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Head Start (if income eligibility criteria
are met), or
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Tribal National School Lunch Program.
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