Financial Assistance

Congress, the States, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have expressed the importance of promoting universal service, i.e., ensuring that all households that want access to the telecommunications network are able to afford it. The Lifeline and Link Up programs, which directly benefit eligible low-income consumers, provide financial assistance to low-income telephone subscribers and ensure that low-income Americans can afford telephone service.

Enhanced Lifeline for Tribal Lands provides qualified consumers living on Tribal lands with additional discounts on monthly basic telephone service. As a result, depending on current rates, eligible subscribers on Tribal lands may receive basic local phone service for as little as $1 a month.

Link-Up provides eligible consumers with a one-time initial hook-up discount. The discount is up to 50% of the first $60 of your bill. The maximum discount is $30. For example, a $70 installation fee would cost an eligible subscriber $40.

Enhanced Link-Up support for Tribal Lands provides qualified subscribers with fees above $60, an additional discount of up to $70, bringing the total discount to a maximum of $100. For example, an installation fee of $60 to $130 would only cost a consumer living on tribal lands $30. Lifeline and Link-Up discounts apply to the phone at the primary place of residence. This can be a wireline or wireless phone.

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 phone.

Qualifying for Lifeline and Link-Up Support

The Lifeline and Link-Up programs are available to qualifying consumers in every state, territory, and commonwealth. Eligibility for participation in these programs varies by state. States that have their own state Lifeline program may have their own criteria. To find out the particular criteria for your state, go to http://www.lifelinesupport.org/li/low-income/lifelinesupport/browser/. In states that rely solely on the Federal Low Income Program, a consumer 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,

• Food Stamps,

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI),

• Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8),

• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP),

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or

• The National School Lunch Program’s "Free Lunch" Program.

Estimated income requirements for households at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are as follows:

The amounts provided are based on Jan. 23, 2008, data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For each additional person in the household beyond eight, add $4,860 for persons living in the lower 48 and DC, $6,075 for Alaska, and $5,589 for Hawaii to the income eligibility requirements.

Qualifying for Enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up Support on Tribal Lands

A consumer living on tribal lands may be eligible for enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up if he/she has an income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, participates in any of the seven qualifying assistance programs for regular Lifeline and Link-Up, qualifies under the state’s Lifeline program (if the consumer lives in a state with its own Lifeline program), or participates in any of these three additional qualifying assistance programs for Enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up:

• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance,

• Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF), or

• Head Start (those meeting its income qualifying standard).

Additional information about these programs can be found at Affordable Telephone Service for Income-Eligible Consumers.