TracFone Wireless, the Tennessee Department of Safety, local nonprofits
and elected-officials will launch SafeLink Wireless
to aid 812,807 low-income households in Tennessee.
The SafeLink Wireless
service will provide Tennessee's eligible
low-income households a free cell phone, unlimited mobile access to
emergency services (911), and over an hour of air time each month for up
to one year. (Participants may renew service and will be required to
re-submit eligibility documentation upon their year completion. More
information will be provided during media interviews.) The cell phone
offers in-demand features: free voicemail account, text, call waiting,
international calling to over 60 destinations and caller ID.
In September TraFone started offering a similar service for Florida residents.
To learn more about
SafeLink Wireless, including
eligibility requirements, please call
1-800-977-3768 or visit
safelinkwireless.com. You can get refill your Tracfone Wireless Airtime here.
Daily, millions of Americans depend on mobile telecommunications for a
wide range of basic activities including: calling emergency services,
searching for employment, staying connected with loved ones, and much
more. SafeLink Wireless is a U.S. government supported program for
income eligible households provided by TracFone Wireless, Inc. that
ensures telephone service is available and affordable for eligible low
income households. Over 812,807 households in Tennessee qualify for the
Lifeline services.
Consider the following statistics:
-
For people who cannot afford cell phones, being part of today's
connected world and performing these crucial day-to-day needs is near
impossible. -
According to the FCC, about 7.1 million households across the nation
do not have telephones (July, 2006), and more than 13 percent with an
income under $10,000 do not have telephone service. -
Low income families struggle paying monthly bills, experience credit
issues, and cannot afford traditional home phone and wireless services. -
Using public pay phones regularly pose problems and cell phone
contracts often are difficult to maintain due to costly usage charges
over long-term agreements. -
A recent study ("Cell Phones Provide
Significant Economic Gains for Low-Income American Households,"
April 2008) analyzed the impact of mobile phones on low-income
households, and uncovered the cell phone is a critical component for
personal safety, access to emergency services, and can potentially
increase a low-income family's economic
productivity and earning power.