The Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline Assistance program could deliver nearly $4 billion annually to eligible Americans, according to a study published today by the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC) commissioned by Tracfone's SafeLink service.
Low-income participants who receive free cell phones have improved their financial situation. The report estimates that Americans with low-income could increase income by $3.70 if given free LifeLine subsidized cell phones.
To learn more about
SafeLink Wireless, including
eligibility requirements for free cell phones for low-income households, please call
1-800-977-3768 or visit
safelinkwireless.com.
Key findings from the Sullivan report include the following:
- About half of SafeLink users (49 percent) said the cell phone had
"improved their financial situation by helping them find or keep work."
For those working or looking for work, the numbers were higher (63
percent); surprisingly, even the retired (39 percent) and disabled (38
percent) said the phone had helped improve their financial situation.
Significantly more African Americans (57 percent) than white Americans
(43 percent) said the phone had improved their financial situation. - The average amount of money earned in the last year by SafeLink
users was $259, according to the survey results. However, since a third
of respondents have had their subsidized phones for less than six
months, and there is a clear correlation between length of ownership and
income gains, it is expected that over time that average is likely to
exceed $300 (as it already does in several states). In addition, the
number of free minutes offered was initially 68, but has been increased
in many states to 250; given the correlation between usage and income,
this will also positively affect average earnings as the nascent
Lifeline wireless program matures. - Given the expected increase in eligible subscribers, based on the
recent revamped numbers in poverty, and assuming the increased pay with
increased usage and minutes, the actual potential benefits are more
likely in the $5 billion range. - In 10 of the 15 states currently without access to
Lifeline-supported prepaid wireless, low-income individuals are missing
out on an estimated $489.1 million in potential income: California
($307.6 million); Colorado ($40.1 million); Hawaii ($9.3 million);
Montana ($13.1 million); Nebraska ($21.5 million); North Dakota ($10.4
million); Oklahoma ($60.7 million); South Dakota ($11.6 million);
Vermont ($7.5 million); and Wyoming ($7.3 million). - An estimated 30 percent of the annual $1.2 billion in Lifeline
spending subsidies to low-income Americans is now allocated to wireless
phones. That means Lifeline's $360 million "investment" in information
and communications technology (ICT) for the poor and a segment of the
near poor generates a "return" of $388 million.
Lifeline Assistance is a joint federal program operated by the Federal Communications Commission and state public utility commissions that ensures telephone service is available and affordable for low-income subscribers within 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
Wireless Lifeline support for prepaid wireless is now available to
low-income Americans in 35 states, as well as the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico. The 15 so-far non-participating states - which include
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming - are missing out on a total
of about $650 million in potential income for their poorest residents,
according to the new study.
In 2008, recognizing the major national shift in phone usage away from landline and toward wireless, the FCC for the first time opened up the Lifeline Assistance program to prepaid mobile operators. The FCC's same average $10 per month discount on service now applies to both wired and wireless phones
As the largest provider of free cell phones to Lifeline-eligible Americans, SafeLink Wireless currently operates in 31 states (plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico) and has distributed more than 3 million subsidized cell phones.
Launched in 1999, the New Millennium Research Council is a Washington, D.C. think tank. The work of NMRC focuses primarily on the fields of telecommunications and technology. The contributors to NMRC reports develop workable, real-world solutions to the issues and challenges confronting policymakers. For more information, please visit http://www.thenmrc.org.
The Sullivan report is based on extensive survey data collected by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) International, which polled 5,541 TracFone SafeLink Wireless customers in 22 states. The new February 2011 analysis is a "bookend" to an earlier NMRC study by Sullivan on the economic benefits of cell phones for the roughly one-third of poor Americans without them.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to at least make ends meet and then some, to not have access to a phone is inconceivable. Most of us rely on cell phones these days and are completely lost without them. How many of us actually know a phone number, when it's just as easy to use speed dial. So, for a company to understand and want to help those who would otherwise do without, is awesome. If this provides an opportunity for those who qualify to improve their financial situation, every state should be involved. Kudos to Tracfone ...it makes me proud to be one of their customers.
By giving a poor person a cell phone you can in the end actually save their life by giving them the chance to phone 911 if they have an emergency. This is a very noble cause, helping your fellow man - Tracfone - Thank you!! I'm a Tracfone Net10 user and with their cheap plans and great reception I'm saving $55/month since leaving a contract and putting the money towards my pension. I don't want to be penniless when I retire that I can't afford a cheap cell phone.
No kidding. Giving something away for free rather than having to pay for it does improve your financial situation. It might also help the poor if we gave them new suits or work clothes. I think we already give them cars. How about laptops and free internet access so that they can check email and get on that job search and improve their computer skills? Maybe a new bed so that they get a better night's sleep. Let's give them free gym memberships so that they can work out and be healthier.
Where does this end? Being poor is supposed to be hard so that you bust your tail to get yourself out of poverty. Free cell phones? I support requiring *any* cell phone that can turn on (regardless of a paid subscription) be able to dial 911. That'd be fine. Free minutes and free cell phones? Not a necessity and very much on the road to socialism.