Tracfone Free Phones

Tracfone recently launched a program that could give 30,000 low income customers free cell phones and phone service. Tracfone is the first company to provide free phones under a FCC-funded initiative. Read more to see if you are eligible for a free phone from Tracfone. If you do not qualify, check out our Tracfone coupons for top savings on phones and mobile minutes.

More than 30,000 central Wisconsin residents could receive free cell phones under a program recently launched by TracFone Wireless Inc.

Called Safelink Wireless, the service is partly paid for by the Federal Communication Commission’s Lifeline program, which gives landline and wireless providers money for discounts to low-income consumers. TracFone is the first company to use Lifeline funding for free cell phone service.

Lifeline was created in 1984, initially to assist low-income Americans with setting up and paying for landline service, but cell phone providers have been offering Lifeline supported programs since 2000, said Eric Iversen, director of external relations for the Universal Service Administrative Company.

To qualify for TracFone’s or any other company’s Lifeline program, residents must meet certain income guidelines. States that have their own Lifeline program might have their own criteria, but the qualifying income in all federal default states except Alaska and Hawaii varies from a maximum of $14,621 for one person to a maximum of $49,964 for a family of eight.

Residents also can qualify if they participate in various assistance programs, including Medicaid, food stamps, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Head Start or BadgerCare.

In Portage County, there are around 6,720 people that qualify for the program. Wood County has 9,032 residents, Marathon County has about 12,000 and Clark County has 4,351.

Lifeline is funded through fees the FCC charges all phone companies — fees that are, at least partially, passed on to consumers, Iversen said. The USAC is a quasi-governmental agency that administers the Lifeline program for the FCC.

Two cell phone providers that also offer Lifeline discounts in central Wisconsin are Alltel and U.S. Cellular. Verizon Wireless, which bought Alltel in January, also offers Lifeline discounts.

The big difference with the TracFone program, which offers prepaid cell phone service, is the type and size of discount provided, Iversen said. Most providers offer discounts ranging from $6 to $10 per month per customer — an amount equal to what they receive from the FCC. TracFone’s program is free. People can sign up online at www.safelinkwireless.com.

Jose Fuentes, director of government relations for TracFone, said the company was able to make a profit by providing the service, despite only receiving $6 to $10 per month from the FCC for each person who signs up.

“We provide a service that is 100 percent free, and we still can make a little bit of a profit,” Fuentes said. “Low-income families need to have a phone that they can be reached at 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

He said that the company typically caters to customers that only have cell phones for emergency purposes, and those who don’t qualify for contract-based phone service because of their income and credit history.

The FCC approved TracFone to offer the program in 11 states last year. It was approved to start offering the program in Wisconsin last month.

Filed Under: Featured • Tracfone