For those who qualify and who only need a cell phone for emergency situations, you may be able to get a cell phone and monthly allowance of minutes for free. A company called SafeLink Wireless is offering this in several states and it will soon expand to others. (Check their website for availability in your location).
SafeLink (owned by the same people that market TracFone), is made possible by a government program (funded by the Universal Service Fees you see on most phone bills) that provides lower income households with discounts to make telecom service more affordable.
SafeLink’s website says the program provides a free cell phone and a number of free minutes each month, that varies by state. We sampled a few Zip Codes, and usually found that they provide a little over an hour of free talk time each month. It appears that if you stay within that allocation of minutes, there are no charges whatsoever. For those wanting to talk more, TracFone airtime cards can be purchased and used.
UPDATE 10/27/09: For those interested in this service, click the link for Safelink Wireless. That is the best place to see if you qualify and/or if this service is available where you live.
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{ 31 comments }
I would like to find a wireless phone company who addresses the need of seniors who only require an emergency cell phone to keep in their car, with 911 and AAA and the number of a next of kin pre-programmed into it. No minutes to purchase on a regular basis…just a monthly service fee.
I’m in the state of California, I’m a senior on limited income and the last effort I made with AT&T they kept calling me with special messages and used up all my minutes. Never did get to just keep it in the car for my use. You would think some phone company would address that need for a service designed for seniors who still drive.
I agree with you 100%. I am 57 years of age. I am a diabetic and I attend college full time; in which I walk to school each and evry day. I need a phone to carry with me in case of a diabetic attack or even some one tried to abduct me or attack me.
Yes, I think seniors and other disabled people should haave access to a phone that they do not have to worry if they have monies to pay the bill. I am not employed.
This is becoming a sad situation in my great state of Arkansas – I have been waiting months for Arkansas to get the free cell phone for those of us who are eligible and yet still not available in this state, yet so many other states are being added every month. At this point I am tired of getting my hopes up that this will be the month for Arkansas, what is it just because we are known as a state that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of the rest of the world. So very sad that we are once again the state to be forgotten or last to be noticed. So many in need but yet always forgotten.
This is just another sad step toward socialism and bleeding money out of the pockets of those who work. Back in the 60′s & 70′s when my family was dirt poor I don’t recall the government coming to our aid to give us a free phone line. We’re going to end up just like the USSR if this keeps going. Where do these government programs stop? You seniors who are commenting on this should be wise enough to realize this. Let’s do what is best for the country and stop this “all about me” thinking.
Hey, “Another Step Towards Socialsim”: It obviously is YOU who are thinking “all about [you}”–and not about the truly needy! And, frankly, this plan strikes me as compatible of the thinking not of the brutal, tryannical U.S..S.R. but of enlightened western democracies such as Great Britain, Germany, Canada, France, Sweden, etc., who put the genuine welfare of citizens first (knowing that what’s good for the most is best for all, and that opportunity breeds success) over “screw everyone, me-firsters”…ahem, such as… you. We just have seen the mess into which having the top 1% of the richest Americans owning 24% of the nation’s wealth has gotten us–the Great Recession. Unthinking/unfeeling kneejerk (anphasis on JERK!) reactionaries such as you are on the way out. Good riddance, muchacho. (BTW, what federal programs HAVE you qualified for–in the ’60s, ’70s, (welfare, food stamps, section
or even today: Tax breaks for the rich? That most EXPENSIVE WELFARE PROGRAM EVER? Good Riddance to King George II and all his greedy lackeys…I’m looking into this program for an lederly black neighbor, who is subsisting on next to NOTHING, after having worked every weary day of her life. She’s 76 years old, and still travels 60+ miles to work one-way, and can’t afford a cell phone for safety on the interstate…shame on you for telling her she should be ashamed to have this service, which may well be lifesaving for her!
i am disable and need a free cell phone, until I can get one I think this is a good program, so many people can’t afford a cell phone. I’ve been in many emergency and had no way to get help except to walk and I was in no means and way of walking for help. This is a good thing.
I agree with the general consensus. I am only 44, am disabled but still drive. When my husband and I are not together he worries terribly. There have been plenty of times that I have been in need of a phone to get help – due to my disability. If anyone knows if this is in existence in Chicago, please pass on the link.
Thank you
THIS SERVICE IS AVAILABLE HERE WHERE I LIVE IN MA.
I HAD MY PHONE NOW FOR 3 MONTHS IT CAME IN HANDY FOR ME LAST WEEK WHEN MY CAR BROKE DOWN . LUCKLY I HAD SERVICE WHERE MY CAR BROKE DOWN UP TOWN. I WAS ABLE TO CALL MY SON TO COME HELP . I GET 80 MIN A MONTH . THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I WAS ABLE TO GET A CELLPHONE. NO SERVICE WHERE I LIVE BUT IT STARTS 2 MILES DOWN ROAD, BUT NEITHER DOES ANY CELL COMPANYDUE TO LIVING NEAR MOUNTAINS AND HILLS. THANK YOU SAFE LINKWIRELESS .
I live in ohio but my zipcode 43903 is not covered so I cant even get this service and I have a handicapped child and a child with asthma and my husband is diabetic and i have disability as well this is not fair it should provide for every one not just some areas so now i cant even get a cell phone and im not able to afford the contracts for other ones
I would like to know how those that are on limited income have the use of the internet? If so, what are they using for a carrier?
I live in Colorado and wounder when I can sign up for a phone ?
My zip code is 80110?
loyd: they could be using free wireless. i leave my network open for everyone to use for just that reason. or they could be at the library or a friend’s house. who knows?
SOUTH CAROLINA is a very poor state with an abundance of low income ELDERLY people . We NEED this help! In dyer anticipation for this service here in our state.
I applied for a safe link phone and they told me there was already one in this household. I have lived here 4 years and there is no one here that has one. I’m disabled and they don’t care./
I have tried for two months to get a safelink phone and they keep telling me that they are sending me paper work to fill out. but I still have not recieved it yet.
I had a free safelink phone when i was living in my car in Florida, now i have a friend letting me sleep on his couch in Indiana, but no more free 68 mins a month. I don’t have work yet and no other company is available in my area for free mins. How can someone get calls for work without a phone? Why is Indiana so backwards and slow to help people who REALLY need help?
i live in seattle and i wish we had safelink here
I live in Alaska and Alaska really tries hard to take care of the people who live here, especially low income people. All the cell phone companies here have a plan called LIFELINE and if you are low income, disabled, etc. you get a free phone, nothing fancy but does the job, and the service is only $1.00 per month, except the fricken federal government adds on fees and taxes, they’re not much, about $6.00 per month so I shouldn’t complain. You are limited to making calls only in Alaska. If you want to call out of state you have to use a phone card. No big deal for me. It’s a shame all states don’t have this plan. It is a federal plan and all carriers are supposed to support it. If your state doesn’t, you should contact the Federal Communication Commission. As for those who are putting down those of us who live below the poverty line and/or disabled and unable to work, you’d better hope you never get into that situation. If you did, you’d probably be at the head of the line screaming for help from the government.
i have a friend in kentucky that is disabled an needs a cell phone bad but thay say ky. is not a state that has safelink i would thank if the U.S was a horse ky. would be the ass i thank that state could take better care of thair sick an disabled people PLEASE SEND HELP.
i applied on line for a safe link phone. and it was delivered in less than a week.
Hi there Danny – AT&T and Sprint both offer programs similar to SafeLink. Check them out – Lifeline and Link Up. They are available in Kentucky.
Hey, Mr. Wright, we are a low income family who has use of the internet. My kids go to school over the intrenet through OCA, so not having it is not an option. By the way, Safelink saved my sons Life when we were out of the house and away from the house phone and he went into such a bad asthma attack he turned blue, I used my Phone to call 911. He’s only 6 years old.
ANY cellphone that is charged (activated or not) can dial 911. I gave my 84 y.o. Dad one of my old phones w/ a car charger that he keeps in the glovebox. This phone has no phone #, is not on any plan, but is able to dial 911.
Suffering from severe fibromyalgia dn myofascial pai, as well as increasing central nervous system issues, this sounds like a great program. I am just wondering if I qualify, as my disability claim is in process and not yet approved. Does anyone know the rule on this?
Tracy ,you can qualify also if you receive other assistance like food stamps ,medicaid,unemployment,section 8 housing.Good luck with every thing ,im waiting for this program to make it to Indiana,it would be very comforting to know i have a link to the out side world when and if im in an emergency!
well im not here 2 point fingers,i work part-time and i love my safelink phone it comes in handy for me and my 2 daughters.
I’M NOT SURE WHAT AREA IS COVERED BUT THERE IS A FEW OUT THERE.
1. http://WWW.ASSURANCEWIRELESS.COM
2. http://WWW.REACHOUTWIRELESS.COM
TRY THOSE HOPE THEY CAN HELP SOME PEOPLE GOD BLESS YOU ALL
my friend in AK has this and only pays 5.00 a month he is disable and this has been a blessing
I’m not a senior and I don’t have a lifeline plan. I have a unlimited cell phone that I pay for. I say all of that to say this. 1st off the lifeline plan is not pay for by the government. It is pay for by the telephone companies. They way of giving back I guest. And it is a shame for people to look down or call helping other people socialism. Since when did helping someone become a bad thing. To top it off we are talking about seniors who probable worked they whole life and now are retired. Its a shame how this country treat they seniors. In other country seniors are cared for and respected. Here they toss out like yesterday trash. Shame on us.
im in arizona no gives out a free phone here to help the need here
Hey Another Step Toward Socialism, yea, i guess them adding a dollar to your cell phone bill, through the universal service fee, so people who are worse off than you can have access to a phone is truly a step towards socialism. You sir, are pathetic, and uninformed.
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