Published: November 09, 2009 11:03 pm      

W.Md. households may qualify for free cell phones

Lifeline program allows 64 prepaid minutes per month

CUMBERLAND — Thousands of households in Western Maryland qualify for a free cell phone and 64 minutes of free monthly talk time for emergencies for one year, TracFone Wireless has announced.

The new Lifeline program is called SafeLink Wireless and is backed by the Federal Communications Commission, according to TracFone Wireless.

The SafeLink Wireless service will provide eligible low-income households a free cell phone that offers voice mail, text, call waiting, international calling to more than 60 destinations and caller ID. To qualify for Lifeline in Maryland, a household must participate in one of the following assistance programs: Electric Universal Service, food stamps, Maryland Energy Assistance Program, medical assistance, Public Assistance to Adults, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Cash Assistance or Temporary Disability Assistance.

Allegany County has 11,779 households that qualify, and Garrett County has 3,304.

Maryland is one of 20 states, including the District of Columbia, to benefit from the program.

Lifeline is part of the low-income program of the Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co. and is designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services are available to low-income customers at just, reasonable and affordable rates.

More than 1,700 carriers are eligible to provide the program but TracFone is the first prepaid company to have elevated the program to modern-day communications. The Lifeline program is not funded from federal taxpayer dollars, but rather from contributions to the USF by telecommunications carriers collected in part from the Universal Service Charge billed to cell phone users.

The SafeLink Wireless service will be provided to low-income families for up to one year.

For more information, call (800) 723-3546 or log on to www.safelink.com.