The Lifeline Assistance Program is a scheme that is designed to help make communication services more accessible and affordable for low-income individuals and households.
The program provides the beneficiary a discount on select qualifying telephone service providers, bundled voice-broadband, or broadband internet service purchased from qualified providers.
The aim of providing government phone service is to enable low-income individuals to afford twenty-first-century communication services and the opportunities they open up for jobs, healthcare, and educational resources.
Moreover, due to the ongoing pandemic, the government decided to keep Americans connected as FCC has waived off recertification, re-verification, and de-enrollment.
Rules of the program
Lifeline assistance is only available to those whose eligibility can be verified by the regulated checking program, database, or by providing the stipulated documentation that proves eligibility.
Only a single person in the family can attain the benefits of the program. Under federal rules, one family can have only one beneficiary in the program. In case two people from the same house are enrolled in the program, one of them will have to disenroll or be subjected to penalties.
Subscribers are required to respond to any requests made by the National Verifier or the state for recertification of their benefits. The recertification must be done each year, and failing to do so may result in removal from the lifeline assistance program.
However, FCC temporarily waived off decertification and de enrollment till 30 September 2021 due to the effects of the pandemic.
How the lifeline program works
The program provides a $9.25 monthly discount on either wireless or wired communication services to eligible individuals. At the same time, candidates under the Tribal Specific Program may receive discounts up to $34.5 per month.
Low-income individuals in every state, territory, and tribal land are eligible to receive these discounts. The Universal Service Administrative Company(USAC) administers the program and is responsible for helping individuals apply, understand the eligibility criteria, and conduct recertification processes.
To be qualified, candidates must have an income lower than 135% of the federal poverty guidelines or must already be enrolled in specific federal assistance programs such as:
- Medicaid
- Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Head Start
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit Programs
- Federal Public Housing Assistance
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Tribal-specific programs: Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribally-Administered Temporary
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
How to apply for the Lifeline assistance program
To apply for the program, a person must be a user of the National Verifier Application System, which is a system operated by the USAC to verify the eligibility of new applicants and the recertification eligibility of existing beneficiaries.
People can also seek assistance from qualified service providers to apply for the program.
Value of lifeline assistance for Americans
- The Lifeline Program helps Americans find and keep jobs
Mobile phones are a necessity if you are seeking jobs or managing multiple jobs. Most of the beneficiaries use mobile phones to apply for jobs, which helps improve their financial situation.
- People with disabilities rely on the Lifeline Program
Approximately a third of all the beneficiaries under the program have a disability. Lifeline mobile phone is an essential tool for connecting with healthcare providers and other necessary services for low-income groups.
- The Lifeline Program helps to bridge the digital divide
Students from families with less than $15,000 income do not generally have access to good computers at home, creating a ‘homework gap’ that puts students from low-income families at a disadvantage.
The program can potentially help bridge the gap by providing WiFi-enabled smartphones to students.
- Easier access to healthcare
According to a survey, more than half of beneficiaries use the government phone service to contact doctors, emergency services, their nurse’s helpline, and make appointments at the doctors’ office.
The Lifeline Assistance Program is indeed a lifeline for the underprivileged. It helps them bridge the digital divide, find jobs and connect with essential services by providing access to free or discounted communication services.
Cost impeding is accessible at no charge to Lifeline clients. A few states likewise give a rebate on the expense of putting in new home telephone administration to clients living on Tribal grounds.
Just a single Lifeline rebate is permitted per family, not per individual, and a family isn’t allowed to get numerous Lifeline benefits from different suppliers.
Help administration is a non-adaptable advantage.
Different suppliers might utilize terms other than “Help” to depict the Lifeline help program. In case you are getting a markdown from another supplier, you are not qualified for the Lifeline rebate with Verizon except if you move your Lifeline advantage to Verizon.
Clients fitting the bill for a Lifeline rebate will be needed to give proof of investment in a qualified program, or confirmation that your pay is at or underneath the set up rules. See underneath for a full rundown of projects and acknowledged archives. You may likewise qualify with confirmation of qualification in a state government data set.
Clients who adamantly offer bogus expressions to get the advantage might be rebuffed by de-enlistment, fine or detainment, or might be banished from the program.
To check whether you fit the bill for the Lifeline program or to get an application, if it’s not too much trouble, see the rundown beneath. The ” Lifeline Service Details ” will give you extra data and the application will empower you to apply for the markdown on your home telephone or network access.
The Lifeline application is looked into and supported by the Lifeline National Verifier.
After you’ve been endorsed for the Lifeline program, Verizon is needed to check 1) that you are not previously getting the Lifeline advantage from another wireline, remote or broadband specialist organization and 2) your character, in view of your complete name, date of birth and the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.
