Free landline phone service for low income

This page covers free and low-cost phone services available to Mainers. We know there are many new low or no cost ways of communicating, but we are just trying to cover the basics.   

We do not endorse any of these services – make sure to check with a reliable consumer site before signing up with a wireless company or web-based service.  

Free and Low-Cost Cell Phones 

Safelink Wireless

Safelink Wireless is providing eligible, low-income Mainers with free cell phones. The phone plan includes  350 monthly minutes or unlimited calls, depending on which plan you choose; 4.5 to 25 GB of monthly data, depending on plan; calls to Canada and Mexico, depending on plan; unlimited text; unlimited access to 911; voicemail, 3-way calling, and caller ID; and  411 directory assistance at no additional cost. 

To learn more about Safelink or to apply, call 1-800-SAFELINK (1-800-723-3546) or go to www.safelink.com. 

Assurance Wireless

Assurance Wireless also provides eligible, low-income Mainers with free cell phones and unlimited data, texts, and call minutes; 10 GB monthly hotspot data; low international rates; unlimited access to 911; voicemail, call waiting, and caller ID; and customer care.  

To learn more about Assurance Wireless or to apply, call 1-800-395-2171 or go to www.assurancewireless.com 

Q Link Wireless

Q Link Wireless is a third provider of free cell phones to low-income Mainers.  Q Link offers  unlimited talk, text, and data;  unlimited access to 911; voicemail and 3-way calling; customer care; and for those who qualify, a low-cost tablet. 

To learn more about Q Link Wireless or to apply you can go to www.qlinkwireless.com/ 

Who qualifies for free and low-cost cell service? 

To qualify for these free phone services, you must get help from one of the following programs: 

• MaineCare 
• Food Supplements (formerly Food Stamps) 
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 
• Emergency Assistance Program 
• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) 

Or you may qualify if your household income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty level. 

Low Cost Landline Telephone Service 

Maine's LifeLine Programs are providing eligible Maine residents with low-cost telephone installation and services.  

This benefit gives eligible consumers a monthly discount of up to $9.25. Consumers living on Tribal lands are eligible for an enhanced discount of up to $34.25 per month. 

Learn more about the LifeLine Program – and how to apply.  

To qualify for these services, you must get help from one of the following programs: 

• MaineCare 
• Food Supplements (formerly Food Stamps) 
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 
• Emergency Assistance Program 
• Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) 

Free and Low-Cost Adaptive Phone Equipment 

Mainers with hearing disabilities may be eligible based on income to receive a captioned, amplified or voice-activated telephone. Disability Rights Maine posts more information about captioned, amplified or voice-activated telephones – and how to access them.  

California LifeLine provides discounted home phone and cell phone services to qualified households. Only one California LifeLine discounted phone is allowed per household (except for teletypewriter users and for Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program participants). The California LifeLine discounts can only be for the individual’s primary residence. An individual can only have one primary residence.

Each household must choose to get the discount either on a home phone or on a cell phone, but not on both. Households cannot get the discount from multiple phone companies. Households that do not follow the one discounted service per household rule will lose their discounts, and may be prosecuted by the U.S. government. Receiving multiple discounted phone services violates the California LifeLine Program’s rules.

Penalties for violating the California LifeLine Program’s rules can include imprisonment, losing the discounts, monetary fines, and being banned from the California LifeLine Program. The California LifeLine Program can also seek repayment of the discounts that should not have been received.

Limitations Effective June 1, 2017

30 Day Enrollment Request Freeze for Wireless Telephone Service

The limitation requires a consumer who submitted an enrollment request, in an attempt to receive California LifeLine wireless telephone services, to wait a maximum of 30 days to submit another enrollment request to another service provider. This restricts consumers’ ability to submit enrollment requests for California LifeLine wireless telephone services. The 30-day clock for the enrollment request freeze duration starts when the California LifeLine Administrator (Administrator) generates an application packet for a consumer or confirms that the request is an inter-carrier transfer request. The CPUC adopted three types of activities that would stop the enrollment request freeze duration, which are as follows:

1.  The Administrator sends the final eligibility decision to the consumer;
2.  The consumer or California LifeLine service provider cancels the enrollment request; and
3.  30 days have passed since the Administrator generated the application packet or confirmed that the request is an inter-carrier transfer request.

As soon as one of these three activities occurs, the 30-day clock stops for the particular enrollment request. The consumer may then submit another enrollment request for California LifeLine wireless telephone services. A consumer cannot have multiple enrollment requests for California LifeLine wireless telephone services going at the same time.

How to Cancel an Enrollment Request

A consumer can independently cancel an enrollment request by contacting the Administrator. The phone company can also cancel an enrollment request.

How to Contact the Administrator
Consumers can contact the Administrator by phone or going online at www.californialifeline.com. For the Administrator’s phone numbers, go to California LifeLine Contacts. 

Types of Discounts Available

Discounted home phone services available to California LifeLine participants may include the following:

• Monthly flat rate service discount of up to $16.23* 

• Monthly cell phone service discount of up to $16.23**

• Service connection discount of up to $39

• Service conversion discount for home phone services of up to $39  

• Free from paying the public purpose program surcharges, CPUC’s user fee, federal excise tax, local franchise taxes, and State 911 tax associated with your phone service

• Discounts on two telephone lines if you use a teletypewriter (TTY) or are part of the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program. If you use a TTY, you must have immediate and continuous access to it. If the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program did not give you other proof, provide a copy of a medical certificate indicating your need for a TTY is required to receive the discount on the second home phone line.

*Does not account for Extended Area Service rates, which provides a higher level of support.

**For cell phone plans with at least 1,000 voice minutes, which may include domestic messaging or text, the monthly discount is $16.23.

There are two ways to qualify for the California LifeLine Program. You may qualify for California LifeLine via Program-Based OR Income-Based. Documentation of proof of eligibility is required. Submit COPIES of proof of eligibility with the completed and signed application. Make sure that your signature is very clear and legible.

1) Program-Based Qualification Method:

You can qualify for California LifeLine if you or another person in your household is enrolled in any one of these qualifying public assistance programs: 

• Medicaid/Medi-Cal
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Federal Public Housing Assistance or Section 8
• CalFresh, Food Stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
• National School Lunch Program (NSL)
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  1. California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
  2. Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (StanWORKs)
  3. Welfare-to-Work (WTW)
  4. Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)
• Tribal TANF
• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
• Federal Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit Program

2) Income-Based Qualification Method:

You can qualify for California LifeLine if your household's total annual gross income is at or less than these annual income limits:

Documentation is required to show your household’s total annual gross income meets the annual income limits if you are qualifying by Income-Based. A household’s total annual gross income consists of money received BEFORE TAXES by everyone in your household (adults and children), from whatever source derived, whether taxable or non-taxable, including, but not limited to: wages, salaries, interest, dividends, alimony and child support, grants, gifts, allowances, stipends, lottery winnings, inheritances, worker’s compensation, unemployment and public assistance benefits, social security payments, pensions, rental income, income from self-employment, and cash payments from other sources, and all employment-related, non-cash income.

Application Process

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR NEW APPLICANTS

Beginning July 1, 2009, new applicants for the California LifeLine Program must be approved before the California LifeLine discounts are received. If you apply to be in California LifeLine, you will pay the regular rates for basic home phone service until your application is approved. Please be sure to ask the telephone company what they are so you will be aware of these rates and fees. 

To help you pay the up-front costs of establishing your home phone service like the service installation/connection fee, service conversion fee, and deposits, you can request to be on an interest-free payment plan. This will spread out your payments in more manageable amounts while you wait for your eligibility to be approved for California LifeLine. Payment plans can vary between the different home phone companies.

After being approved by the California LifeLine Administrator you will be refunded the difference between the regular rates and the California LifeLine discounted rates for any applicable monthly service charges, service installation/connection fee, service conversion fee, and deposits for basic home phone service.

You will receive a bill credit with the California LifeLine discounts retroactive to the date your service began or the date you requested to be enrolled, whichever is later. If your bill has a net credit balance of $10.00 or more, you may request a refund check from your home phone company. Otherwise, the refund will just be a credit on your account.

(For current California LifeLine participants only.)

California LifeLine requires all existing California LifeLine customers to renew their participation on an annual basis. Each year, on the consumer’s anniversary date, current participants will receive a California LifeLine renewal form with a PIN number in a PINK envelope. 

Consumers can simply go online to renew her/his participation at www.californialifeline.com. If a consumer does not renew their participation in California LifeLine, then they will be dropped from the program and lose his/her California LifeLine discounts. Regular home phone rates for basic service will then be charged.  

 EXAMPLES OF ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF ELIGIBLITY

• Identification card from a qualifying public assistance program
• Notice of eligibility or decision letter of participation from a qualifying public assistance program
• Front page only of prior year’s state (540, 540A, 540 2EZ, 540NR, or 540X), federal (1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, 1040SS, or 1040X), or tribal tax return
• Income statements or paycheck stubs for 3 consecutive months within the past 12 months
• Statement of benefits from Social Security, Veterans Administration, retirement/pension, Unemployment Compensation, and/or Workmen’s Compensation
• Alimony and/or child support documents
• Other official documents.

IMPORTANT TO MEET DUE DATES  

Whether a consumer applies online OR fills out and mails the signed and completed form, he/she must respond by the due date. Consumers can find the due date on the application and renewal forms.

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