Free Government Cell Phones

Lifeline phone service provides free cell phones to America's financially disadvantaged

Menu
  • Home
  • Do You Qualify?
  • How to get one?
  • States
  • Providers
  • Minutes
  • FAQ
  • News
  • Cheap Plans
  • Earn Money

Dropping like flies: AT&T ends Lifeline landline discounts, T-Mobile may be next

January 17, 2019

It’s been a rough couple of years for the Lifeline free government cell phone program. And life is even tougher in the Lifeline home landline discount arena.

AT&T is pulling the plug on discounted Lifeline landline service, and T-Mobile is also making noises about abandoning the program.

AT&T got the ball rolling by sending notices to thousands of low-income customers in Illinois. They were told that the $10 per month Lifeline discount they’ve been getting on their landline bills will end November. A little quick math tells us that the termination will add an extra $120 to their phone bills every year.

An AT&T spokesman explained the customers’ options to the Chicago Tribune:

“Customers can keep our traditional voice service without the Lifeline discount, or they can obtain Lifeline discounts from another provider,” AT&T spokesman Eric Robinson said in an emailed statement.

In Chicago, AT&T lists seven alternative Lifeline providers, including Access Wireless, Life Wireless and SafeLink Wireless. AT&T’s own wireless service is not an approved Lifeline provider.

Walking away from the home phone discounts came about for one simple reason — AT&T backed legislation that would allow it to walk away.

AT&T’s decision to exit the Lifeline program comes more than a year after state legislators approved a bill to end traditional landline telephone service in Illinois, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

Illinois passed the AT&T-backed telecom modernization bill in July 2017, joining 19 other states in allowing the legacy telephone provider to eventually get out of the landline business. California is the only state in AT&T’s territory that has not passed such legislation.

Dogpiling onto AT&T’s decision to abandon the Lifeline discount business, T-Mobile has hinted that it also wants to walk away.

That comes as a major blow to a lot of people because T-Mobile has approximately 4.4 million Lifeline customers in Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Puerto Rico.

Braxton Carter, T-Mobile’s Chief Financial Officer, coldheartedly told Barclay’s High Yield Bond & Syndicated Loan Conference that, “We’re going to eliminate them from the base.”

Unfortunately, AT&T and T-Mobile aren’t the only landline companies that are leaving Lifeline customers in the lurch. They’re just the latest to join the parade.

Other major carriers that have opted not to participate in the program or to participate on a limited basis include AT&T, Cox, Windstream, Charter, CenturyLink, FairPoint, Frontier and Verizon. AT&T opted to limit participation in the program because an initial FCC plan to establish an eligibility verification database has been delayed and the carrier apparently didn’t want the liability associated with making those decisions on its own.

Meanwhile, smaller rural carriers have been reluctant to offer Lifeline broadband because the rate they would have to charge for the service would be in the range of $100, which the $9.25 discount wouldn’t go far to cover – a situation the rural carriers attribute to an insufficient USF program budget.

Add those companies to the long list of free government cell phone companies that have dropped out of the Lifeline business and you quickly realize that these are tough times for Lifeline customers.

Fewer competitors mean fewer choices. And fewer choices mean poorer service.

Call us crazy, but we think low-income American deserve more.

Tagged as: AT&T, T-Mobile

Want more news from Free Government Cell Phones?

Click here and we'll drop you a line when new articles are up.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Holly says

    January 18, 2019 at 9:54 am

    The only good news is that you all are back on my radar. I thought you dropped me from your email list as it’s been nearly 1 year since I’ve received an email from you.
    I appreciate the update. Currently I”m an Safelink Customer will this affect us ?

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      January 18, 2019 at 11:29 am

      No, there’s no impact on Safelink. Sleep easy.

      Reply
Previous Post: True Wireless says fraud allegations are untrue

Just tell me how to get a Phone!

Confused? Getting a phone is actually very simple. Click here to begin, read every word, and then simply follow the instructions.

Sign up for our Free Newsletter

  
Click to learn more...

Search our site:

More Information

  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Readers' Questions
  • Help
  • Contact
  • About Us

Recent Articles

True Wireless says fraud allegations are untrue

Shame! Cold-hearted Verizon ends program that gave free government cell phones to survivors of domestic abuse

Halloween horror story: Thousands of dead people sign up for free government cell phones

USAC eliminates port freeze: Now you can switch free government cell phone companies any time you want

Bye bye, Blue Jay: We just lost another free government cell phone company

Get a low-income Internet plan and ditch your phone

California city to ban free government cell phone street tents

Dueling testimony: One “expert” says Lifeline criticism is racist, another says it’s not strict enough

The love is gone: Assurance Wireless and Access Wireless decide not to merge

High-priced cable TV is out. Amazon’s low-priced streaming TV is in.

Latest Reader Comments


  • 10 Surprising Facts about Free Government Cell Phones (483)
    • Call again and ask to speak to a supervisor. – [click to read]
    • Please help!!! Tried to re certified with safelink wireless: They said I was with another carrier. I have been with safelink since 2009! What can I do? I have not applied with any other carrier – [click to read]

  • How to file a Lifeline Service Complaint (230)
    • We just checked the article above and we can’t find the part that says you can solve your problem by calling us “retards.” WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT INFORMATIONAL WEBSITE, NOT A CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER. – [click to read]
    • safe link keeps disconnecting my service talking to them is a compltete pain most do not speak english well and are unhelpful and uneducated it is like talking to a monkey. Service is terrible and ... – [click to read]

  • AT&T to offer high-speed, low-cost internet for low-income Americans (595)
    • AT&T is not available everywhere in the country. However, there are lots of other low-income plans that you should check out to find the one that fits your needs best. Find them all here: https://www.che apinternet.com/ low-income-inte rnet – [click to read]
    • How come i. Live in Greenville Ga an we can't get this – [click to read]

  • How do I do the annual recertification of my phone? (467)
    • Sorry to hear about your problems, Michael. – [click to read]
    • calling or internet did not work. they are wanting proof of eligibility after I have had this done every year I have had the phone, New rules suck and I will not go through the ... – [click to read]

  • Indiana: Free Government Cell Phone Companies (103)
    • Check out all the plans on this page, pick the one that fits your needs best, and enroll with that company using the contact info we provide on each service provider’s page. – [click to read]
    • I am a full time college student, age 54, with low income, $50.00 weekly. I currently have HIP insurance. I do not have adaptable income to have a phone. – [click to read]

  • Dropping like flies: AT&T ends Lifeline landline discounts, T-Mobile may be next (2)
    • No, there’s no impact on Safelink. Sleep easy. – [click to read]
    • The only good news is that you all are back on my radar. I thought you dropped me from your email list as it's been nearly 1 year since I've received an email from you. ... – [click to read]

  • Is any phone compatible with my free phone network? (619)
    • We asked a simple question, Patti. If you think that’s rude, how about this: Shut the hell up and go bother some other website. – [click to read]
    • Today was rude, maybe she didn't understand it. And how do you know what type of phone it is – [click to read]

  • National disgrace: Why don't military veterans qualify for free government cell phones? (43)
    • Don’t despair just yet, John. It sounds as if you may qualify for a couple of the low-income internet programs. Check them all out at this link, but pay particular attention to a plan called ... – [click to read]
  • Older »
Copyright 2014 FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net. | Privacy Policy | Contact