A lot. Over six million as of summer 2011.
This was a question that took us some time to answer. The facts simply are not readily available, and Safelink Wireless, Assurance Wireless and ReachOut Wireless do not give out their numbers.
But we accepted this challenge and went digging through government information and came up with some estimated numbers that should be close to being on target. Our first calculations led to the article, Assurance Wireless gaining on Safelink Wireless.
As that article points out, as of March 31, 2011, we estimated that the total number of subscribers of the “big three” Lifeline cell phone companies is 6,352,427. Other smaller providers exist, but the numbers are too small to spend time counting.
Here is the breakdown for the three free government cell phone providers:
| Safelink Wireless: | 3,774,109 subscribers |
| Assurance Wireless: | 1,837,700 subscribers |
| ReachOut Wireless: | 741,618 subscribers |
| TOTAL: | 6,352,427 subscribers |
But you should also note the calculated growth rates in the article. While Safelink Wireless holds the lead, they are not growing anywhere near as strongly as Assurance Wireless, or ReachOut Wireless for that matter. The first place ranking could change by 2012.
LZ says
Would you happen to have updated data? Perhaps through 2016?
Thanks
Free Government Cell Phones says
We’re working on our latest update now, Leo. But the numbers get harder and harder to ferret out. It used to be easy to do the math when the Lifeline program only involved cell phones, but it’s a much more complex now that internet service is in the mix.
Trish says
What kind of oversight is there? It has been reported that many people have more than one phone. I am also curious that when people become ineligible for federal programs which could make them eligible for this service??? how is their service disconnected? I am of the understanding that it is not disconnected. If it is not disconnected, people like myself will continue to pay for this perk which is intended for those who are not able to place an emergency type call. The oversight for this program is too loose. If it is a nightmare to run this program, and I believe it must be, it should not be in place. What I would really like to know is when all is said & done, who benefitting? (phone service companies…??) If it was a great undertaking to come up w/the # of “subscribers” then where did those #’s come from & how?
K W Hub says
Is it true that the monthly cost of each phone is $14? If so, that puts the total annual cost at $1.06B…I think I need a free phone too
Free Government Cell Phones says
For the cell phones it’s roughly $10 or so. But there are also landline subscribers. And it all varies between states, and if the phones are in tribal areas.
But there are way ore subscribers than this now. Read item #11 on this article:
https://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/10-surprising-facts-about-free-government-cell-phones
The 2011 cost is going to be finalized between $1.5 – 2 billion.
Joe Young says
This number is far too high, the company that administers Lifeline for the government publishes the total number of Lifeline subscribers every quarter, currently at 10,160,724. Doing a little bit of number crunching (removing states where the big three don’t offer Lifeline, taking into considertion the 2,000 or so other companies that offer Lifeline, and removing all the people who have Lifeline on a landline telephone) the real number would probably be closer to 2-3 million for the big three. Simple math…
Administrator says
Thanks for the note, but the numbers are accurate. We only counted the big three wireless providers: Safelink, Assurance and ReachOut. And the numbers were confirmed by an industry insider. I don’t have it in front me but just about 12-18 months ago, Safelink said they had over two million.