TracFone Wireless has launched a government-supported program to provide free mobile telephone service to low income households throughout Pennsylvania. Individuals qualifying for TracFone’s SafeLink Wireless service will receive a free cell phone, emergency mobile access and 68 minutes of air time monthly for one year. The service is currently being tested in Philadelphia and Delaware counties.
SafeLink is provided in part by Lifeline, a program founded by the FCC that provides discounts to qualified individuals for landline and cell phone service plans. Although government administered, the program is not funded by federal tax dollars. Contributions are paid by telecom carriers that collect a Universal Service Charge from all cell phone customers. SafeLink applies the subsidy to free wireless minutes for customers and pays for mobile handsets itself.
The service will be available to more than 260,000 eligible participants in Philadelphia and Delaware counties. Berks and Bucks counties have not responded to repeated requests for emergency compliance as mandated by the FCC. Although Montgomery and Chester counties are compliant, there has not been an announcement of immediate availability in those counties. [via philabustr]
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!
