subject: Know About The Best Cell Phone Plans [print this page] No one can underestimate the importance of a mobile phone today. Whether you are living in a big city or a small town, having a mobile phone is absolutely essential to stay in touch with your friends and family. Other than social interaction, the mobile phone today is the main communicative device for businesses and in the professional world. A lot of small scale businesses and many job interviews depend solely on telephone communication, making a cell phone more important than ever. But affording a cell phone is not that easy for everyone. The costs of everything have gone up. Keeping in check the costs of basic needs is becoming a difficult feat, let alone owning a cell phone. Though it is immensely important a mobile phone is undoubtedly just an added bill among lots of other bills that need to be paid at the end of every month.
Thankfully, there is now a cell phone service introduced by the government which offers people the opportunity to get free government phones if they qualify. The plan is available in all the states but the qualifying criteria for different states vary. There are a number of online providers that offer these services. You need to find the provider that suits you best. You also need to check the qualifying criteria with your provider. Once youve found a provider, you can go ahead and order your phone. You would normally get a handset with some basic services like making long distance and local calls (there might be some conditions on long distance calls), sending and receiving text messages, accessing 911, call directory assistance and voicemail. Mostly, this program is free of cost but some states might have some initial or recurring costs like in Oklahoma, the residents are billed at $1 per month for the 1000 minute plan and Texas residents need to pay a $30 activation fee.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its Lifeline Reform Order (FCC 12-11), making significant changes to the qualifying criteria of this program. You must be participating in any of the government programs like Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) , Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Medicaid, National School Lunch Program's Free Lunch Program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), to be eligible in Louisiana, Arkansas,Illinois, Oklahoma, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Washington, Rhode Island,Nevada, Iowa, Texas orWest Virginia.
