subject: The Government Helps You Keep Talking [print this page] There are times when life is hard for some people, and it becomes a never ending struggle to maintain the basic needs. Finding a place to live and food to satiate hunger are the primary priorities. Cell phones are considered a luxury that cannot be afforded. But we all know how important it is to have a means of communication. And the government does too. Thats why it offers a program where it gives free cell phones to those that really need them.
These cell phones are meant to be a medium of communication- not for multimedia and business purposes since they lack the necessary features. They come with free minutes so you can actually make the calls. But the nature of the program does not allow for 500 minutes like a normal cell phone plan would. You may get as little as 55 minutes, and you have to learn how to manage with that. What this means is that you only get to call when its necessary, not when you are bored and lacking anything better to do. If by some rare chance you dont use them, they are carried over to the subsequent months.
To get a free government cell phone, you need to be eligible first. When you in the low-income earners bracket, and depend on aid programs like Medicaid to get buy, then you qualify. You need to fill out a form and give some details such as the last digits of your social security number and the much you made in the last one year. These details are not standard, and may differ on some accounts. When your application goes through, you get the phone with free minutes. You are at liberty to renew the plan every month.
The cell phone plan offered with the free government cell phones is not exactly comprehensive. There is a chance that you could exhaust the minutes offered to you. In such a case, you can purchase some for a few dollars so that you can keep talking. If you can, let them accumulate to a point where you can talk without completely exhausting them.
The giving out of free phones started way back when cellular devices started becoming more and more common. But over the years, not all states have been completely covered by the program. Those that have are listed in a government directory, so its best to ascertain that first before you proceed to making an application.
When your finances improve and you can be able to cater for your communication needs, you can have your name written off the program. You also keep the phone that you have been using even when you are no longer enrolled.
