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Obama cell phone myth debunked – Safelink wireless Tracfone free cell phone not from Obama
3 Comments
There has numerous emails circulating claiming that president Obama created Safelink, a provider of free cell phones and service to low income individuals. The email also claims that this service is provided at the expense of taxpayers. Healthy Financial Habits is here to debunk these two myths and give you factual information on the origins of this program and who actually pays for it.If president Obama did not create the Safelink program then who did?
The Safelink program actually has origins dating back to 1984. As many of us can remember there was once a time when cell phones did not exist. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) created a program called Lifeline. The program was designed to provide affordable quality communication to lower income citizens by reducing their monthly bill for basic service.
As the landline era started to fade out and cell phones gained popularity, there was a need to expand the program to include cellular service. In todays on-the-go world it is almost a necessity to be available at any time. Because of this the FCC approved Tracfone to be a provider of a mobile lifeline service called Safelink. The way that the program works is that instead of receiving a discount on landline service, the individual in need receives a phone (paid for by Safelink) and 68 minutes of airtime per month. They then have the option to purchase additional minutes.
The Safelink program was launched in April 2008, prior to Obama taking office in January 2009, proving that the Safelink phone is not the “Obama Phone” that the email claims.
Okay, well that may be true but if the taxpayers are not paying for the program then who is?
According to the Safelink website “SafeLink phones are not paid for by taxpayers or the federal government.” As mentioned before, the handset is provided by Tracfone and the service is funded. Airtime is funded by the Universal Service Fund (UDF) which is run by the Universal Service Administration who is an independent, not-for-profit Corporation created by the Federal Communications Commission. The USAC is not funded by taxpayer’s money.
The Safelink phone is an excellent idea that provides low income individuals mobile phone service that can be beneficial in many different ways. The phone can be used by job seekers who need a phone number so that potential employers can contact them at. In addition the phone can be used in emergency situations. This is beneficial to everyone especially the elderly.
Author: John Zinsky
Published on December 28, 2009 · Filed under: Commodity Watch;
3 Responses to “Obama cell phone myth debunked – Safelink wireless Tracfone free cell phone not from Obama”
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BlameAmericaFirstCrowd said on December 28th, 2009 at 10:27 am
It appears, given the sheer number of favorable TracFone postings on this site, that this blog is either being funded by TracFone or is an “astroturf” site set up by TracFone.
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Bronwin said on December 28th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Whatever, I think that this Safelink program is a very good thing and I hope it works. If you read the Sullivan Report it shows that by giving a cell phone to the poor you can help them to find a job and /or earn more money on a job, especially if they are low income earners. I am all for helping these people to become independent earners so they no longer have to rely on the government.
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BlameAmericaFirstCrowd said on January 4th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Whatever X 2 – Giving people a free phone, and in many cases that free phone and free monthly plan is a complementary phone/plan, is nothing more than redistribution using a mechansim called the Federal Universal Service Fund. And this fund’s surcharge just went over 14% for the 1QE for 2010 for the first time in the fund’s history. Almost wholly driven by the increase in the low income program for which TracFone is responsible.
