TracFone said its SafeLink Wireless Lifeline offering is...
TracFone said its SafeLink Wireless Lifeline offering is making a big difference for many Americans. The comments came in a letter filed at the FCC. “In determining whether and how to respond to critics of wireless Lifeline, including Congressional critics,…
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it is important that the Commission remain focused on how the [program] is achieving its statutory purpose of making available to all Americans, including low-income households, affordable telecommunications service, and doing so in a competitively and technologically neutral manner,” TracFone said (http://bit.ly/10Q9Bcz). TracFone noted that 70 percent of those in the SafeLink program said “having Lifeline-supported wireless service enabled them to pursue employment and remain employed” and 95 percent said it “enabled them to remain in contact with family and friends, as well as employers.” Only 26 percent are employed and 13 percent on a full-time basis, the low-cost provider said. Thirty-three percent have three or more children. “These data are important,” TracFone said. “They demonstrate that many Lifeline customers are unemployed or underemployed, are supporting multiple children,” the carrier said. “The data also show that Lifeline-supported wireless service is invaluable in helping qualified persons seek employment and in staying in contact with family and friends."