You won’t find any major cell phone providers or new iPhone devices eligible for the Lifeline Assistance program, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a decent phone on a reliable network. Some of these cell phone providers also offer free phones or free SIM kits as well. (Or you may be asked to pay a small $10 co-pay.)
These are the carriers that currently are eligible with the Lifeline Assistance program:
- Assurance Wireless
- Cintex Wireless
- Copper Valley Telecom
- Easy Wireless
- enTouch Wireless
- Feelsafe Wireless
- GCI
- Infiniti Mobile
- Life Wireless
- NewPhone Wireless
- Q Link
- Safelink Wireless
- SafetyNet Wireless
- StandUp Wireless
- Tag Mobile
- Tempo Wireless
- Terracom Wireless
- TruConnect
- True Wireless
You can find out what carriers specifically cater to your area by entering your zip code here.
What kind of phones can I get?
You usually won’t know what kind of phone you can get until you go through the approval process, though most of the Lifeline Assistance-eligible carriers do a decent job offering a variety of phones. Sadly, you likely won’t find the iPhone 13 or a new Android phone with these carriers, but there are still plenty of smartphones out there that you can get for super cheap or even free. Yup, that’s right: a potential free smartphone.
To give you an idea of what to expect, Assurance Wireless has its cell phone lineup public. You can find smartphones like the Alcatel Dawn and the Kyocera Hydro REACH.
You can also find other smartphones like the Coolpad Haylo, REVVL 4, and ZTE Prestige 2.
Alternatives to free government phones
If you don’t qualify for any free phones from the government, you’ve still got some cheap cell phone options and cheap cell phone plans to choose from.
And you can check out the FreedomPop Free plan, which offers 10 minutes of talk, 10 text messages, and 25 MB of data every 30 days. All you need to pay is $10 for the SIM kit—that’s it.
Tello Economy plan
The cheapest cell phone plan we’ve come across that includes unlimited minutes, unlimited texting, and at least 1 GB of data is Tello’s Unlimited Text, Talk, and 1GB plan for $10 a month. The network coverage isn’t the best, but the price is dirt cheap.
US Mobile Unlimited Talk and Text plan
The only way to bring your bill lower than $10 a month is to throw out your data plan altogether. If you know you don’t want to pay for any wireless data, the US Mobile Unlimited Talk and Text plan at $3 a month (for the first six months) is your best bet. Bonus, US Mobile operates on both T-Mobile and Verizon networks, which offer excellent coverage.
Source: reviews.org