FDDC: Message from the Federal Communications Commission On the Lifeline and Link-Up Programs for Low-Income Consumers

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From: Florida

Developmental Disabilities Council

Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 1:32 PM

To: denisekarp@...

Subject: Message from the Federal Communications Commission On the

Lifeline and Link-Up Programs for Low-Income Consumers

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Announcement

from the

Florida

Developmental Disabilities Council

If

you have questions or comments about this email, please contact the

Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-CALL-FCC or TTY

1-888-TELL-FCC.

In these times with so many struggling to get by, it is

important that everyone understand all of the assistance that is

available to help people stay afloat. " Lifeline " and

" Link-Up " are programs that ensure that all Americans can get

basic telephone service by providing limited discounts to consumers who

might not otherwise be able to afford service. Lifeline involves

discounts on the cost of monthly telephone service, and Link-Up involves

a discount on the cost of initiating telephone service. The discount is

available for the primary residential telephone, even if that phone is

wireless. The programs have been in place since the 1980s,

administered by the federal government and the state public utility

commissions, but, nationally, only about a third of low-income consumers

who are eligible for the programs participate. To find out about

how the discount works in your state and how to apply, go to http://www.lifelinesupport.org.

The Federal Communications Commission, National Association of Regulatory

Utility Commissioners, and National Association of State Utility Consumer

Advocates have adopted the first full week after Labor Day as

" National Lifeline and Link Up Telephone Discount Awareness

Week. " During the week of September 13 - 19, 2010, federal and

state agencies and consumer advocates will be calling attention to the

availability of these programs to ensure that more eligible consumers

understand that this assistance is available. Several outreach

tools to assist you are available at http://www.naruc.org/lifeline/default.cfm.

We ask you to join us in raising awareness of these important programs by

posting information about the programs in your offices, distributing

information on the programs to your staff and consumers you serve,

forwarding this information to other organizations in your community,

writing an article for a local paper that reaches consumers, or linking

to www.lifeline.gov, a website dedicated to these programs.

Information on telephone subscribership in your state is available in the

FCC's recently released Telephone Subscribership Report at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-301241A1.pdf.

You may be particularly interested in the state-by-state information

available in Tables 4 (Percentage of Households with a Telephone by

Income) and 7 (Percentage of Adults with a Telephone by Labor Force

Status).

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