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Do you qualify for $6.11 phone service?

September 14th, 2009, 10:16 am by

California LifeLine telephone programPsst… Did you know AT&T offers landline telephone service for $6.11 per month? And in some cases, it’s only $1?

There’s no secret handshake or special coupon code. You just can’t make more than $24,000 a year, or $34,000 for a family of four. To get the $1 monthly bill, you need to live on a tribal lands.

There are 2.1 million people enrolled in the state’s LifeLine program, according to the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees the program and is promoting this week’s California LifeLine Awareness Week, through Sept. 20. But apparently, many more consumers qualify. If your income has dipped for the worse, you may be part of this group. Here are the limits:

Household size Income Limit
1-2 members $24,000
3 members $28,200
4 members $34,000
For each additional member, add $5,800

California’s LifeLine program has been sagging as people opt to switch to cell phones, said Christopher Chow, a spokesman for the CPUC. The good news is that California is working on a basic plan for cell phone users as well. A decision could be made by next month, he said. (Verizon apparently offers a wireless LifeLine program outside of California.)

LifeLine Service Rate
Flat-Rate Local (unlimited local calls) $5.47 to $6.11 or 1/2 carrier’s rate.
Measured Local (60 local calls/month) $2.91 to $3.27 or 1/2 of carrier’s rate
Consumers in Tribal Lands $1.00 per month.
Service Connection $10 or 1/2 of carrier’s charge
Service Conversion $10 or 1/2 of carrier’s charge
Deposit $0 for local service
Toll-blocking/ restriction $0

California’s LifeLine program has been sagging as people opt to switch to cell phones, said Christopher Chow, a spokesman for the CPUC. The good news is that California is working on a basic plan for cell phone users as well. A decision could be made by next month, he said. (Verizon apparently offers a wireless LifeLine program outside of California.)

A bunch of events for the special LifeLine awareness event are taking place this week, including today’s workshop at the Lake Forest Senior Club at 11 a.m. (The Lake Forest Senior Club is at Lake Forest City Hall, 25550 Commercentre Dr., Suite 100 in Lake Forest.)

More events scheduled throughout the state are available on the CPUC’s web site at this LINK.

For consumers who qualify for LifeLine based on income, instructions are available HERE to get basic phone service for $6 or less per month. AT&T’s rates are some of the lowest, but Verizon and cable TV provider Cox Communications offer similar discounts to California residents.

Links:

Past stories on landline phone service:

Posted in: Cell phones • news • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Telephone rates in California to rise in 2009

October 24th, 2008, 1:30 pm by

AT&T will raise its basic telephone rates for customers in California starting Jan. 1, 2009. Verizon is undecided.

Telephone companies in California haven’t raised basic telephone rates since 1995, thanks to the state Public Utilities Commission. The PUC wanted to prevent any sudden spike in fees. In 2006, the state agency decided the market had become competitive enough that the rate cap should end on Jan. 1, 2009. After that, telephone rates would be deregulated.

However, in September, the PUC postponed any changes for two years. In the meantime, the PUC is allowing telephone companies to raise rates by up to $3.25 per month in 2009 and up to another $3.25 per month in 2010.

Over at Verizon, Jon Davies, a Verizon spokesman, said, “We haven’t made any decisions yet on our pricing structure.”

AT&T chose to raise the price by $2.56, which increases the monthly fee to $13.50 from $10.94, said H. Gordon Diamond (corrected spelling of name at 2:43 p.m.), AT&T’s public affairs person.

“Slightly more than half of our customers in California will see a change,” he said.

For AT&T customers, it’s not a huge jump overall. But that’s a 23 percent increase from the existing $10.94. Still, AT&T’s basic service in California is currently the cheapest in the nation, according to the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

AT&T customers who are on the Lifeline plan for low-income users will see a 64-cent increase per month. The ‘measured rate’ plan, which offers a set amount of minutes, will pay an extra $1.45 per month beginning January. Those who won’t see any impact: customers who buy bundled services. Here are AT&T’s current plan prices.

“We want to have a competitive product in the marketplace. At the same time, we want to make sure our service is affordable in California. Even with our increase, we’re significantly below our competition,” Diamond said.

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