Introduction
Assurance Wireless is a government assistance program providing eligible consumers with free monthly data, minutes, and a free smartphone. The eligibility for the Assurance wireless program varies by state, but generally speaking, one is eligible for a plan or a phone if they receive assistance from another government program such as Medicaid, food stamps/SNAP, or even Low Income Home Energy Assistance or section 8. If one does not participate in a qualifying government program, they may be eligible for Assurance based on their income. The Assurance wireless program was created to address the needs of low-income individuals, especially people who are unable to purchase a phone or even afford a monthly phone plan. In California, Assurance Wireless provides a Lifeline service supported by the federal Universal Service Fund and the California Lifeline Program. This paper will provide a historical overview of how and why this program was created and implemented, describe its benefits and services, funding source, and objectives, evaluate its effectiveness, including sustainability issues, and discuss its limitations and unintended consequences. Furthermore, recent efforts to alter or change the program will be analyzed, and an international comparison will be made between American approaches to the selected policy and those from another country.
Historical Overview
Assurance Wireless is a telephone service that offers free phone, monthly data unlimited texting, and free monthly minutes services to low-income eligible individuals. The qualification for receiving this service varies between states, and the plan’s beneficiaries do not receive a bill, nor do they incur any activation fee or maintenance fees. Virgin Mobile USA launched this program in 2009. Virgin Mobile USA is a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation. The program was established as part of the Federal Lifeline Assistance Program, created in 1985 to provide affordable phone service to low-income households. The Lifeline program was initially limited to landline phones but was expanded to include mobile phones in 2005. Assurance Wireless was one of the first companies to participate in the Lifeline program and began offering free phones and monthly minutes to eligible households in five states: Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, and New York. The program has since expanded to more than 40 states and the District of Columbia.
The public utilities commission ensures this program runs smoothly by overseeing its implementation in California. It approves the settlement terms between the customer protection and Enforcement Division and Assurance Wireless USA. The Assurance wireless program is financed by the Universal service fund, formed by the Telecommunications Act passed in 1996 to ensure that all Americans could get affordable telecommunications services regardless of their income status. The program was initiated in California in 2011 when Virgin Mobile USA partnered with the lifeline Assistance program.
Program Description
The Assurance wireless program is a federal lifeline Assistance program. Lifeline is a government assistance program. Assurance Wireless offers eligible low-income households free monthly data, unlimited texting, free monthly minutes, and a phone. The Assurance Wireless program brand has been under the ownership of the T-Mobile family since 2020. This was due to the completion of the merger of sprint corporation and T-Mobile U.S. and after Virgin Mobile USA was closed and folded into Boost mobile. The official statement of the merger was released in July of the same year, where customers were assured that the services would continue to be offered on the T-Mobile network. In California, enrolment in this program is based on state-specific eligibility criteria. One can qualify for the California Lifeline if the household is enrolled in any of the following qualifying assistance programs:
- Medicaid/Medi-Cal
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance or Section 8
- CalFresh, Food Stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC)
- National School Lunch Program (NSL)
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
- Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (StanWORKs)
- Welfare-to-Work (WTW)
- Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)
- Tribal TANF
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
- Federal Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit Program
In addition, one can also qualify based on the household’s annual gross income with proper documentation showing that the individual in question meets the required criteria.
The program allows only one California lifeline discounted phone in every eligible household. However, this rule has an exception for participants with hearing disabilities, teletypewriter users, and disabled Telecommunications program members (California LifeLine Eligibility, n.d.). Every household can only choose the discount on a home cell or a cell phone but not both. The households cannot receive discounts from many phone companies. The defaulters of the set rules and regulations can be fined or serve a prison term. Possessing many discounted phone services is against the California Lifeline Program’s rules and can attract punishment.
Assurance Wireless offers two different phone plans. The first plan combines lifeline with ACP, while the other is a limited plan via lifeline alone. The combined unlimited plan of lifeline and ACP offers unlimited voice minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data, and 10 G.B. of mobile hotspot. On the other hand, the lifeline-only plan gives limited voice minutes, unlimited texts, and 4.5 GB of mobile data (Ilumba, 2023). The program is funded by the Universal Service Fund (USF), a federal program funded by fees assessed on telecommunications providers. The program’s objective is to ensure that eligible low-income households have access to essential communication services.
Effectiveness
The FCC has made progress in implementing reforms to this program. The effectiveness of the Assurance Wireless program has been evaluated through various studies and reports. It can only be measured regarding reach/coverage, its impact on society, and sustainability. This program has had a significant effect on communication by helping low-income families access telephone services such as calling, texting, and internet browsing. These services enable them to stay updated and access essential services such as job applications and academic research. A 2013 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Lifeline program, including Assurance Wireless, served over 18 million households (Office, 2023.). The introduction of a prepaid wireless program exacerbated this growth.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered in 2015 that low-income individuals with access to a phone through the Lifeline program were more likely to have access to healthcare services and meet their healthcare needs, thereby reducing healthcare disparities among low-income individuals and fostering equality. This study reveals how the Assurance awareness campaign has influenced society in several beneficial ways.
Sustainability
Sustainability concerns have also been a program concern. In 2018, the FCC proposed modifications to the Lifeline program that would have placed additional criteria on service providers and beneficiaries, possibly limiting the number of eligible families. Advocacy organizations and several lawmakers criticized the plan, arguing it would weaken the program’s efficacy and damage low-income families.
Limitations
The possibility of fraud is a significant drawback facing this program. According to research conducted by GAO in 2010, lifeline had no comprehensive way of detecting and preventing ineligible subscribers, making it subject to access by unauthorized and unqualified individuals for this plan. In addition, Assurance wireless program provides basic phones which are limited against some operations, such as internet access in remote areas. Another common drawback is the lack of necessary information about the program and how eligible families can enroll. Moreover, the program only provides one phone per household, which may not be sufficient for larger households or households with multiple individuals who need phone service. The unintended consequence of the program is that it may lead to a digital divide within the low-income population. The program only serves a specific group of low-income individuals, which may create disparities within this population. For example, low-income individuals who do not qualify for the program may be left behind and unable to access essential communications services. This consequence may be due to a lack of proper communication channels about this program, contributing to eligible families being left out.
Policy Change
Suggestions and ideas have been raised to change the lifeline program, including the Assurance wireless. In March 2012, the FCC made new rules that enabled the de-enrolment of ineligible lifeline subscribers within a short time by eligible telecommunications carriers. The rules gave specific ways in which ineligibility could occur, including non-usage, in which a lifeline was supposed to be suspended for 60 days without being used. The FCC provided several definitions of the term “usage,” some of which included the following: completing an outbound call; purchasing call minutes from an eligible telecommunications carrier to add to the subscriber’s service plan; and answering an incoming call from a party other than the eligible telecommunications carrier or an agent or representative of the eligible telecommunications carrier (Public Utilities Commission of the State of California, 2021).
In 2017, the FCC proposed program modifications that would have removed the wireless reseller program, which enabled third-party carriers like Virgin Mobile to provide Lifeline service. Service providers and advocacy organizations criticized the plan because it would affect low-income families and diminish market competitiveness.
To preserve the long-term viability of the Lifeline program, which includes Assurance Wireless, the FCC suggested modifications in 2020. Limiting the amount of assistance supplied to each customer and eliminating the cellular reseller scheme were among the planned changes. Unfortunately, this suggestion was rejected since it would have harmed subscribers and diminished the service’s effectiveness.
In 2021, the FCC created the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which gives qualifying families a discount on broadband internet access. The initiative aims to meet the rising demand for internet connection among low-income families, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic. Yet, some opponents claim that the initiative does not go far enough in tackling the digital divide and that more must be done to guarantee that low-income families can access inexpensive and dependable internet connections.
International Comparison
Similar initiatives like the Assurance wireless program are available in other nations. The Universal Service Obligation (USO) in the United Kingdom is an excellent example. The USO ensured everyone in the U.K. had access to essential communication resources, including a landline and high-speed internet. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport of the U.K. government is in charge of the initiative, which telecom companies support.
USO was created in 2020 to offer access to communication services to households in areas where telecommunication providers cannot reach. For email, online surfing, and video streaming, the program provides qualified homes with a minimum download speed of 10 Mbps, which is more than enough. A good connection can give download speeds of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 1 Mbps, according to the government (along with other defined quality parameters) (Stocker & Whalley, 2019). According to Ofcom, an inexpensive connection costs less than £45 per month.
The USO provides a legal right to request a decent broadband connection, up to a cost threshold of £3,400 per premise. The eligibility criteria for this program include; individuals who cannot access proper Broadway connection by any connection, in case the only service available that can provide the minimum standards costs more than £45 per month, and if the property is not due to be connected by a publicly funded roll-out scheme within 12 months. The connection will cost no more than £3,400 per premise to build (or the customer has chosen to pay the excess above that amount).
One significant distinction between the USO in the U.K. and the Assurance Wireless program in California is that the USO offers access to broadband internet service, which is becoming more and more necessary for daily living. Assurance Wireless provides a combination of calls, internet, and text services. Another distinction is that although the Assurance Wireless program is open to qualifying low-income households anywhere, the USO is only available to homes in remote and rural locations. Additionally, the USO is a legal duty for telecommunications providers, but the Assurance Wireless program is optional for providers that wish to join. The U.K. government has committed to closing the digital divide by setting a target for the USO to deliver universal internet access with a minimum speed of 10 Mbps by 2025.
In summary, whereas the USO and the Assurance Wireless program aim to provide essential communication services to qualified homes, they differ in eligibility requirements, financing sources, and service offerings. While the Assurance Wireless program in California is voluntary for carriers and offers fewer services, the U.K.’s USO program gives access to broadband internet service and is a requirement for telecom companies.
References
California LifeLine Eligibility. (n.d.). Www.cpuc.ca.gov. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from
https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/consumer-support/financial-assistance-savings-and-discounts/lifeline/california-lifeline-eligibility
Ilumba, A. (2023). Assurance Wireless: Free government phones and plans.
https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/assurance-wireless#eligibility
Office, U. S. G. A. (n.d.). Telecommunications: FCC Should Evaluate the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Lifeline Program | U.S. GAO. Www.gao.gov. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-15-335
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. (2021).
https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M365/K644/365644375.PDF
Stocker, V., & Whalley, J. (2019). Who replies to consultations, and what do they say? The case of broadband universal service in the U.K. Telecommunications Policy, 43(8), 101823.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596118302192
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