About USAC

Low Income Program

The Low Income Program provides discounts on telephone installation and monthly telephone service to qualifying consumers. Telephone service is considered a necessity for daily modern life, yet the cost of activating and maintaining telephone service may be prohibitively expensive for low-income consumers.

Low Income Program Highlights

  • Low Income support provides discounts that make basic, local telephone service affordable for more than 7 million Americans
  • Low-income consumers apply for discounts for service or installation through local telephone companies, which are reimbursed by the USF for providing the discounts
  • Almost $4.5 billion in Low Income support has been disbursed to companies designated as eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) since 1998

Because American Indian and Alaska Native communities, on average, have the lowest reported telephone subscribership levels in the country, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted enhanced Lifeline and Link Up programs, as part of the Universal Service Fund, to promote telecommunications subscribership and infrastructure deployment on tribal lands.

What Benefits are Available under the Low Income Program?

There are three components in the Low Income program:

  • Lifeline support helps to pay the costs of monthly telephone service. Additional support is available for low-income consumers living on tribal lands.
  • Link Up support helps to defray the cost of telephone installation and certain other one-time costs. Additional support is available for low-income consumers living on tribal lands.
  • Toll Limitation Service support compensates telephone companies for offering no-cost toll limitation service.

Lifeline and Link Up discounts apply to the telephone at the primary place of residence. This can be a wireline or wireless telephone.

Lifeline also includes Toll Limitation Service, which enables a telephone subscriber to limit the amount of long distance calls that can be made from a telephone.

In addition, Enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up programs are available only for qualifying consumers living on tribal lands.

Enhanced Lifeline for tribal lands provides qualified consumers living on tribal lands with additional discounts on monthly basic telephone service. As a result, depending on current rates, eligible subscribers on tribal lands may receive basic local phone service for as little as $1 a month.

Enhanced Link Up support for tribal lands provides qualified subscribers living on tribal lands with additional discounts of up to $70 on initial connection charges. For example, an installation fee of $130 will cost an enhanced Link Up subscriber only $30. The enhanced Link Up program also includes a deferred payment plan for these charges.

How does the Low Income Program Work?

The eligible telecommunications carrier (usually designated by state utility commissions) must receive certification from the consumer that he or she qualifies for the Lifeline or Link-Up Program or Toll Limitation Service. Using federal Universal Service Fund support, the telephone company provides discounts on the consumer's telephone bill.

Who Pays for the Low Income Program?

All telecommunications carriers that provide service internationally and between states pay contributions into the USF. USAC makes payments from this central fund to support the Low Income Program, as well as three other programs (High Cost, Rural Health Care, and Schools and Libraries).

Learn more about the Low Income Program...


Last modified on 2/18/2008