What Is Lifeline Assistance?
Lifeline Assistance is a government assistance program that provides a monthly credit to the local telephone service bill of residential customers. Lifeline Assistance is designed to make basic home telephone service and broadband Internet access service (where available, a minimum speed of 10 Mbps upstream/1Mbps downstream, with monthly usage allowance of 150 Gigabytes) even more affordable for qualified customers.
If you qualify for Lifeline Assistance, NHTC will discount your charge for local voice telephone or broadband Internet access service by $9.25 each month.
What Restrictions Apply to the Lifeline Program?
Lifeline Assistance is a federal benefit – willfully making false statements or providing false or fraudulent documentation in order to obtain the benefit can result in a fine or imprisonment or cause the subscriber to be de-enrolled or barred from the program.
Lifeline Assistance is only available for one Lifeline supported service – fixed or mobile (cellular) voice telephone service or broadband Internet access service – per household. The household may not receive Lifeline benefits from more than one company.
For purposes of the Lifeline program, a “household” is defined as any individual or group of individuals who live together at the same address and share in the household’s income and expenses. A household may include related and unrelated persons.
The household may not receive Lifeline benefits from more than one service provider – that is, if someone in the household receives a Lifeline discount on wireless (cellular) service, the household would not also qualify to receive a discount on home phone service.
Violation of this “one-per-household” rule is a violation of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and will result in the subscriber’s de-enrollment from the Lifeline Assistance program.
Lifeline Assistance is also a non-transferable benefit – it is a violation of federal law to rent, sell or give away your Lifeline service to any other individual, including any individual who may be eligible for Lifeline Assistance.
How Do I Qualify for Lifeline Assistance?
Lifeline Assistance is available to residential telephone customers who have an annual household income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a household of its size OR who participate in any of the following low-income assistance programs:
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
- Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit
You may also be eligible for Lifeline Assistance even if you do not personally participate in one of these programs, as long as an individual who lives in your household participates in at least one of these programs.
What Proof of Eligibility Do I Need to Provide?
Qualifying Based on Annual Household Income
If you want to qualify for Lifeline Assistance based on your annual household income, your household income must be at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a household of that size. NOTE: Federal Poverty Guidelines are updated annually; updates not reflected here are available at www.usac.org or from NHTC’s customer service.
Annual Income 135% Thresholds Based on Household Size (2020)
1 Person | 2 People | 3 People | 4 People | 5 People | 6 People | 7 People | 8 People | Each additional person |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$17,226 | $23,274 | $29,322 | $35,370 | $41,418 | $47,466 | $53,514 | $59,562 | + $6,048 per person |
You must provide proof of your household income at the time that you apply for Lifeline Assistance through one or more of the following:
- Prior year’s state or federal income tax return
- Retirement/pension statement of benefits
- Current income statement from an employer or paycheck stub
- Unemployment/Workmen’s Compensation Statement of Benefits
- Federal notice letter of participation in General Assistance
- Social Security Statement of Benefits
- Veterans Administration Statement of Benefits
- Child Support document
- Divorce decree
- Other official document containing income information
If the documentation does not cover a full year, such as current pay stubs, you must provide the same type of documentation covering 3 consecutive months within the previous 12 months.
NOTE: The FCC’s rules require NHTC to keep a copy of any of the supporting documentation you provide in support of your eligibility to receive Lifeline benefits.
Qualifying Based on Participation in Low-Income Assistance Programs
If you want to qualify for Lifeline Assistance based on participation in one of the low-income assistance programs, you must provide proof of participation at the time that you apply for Lifeline Assistance with one or more of the following:
- Current or prior year’s statement of benefits from a qualifying state or federal assistance program
- A notice letter of participation in a qualifying state or federal assistance program
- Program participation documents, such as a copy of your SNAP card, Medicaid card, etc.
- Other official document evidencing the qualifying person’s participation in one of the listed state or federal low-income assistance programs
NOTE: The FCC’s rules require NHTC to keep a copy of any of the supporting documentation you provide in support of your eligibility to receive Lifeline benefits.
Can I Subscribe to Any NHTC Service Plan?
Lifeline customers may subscribe to any residential service plan offered by NHTC that includes landline voice telephone service, broadband Internet access service, or a bundle of broadband Internet access service and landline voice telephone service; and plans that include optional calling features, such as, but not limited to, caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, and three-way calling.
The Lifeline discount may also be applied to family shared data plans.
Frequently Asked Lifeline Questions
How Do I Apply for Lifeline Assistance?
You may apply in person for Lifeline Assistance at NHTC’s business office, located at 5415 Main Drive in New Hope, Alabama, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
You must complete the Lifeline application form and bring proof of your eligibility for Lifeline Assistance based on either your household income or participation in one of the qualifying low-income assistance programs.
If you have questions about Lifeline Assistance, you may call NHTC’s customer service representatives at 256-723-4211, or toll free at 1-877-474-4211, during normal business hours.