free cell service for everyone, thanks big O
 

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Enr...blic/home.aspx

"Lifeline Assistance is part of a program that was created by the government to provide discounted or free telephone service to income-eligible consumers. To help bring you this important benefit, SafeLink Wireless is proud to offer Lifeline Service. Through our Lifeline Service you will receive FREE cellular service, a FREE cell phone, and FREE Minutes every month! SafeLink Wireless Service does not cost anything – there are no contracts, no recurring fees and no monthly charges.
Any Minutes you do not use will roll-over. Features such as caller ID, call waiting and voicemail are all also included with your service. If you need additional Minutes, you can buy TracFone Airtime Cards at any TracFone retailer Walmart, Walgreens, Family Dollar, etc). SafeLink Airtime Cards will be available soon.
Your exact benefits, including the number of free Minutes you will receive, depend on the state you live in. Please enter your ZIP code to get the details for your state. "

This service has been around long before Obama.

how long has it been around?

Obama blame fail.

yup, any more details?

Nah, just savoring the moment...not that it's rare.

68 free minutes... how dare they.

I agree but not in the sarcastic way you meant it.

It's a BS program, even at 1 minute.

Cell phones are no more a right than broadband.

"...the LifeLine program is not an "Obama program" (i.e., one that was initiated by or during the Obama administration). LifeLine was implemented by Congress well before the advent of the Obama administration, and the SafeLink Wireless service was launched in Florida by TracFone back in September 2008, several weeks before the election that put Barack Obama in the White House."

So has the ability to dial 911 in most places, even from a phone that has been 'disconnected.' That's all the 'emergency' phone use that people need. Other than that walk down to the gas station and drop a quarter.

now that is a rarety, a payphone.

Agreed 100%.

I will say though, that pay phones aren't as easy to find as they once were.

Around here, the local phone company has totally shut down their "coin" division and the majority of pay phones have been removed.

I can't even remember the last time I saw a payphone.

JC

The problem is that public phones are vanishing, a relic of the past largely un-needed in today's cell phone ubiquitous world...so for those without a cell phone, 911 rescue is no longer a corner phone booth away.

It would appear that the service provides just enough talk time for emergency use, with additional minutes available for purchase.

They can still be found up here, and it isn't too difficult. I have to admit though that while in the US I generally find them with the handset ripped out.

However in a good bunch of urban centres if you buy the $20.00 Best Buy special cell phone you've got something that will dial 911 for life.

Especially for a quarter - they cost fiddy cent around here, and can be found within 100 yards of any quality liquor store.

Doesn't it cost more than a quarter these days?

I'm in a fairly low-income area, so i know of 3 or 4 within reasonable walking distance of my office, between the three gas stations and two liquor stores... but they've all been vandalized and are unusable. I don't know where the nearest functioning one is.

However, living where I do, I find it harder to make a snap judgement on this from a libertarian perspective. There are a LOT of elderly, infirm people living in my area, which is pretty rural. Many live with family, but some try to remain independent as long as they can. You can't use 911 to call your son and ask him to pick up your medication. :idk:

I could easily get by on 68 minutes a month, but i suspect i don't meet the income requirements :bash:

Obviously I'm not one of those people who needs to walk down to the gas station.

When I was a kid, it was dropping a dime.

Even Haveve Husein at the 7-11 will let someone borrow the phone for free if it's a legit emergency.

And 68 minutes. That's roughly 2.27minutes of emergency talk a day. The program I'm sure is just a stepping stone. I'm also sure these same "phone" users probably have the latest and greatest in I-phone technology anyways.

We have lots of working payphones here, by Wally world and the liquor stores. After Katrina when cell service was down I used them to call for pickup during recovery ops. I have an old cell phone wired into my glove box to call 911 if mine gets crushed in an accident. Free cell phone = fail.

I, on the other hand, think that phone service and broadband should be a right in this country. The internet is a necessary utility that everybody should have access to these days, especially children, and its all but unuseable with dial-up.

I agree. I think we've proven to be pretty shitty educators. At least if we guaranteed everyone access to the world's collective knowledge (the Internet being the single largest repository of human knowledge), some might at least educate themselves. People should at least be given the access to this learning as a right.

It would help prepare this country's citizens to better compete in the world economy, in which we are currently losing ground fast.

Most other advanced nations don't just have better healthcare, they have better Internet too.

Welcome to the new third world. We really need to play catch up now.

You guys are right: Free internet for e'rybody!!!!

How should those that can't afford AOL be accessing the WWW?

Should Uncle Sam provide free computers as well?

Maybe the cell phone that was the original topic of this thread should come with an unlimited data plan?

Hey, Shmike...other countries send their kids to college.

Don't you think we could at least give them the American booby prize, and "let them eat Facebook"?

We send our kids to college too.

Free computers or free data phones which is it you prefer?

Split the difference. iPhone.

/sarcasm

I thought you hated Apple?

I hate computers. They hate me. Brand is almost irrelevant.

My school has a computer lab open from 8am-10pm for students (Monday-Saturday). You can do your research there (or in the schools library) and print your reports. You can also use microsoft word and powerpoint. Don't forget free wifi that you can use with your computer. Claiming "I don't have a computer so I can't go to school and educate myself" is bullshit. I've gone by at night and seen single mothers in there busting their asses to better their lives. Hell, you can go buy a used $200 laptop and stop at any starbucks or McDs and get free Wifi.

Or you can get the Comcast 4g wireless internet for $30 a month.

No need for Government Internet. The private sector is doing a great job with it.