EDITOR'S NOTE: This version changes a contact number to a more regional line for Assurance Wireless.
A wireless service that offers free cell phones and monthly minutes to people with low incomes is under way in Ohio this month.
Assurance Wireless, a brand of the Sprint network, will provide cell phones and 250 free minutes monthly to customers who qualify. The service is aimed at helping those who are in need of a phone but unable to afford one.
The service has no bills, long-term contracts, activation fees, recurring fees, or surcharges for the free 250 minutes each month. Unused minutes do not carry over to the next month.
Service cuts off if the user's minutes are gone.
However, if there is money in an account, a user has the option to continue using the phone at 10 cents a minute.
If users of the service need more than the free 250 minutes, they can buy an additional 250 minutes for $5 a month, or 750 voice minutes plus 1,000 text messages for $20. Minutes are added by purchasing Virgin Mobile "Top-up" cards at local retailers such as Best Buy or Radio Shack and applying them to an online account. Purchased minutes that are unused never expire.
The service "really is all about peace of mind," said Gary Carter, manager of Assurance's national partnership program that works with state and local social service agencies.
"If I'm out looking for a job ... I can't just sit back at home waiting for an employer to call back. With [Assurance], I can be out looking for a job," he said.
And "if money is tight, a free phone is going to allow me to stretch my dollars. I can pay a light bill or my rent and not have to worry about the phone bill," he added.
Assurance, which began in 2009 and is now in 25 states plus the District of Columbia, grew out of the 1984 Telecom Act's Universal Service Fund that required phone providers to offer free basic land line service to low income citizens. But Mr. Carter said that as wireless service has evolved, the need for free wireless phones for low-income users has grown.
Mr. Carter said the cell phone provided with the service is a "vanilla" phone with standard features such as voice mail, 9-1-1 service, caller ID, and call waiting.
"It is not an Android or a smart phone," he said.
Only one free phone account per household is permitted.
Assurance does not have offices in Ohio. It works with social service agencies, who refer customers to the company. Otherwise it takes applications for service through its Web site (www.assurancewireless.com) or by telephone at 1-800-395-2171.
Deb Ortiz-Flores, director of the Lucas County Job and Family Services office, said free cell phone service is important to low-income clients because so many services are now conducted over the phone. Assurance is the second free service provider following the arrival of SafeLink Wireless in Ohio in September, which also provides a free cell phone and 250 free minutes.
"I think they bring value to our clients because a lot of time people in poverty tend to move a lot and to establish service based on the old land line service can be difficult. There may be deposits needed or a past balance due," she said.
To qualify, a customer must participate in any of the following assistance programs: Medicaid, Food Stamps/SNAP, General Assistance, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Home Energy Assistance Programs, National School Lunch Program, or Supplemental Security Income for the blind and disabled.
A person who is at 135 percent or below of 2011 federal poverty guidelines also is eligible. For a one-person household, that is an annual income of $14,702. In Ohio, there are 751,000 people eligible for Assurance service.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
First Published June 28, 2011, 4:30 a.m.
