Lifeline Telephone Assistance Program

If you are a customer of one of the companies listed below, you may be eligible to participate in the Lifeline Telephone Assistance Program which provides assistance through a monthly reduction on your residential telephone bill if you are a qualifying customer.

Participating Telephone Companies:

Bretton Woods Telephone Company
Dixville Telephone Company
Dunbarton Telephone Company
FairPoint Communications
Granite State Telephone Company
Northland Telephone Company
TDS Telecom (includes Hollis Telephone Company, Kearsage Telephone Company, Merrimack County Telephone Company, Union Telephone Company and Wilton Telephone Company)

To qualify for the Lifeline Telephone Assistance program, you must be participating in Medicaid, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Public Housing, Low Income Home Energy Assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the National School Lunch Program. Additionally, you may be eligible if your household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. To apply, contact your local telephone company. Federal laws prohibit eligible consumers from receiving more than one Lifeline discount per household.

Recent changes in Federal regulations have affected the way this discount is administered.

1. The “Linkup” portion of the program has been removed.  This was the 50% discount on the installation charge for new telephone service.
2. The monthly phone credit portion of the program has been increased.  The discount is now $9.25 per month.
3. New auditing requirements mean that eligible Lifeline customers will have to re-certify annually to remain on the program.
4. If you believe you would qualify for Lifeline but have a wireless phone rather than a landline phone, please contact your wireless provider to see if they participate in the Federal Lifeline program.

The Lifeline Telephone Assistance program is a federally funded program.  More information about this program and the recent changes to the program are available through the FCC at (http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/lifeline-public-service-announcements-psas), and the Universal Service Administrative Company at (www.usac.org/li/getting-service/default.aspx) and Add this link:  http://www.fcc.gov/document/new-changes-lifeline-program-consumers.