1.4 million Californians rely on free or low-cost phones. This program keeps them connected

Julie Maestas didn’t know what she was going to do.

Maestas, 48, lives at Camp Resolution in North Sacramento and has a Lifeline phone, which are typically free or low-cost from the government.

The number of people with these phones soared by more than 200,000 in the early months of this year, according to a California Public Utilities Commission spokesperson, reaching more than 1.4 million. Nearly all of these people get their phones through federal subsidies.

In a state racked by inflation and income inequality, Lifeline phones alone aren’t going to stem the tide. But for the people who rely on them, the phones can make a difference.

“It’s really helpful to me,” Maestas said. “I don’t have to pay a bill and I can get a hold of my kids, my kids and my family when I really need to.”

On July 18, Maestas was just days from her phone being shut off. She had had the phone for a year, which she said was the amount of time allotted for her to have the phone.

Maestas, who doesn’t have identification, said she was able to previously get a Lifeline phone with her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP card for food benefits. She was worried that this policy has since changed and she would be unable to get a new phone without ID. She didn’t have a plan for what to do next about cell phone service, saying she couldn’t afford a phone.

“If they can just keep their service on more than a year … that would be really helpful,” Maestas said. “Because we are homeless out here. We don’t have no phones. A lot of things happen out here … that we need a phone.”

Origins of the Lifeline program

Some people refer to Lifeline phones as “Obama phones,” with the term even a rallying cry for conservatives in years past.

On one hand, it’s true former President Barack Obama expanded a program to bring free or low-cost cell phone service to as many as 17 million Americans in 2012, according to CNN.

Still, the program goes back much further, with a Federal Communications Commission spokesperson saying via email that for almost 40 years, Lifeline “has helped provide discounts on communications services to qualifying low-income customers.” More than 800 Lifeline service providers are active, the FCC spokesperson also noted.

There is also a California Lifeline program that “aligns its policies with the federal Lifeline program to leverage resources and maximize subscribers’ benefits” and counts about 45,000 subscribers, according to an email from a California Public Utilities Commission spokesperson.

Around one out of every 28 Californians benefit from at least one of the Lifeline programs. The Los Angeles Times reported on July 31 that undocumented immigrants could soon have access to Lifeline phones, too.

Maestas’s fears about being unable to get a Lifeline phone without ID could have something to them. Both the state and federal Lifeline programs can require IDs.

A CPUC spokesperson explained that California Lifeline doesn’t require photo IDs at application time. But the spokesperson also wrote that to provide communication services to eligible people, California Lifeline checks in Lexis-Nexis to confirm identity. If people fail this check, they are “required to provide some form of ID,” the spokesperson wrote.

The spokesperson also noted that most providers of California Lifeline service “require an ID at the time of application.”

The federal process has some similarity. An FCC spokesperson wrote via email applicant identities are verified during the application process and supporting documentation is asked for, if needed.

At the state level, Lifeline eligibility is confirmed by checking the CalFresh database. Federally, people can qualify for Lifeline by participating in programs like SNAP.

People who benefit from at least one of the Lifeline programs include Rolando Silva who lives at North Sacramento MHP and retired in December after working for 15 years for a Save Mart grocery store.

Silva learned that because his income was decreasing with his retirement, he likely qualified for electronic benefits transfer assistance, or food stamps, which qualified him for a Lifeline phone.

Asked how he likes having Lifeline service, Silva said, “It’s fine because it’s free.”

He doesn’t talk a lot on the phone, beyond using it to reach family and friends, though he believes his minutes are unlimited. Nor does he use the phone to watch movies.

“I don’t do all that kind of stuff,” Silva said. “I mean, I’m 63. I’m kind of old-fashioned.”

Silva got his Lifeline phone several months ago from people set up outside of a Grocery Outlet just down the street from his home. It’s not the only place in his neighborhood he could have picked up a Lifeline phone either, with a King’s Supermarkets location on El Camino Avenue also a known spot, according to Tami Costanzo, community manager of Silva’s park.

Costanzo has spoken with sales reps who were going door-to-door at the park. While soliciting is strictly prohibited there, these vendors were offering Lifeline phones. Some residents in the park, which is for ages 55 and up, already have these phones. Costanzo thinks many more residents would qualify.

So, Costanzo offered for these vendors to come in at scheduled times, where she could invite the whole community and provide refreshments. No one’s taken her up on it just yet, though she’s hopeful.

“I think that there’s a big enough need here that it would be worth their time to come here,” Costanzo said.

The future of the Lifeline program

The Lifeline program has seen serious attrition since the Obama administration, with 7.4 million subscribers as of January, including people using the program for broadband access, according to the FCC. California Lifeline has been under some threat in recent years, with the CPUC nearly voting on limiting discounts in 2022, according to CalMatters.

Other types of access have been on the chopping block as well, with Congress declining to keep funding the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program for internet access and enrollment ending in California on June 1, according to the CPUC.

A variety of leaders across the political spectrum with activities tied to telecommunications service were quiet when sought for comment.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, who serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce didn’t respond to an interview request through aides. Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, who serves on the California Senate’s Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee was unavailable for comment, according to staff.

Meanwhile, Assemblymember Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, who serves on his body’s Committee on Utilities and Energy said via email that he’d “only been on the committee a few months and we haven’t discussed this program so I don’t have much of an opinion at this point. Which is rare!”

Even progressive voices who often speak about helping the less fortunate were quiet.

The silence might be explained, in part, by the fact that cell phone access isn’t high on the list of challenges for many people these days.

Nancy Vasquez is program administrator for Agency on Aging Area 4, which helps seniors in seven counties within the Sacramento region. She said her organization has focused more on providing computer devices and teaching seniors how to use them.

“It’s pretty simple to get a very inexpensive cell phone with basic service,” Vasquez said. “It’s really the iPads and the tablets and the other computers that people really, really needed.”

At the Davis Senior Center, people are referred frequently to 211, according to Libby Wolf, an office assistant. People do ask about cell phone service, though “it’s a little less frequent than you might expect,” Wolf said.

Still, there are plenty of people who rely on Lifeline phones in California and others who are reassured by knowing their loved ones have one.

Niki Jones, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness said the phones are vitally important for unhoused people, helping them do everything from keep in contact with loved ones to scheduling appointments.

“There’s just a million things we use the phone for all the time,” Jones said.

For Jones, the issue is personal.

“My dad lives outside and his Lifeline phone is the only way that we’re able to stay connected,” Jones said. “It’s the only way I’m able to find him when I’m worried about him.”