Documentation from one of these services is required for enrollment: (1) Participation in one of the assistance programs listed below; OR (2) Household income at or below 135% of Federal Poverty guidelines for your household size.

1. US Federal Assistance Programs:

• Medicaid
• SNAP (Food Stamps)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Federal Public Housing Assistance
• Head Start Programs (only those meeting it’s income qualifying standards)
• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefits
• Senior Citizen Housing Development Fund
• Tribal-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
• Food Distribution Program in Indian Reservations (FDPIR)

2. Household income at or below 135% of Federal Poverty guidelines of your household size:

The Expanded Federal Lifeline Program is a reduction in charges for residential service that can reduce your monthly charge of Landline or Cellular service to $0.  This discount does not apply to additional features such as Custom Calling features, Class features, or restriction services, taxes and surcharges.

OTZ Broadband service requires customers to have a landline home phone in order to get broadband. The customer must pay full price for the landline. The Lifeline discount for broadband is $37.75 off of the $39.99 monthly fee.  The customer must pay the difference between the normal broadband charge and the discount for broadband.

Only ONE lifeline discount is allowed per household. Members of a household are not permitted to receive Lifeline service from multiple telephone providers. For assistance in determining if there is more than one household at your residence, please complete this worksheet: Lifeline Household Worksheet .

The Expanded Linkup Program is a reduction in the initial connection charges to qualifying low-income customers. The program includes a 100% discount off the initial connection charges up to $100. The maximum discount is $100. This does not include charges for services or equipment that fall on the customer’s side of the grey protector box including customer premise equipment and inside wiring.

Lifeline Recertification

The process for Lifeline Recertification is changing; Instead of OTZ mailing our customers the Recertification Forms, USAC will be contacting our customers directly through the National Verifier. Each month a batch will initiate approximately 90 days prior to the 1st day of the batch month, (Ex: The January 2019 batch will begin 90 days before January 1, 2019, if your anniversary date is in January then you will be contacted in October 2018 to start the recertification process.)

There are 3 methods of Recertifying:
Recertification Method #1: Recertify Online
Recertification Method #2: Interactive Voice Response
Recertification Method #3: Paper Form

During the 60-day period, subscribers may receive up to three (3) robo-calls and a reminder postcard.
USAC will automatically de-enroll failed / non-responsive subscribers from the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD).

Subscribers can also get live customer support via the Lifeline Support Center at (800) 234-9473 Monday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET

Any questions please call our office at (800) 478-3111 or 907-442-3114.