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Tribal members rush to get discounted cell service
By JARED MILLER
Tribune Staff Writer
WOLF POINT — Just a few years ago, cell phones were considered a luxury item. Today they're as central to mainstream America as SUVs and bottled water.
But not everyone is aboard the wireless bandwagon. The poor and those who live on the nation's Indian reservations are less likely to own a cell phone than most.
In Montana, that may change now that the Public Service Commission has approved two wireless companies to offer reduced-rate cell service to Medicaid recipients and rates as low as $1 a month for Native Americans.
The deal is a hit on the Fort Peck Reservation, where locals lined up outside the Sagebrush Cellular store in Wolf Point last week for phone deals.
Sagebrush Cellular's parent company, Nemont Telephone Cooperative, last month became the second wireless provider in the state to offer the reduced-rate service. Cellular One secured approval about six months ago.
Poplar resident Lisa Perry, who picked up her first ever cell phone last week, said she can now call for a ride or phone her boss if she's running late for work.
"A lot of people who qualify for these phones could never have had one in the past," Perry said.
The phone discounts are available through federal programs called Link-up, Lifeline and Enhanced Lifeline. They also apply to conventional phones.
Link-up pays half the cost of initial telephone hookups for those on Medicaid. Lifeline is a monthly rate discount of around $11 for Medicaid recipients.
Enhanced Lifeline is tailored specifically for American Indians, who are more than twice as likely to live in households without basic phone service than non-Indians are.
Native Americans who qualify for tribal assistance or whose income falls below 135-percent of the federal poverty guidelines — about $24,800 for a family of four — can receive phone service for $1 a month.
The Federal Communications Commission created the Lifeline and Link-up programs two decades ago to make good on its mandate to ensure telephone service for "all the people." It added Enhanced Lifeline in 2000.
"This nation has the idea that telephone access is important," said Martin Jacobson, staff attorney for the PSC in Helena. "And that it's so important that all people in the nation should have at least reasonable access to it."
All cell phone users in the Sagebrush Cellular calling area in northeastern Montana will benefit from the programs, said Nemont's general manager Shawn Hanson.
That's because the PSC requires companies that provide Enhanced Lifeline to guarantee reception across 98 percent in their coverage areas.
To comply, Sagebrush has agreed to erect 17 new cell towers in the next three years. The company currently owns 25 towers.
"There are some holes, and there are some unserved areas," Hanson said. "Through this designation, we've stepped up our commitment to improve the coverage."
Hanson declined to say how many customers have signed up for the Lifeline and Enhanced Lifeline, but he said business has picked up since they began offering the discounts Dec. 15.
Cellular One officials did not return calls for comment.
All three telephone programs are paid for by a national pot of money called the Universal Fund, which is sustained by a 50-cent monthly charge to telephone subscribers nationwide.
Jeremy Marmon of Wolf Point signed up for the $1-a-month wireless plan last week.
Marmon, a part-time cook, already had a cell phone, but he paid between $40 and $50 a month on his old plan — a big drain on his budget.
"There's a lot of people who don't have jobs here, but everybody has a cell phone now," 27-year-old Marmon said.
By JARED MILLER
Tribune Staff Writer
WOLF POINT — Just a few years ago, cell phones were considered a luxury item. Today they're as central to mainstream America as SUVs and bottled water.
But not everyone is aboard the wireless bandwagon. The poor and those who live on the nation's Indian reservations are less likely to own a cell phone than most.
In Montana, that may change now that the Public Service Commission has approved two wireless companies to offer reduced-rate cell service to Medicaid recipients and rates as low as $1 a month for Native Americans.
The deal is a hit on the Fort Peck Reservation, where locals lined up outside the Sagebrush Cellular store in Wolf Point last week for phone deals.
Sagebrush Cellular's parent company, Nemont Telephone Cooperative, last month became the second wireless provider in the state to offer the reduced-rate service. Cellular One secured approval about six months ago.
Poplar resident Lisa Perry, who picked up her first ever cell phone last week, said she can now call for a ride or phone her boss if she's running late for work.
"A lot of people who qualify for these phones could never have had one in the past," Perry said.
The phone discounts are available through federal programs called Link-up, Lifeline and Enhanced Lifeline. They also apply to conventional phones.
Link-up pays half the cost of initial telephone hookups for those on Medicaid. Lifeline is a monthly rate discount of around $11 for Medicaid recipients.
Enhanced Lifeline is tailored specifically for American Indians, who are more than twice as likely to live in households without basic phone service than non-Indians are.
Native Americans who qualify for tribal assistance or whose income falls below 135-percent of the federal poverty guidelines — about $24,800 for a family of four — can receive phone service for $1 a month.
The Federal Communications Commission created the Lifeline and Link-up programs two decades ago to make good on its mandate to ensure telephone service for "all the people." It added Enhanced Lifeline in 2000.
"This nation has the idea that telephone access is important," said Martin Jacobson, staff attorney for the PSC in Helena. "And that it's so important that all people in the nation should have at least reasonable access to it."
All cell phone users in the Sagebrush Cellular calling area in northeastern Montana will benefit from the programs, said Nemont's general manager Shawn Hanson.
That's because the PSC requires companies that provide Enhanced Lifeline to guarantee reception across 98 percent in their coverage areas.
To comply, Sagebrush has agreed to erect 17 new cell towers in the next three years. The company currently owns 25 towers.
"There are some holes, and there are some unserved areas," Hanson said. "Through this designation, we've stepped up our commitment to improve the coverage."
Hanson declined to say how many customers have signed up for the Lifeline and Enhanced Lifeline, but he said business has picked up since they began offering the discounts Dec. 15.
Cellular One officials did not return calls for comment.
All three telephone programs are paid for by a national pot of money called the Universal Fund, which is sustained by a 50-cent monthly charge to telephone subscribers nationwide.
Jeremy Marmon of Wolf Point signed up for the $1-a-month wireless plan last week.
Marmon, a part-time cook, already had a cell phone, but he paid between $40 and $50 a month on his old plan — a big drain on his budget.
"There's a lot of people who don't have jobs here, but everybody has a cell phone now," 27-year-old Marmon said.
