free iphone government phone

free iphone government phone

The Impact of Government-Issued Phones on Society: A Comprehensive Analysis

1. Introduction to Government-Issued Phones

As the Pew Research Center observed in “Understanding the Participatory News Consumer,” “few technological shifts in media history have had the transformative effects on journalism and civic life that we associate with mobile connectivity.” The U.S. wireless policymaking and industry communities can make substantial steps in this direction by designing a new national program which puts a limited, but effective, mobile telecommunications device in the hands of all low-income consumers who do not currently have access to the technology. The phones are government-issued, distributed through a competitive marketplace, and associated services are provided by U.S. wireless networks which voluntarily elect to participate in the program. Such a program can serve the goals of policymakers and help to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and enable generally free market solutions, as the role of government as a market participant or shaper would be minimal. It also does not require a new federal tax or universal service fee on competitive local exchange carriers and rather can help narrow the digital divide without cost to the federal Treasury.

Mobile telephony has transformed the world, placing information and communication on the doorstep of almost everyone in the developed world and more limited sectors of the developing world. Businesses and consumers alike have adopted telephony en masse. As a result, mobile devices have bridged the digital divide, enabling people to access valuable resources such as medical, educational, and financial information, and helping individuals organize groups or mass efforts. However, a vast proportion of the developed world’s population still lacks the means to access and connect with these technologies and each other, particularly in times of disaster. Policymakers should ensure that all low-income citizens have equal access to mobile telecommunications services.

2. Historical Background and Evolution of Government Phone Programs

The first schoolteacher involved in the project paid 10 cents for a three-minute call, which turned out to be less than cost under the standard payphone rates then in force. In January, Gillmore spent more than six hours settling up the bill for the month. By the third month of operation, however, the town selectmen, with the cooperation of the telephone company, approved a one-party channel for the shared-use phone in Gillmore, and the public could obtain phone service without routing calls through the local school. The outcome of the Holmesville case provoked additional location-specific requests for coin box installation. In the current trend, government officials from village to federal levels demand and secure authority to place government coin boxes, or they demand a regular extension of private indoor service to specified public locations for public use. Governments take over these services to offset apparent individuals’ costs of making legitimate requests for building access, so as not to endanger security, protection of natural resources, and other manifestations of the public bequest component of universal service.

The first rudimentary experiment in government-provided telephone service began on the 22nd of January 1964 in Holmesville, Nebraska. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an application by a Nebraska independent telephone company for federal cost support to establish a coin box in the office of the Holmesville Gillmore Community Building. The coin box was located in a locked glass case with access only to schoolteachers employed at the building who could obtain the key to the locked case from the school principal or any of the building custodians. Gillmore had the only telephone in the village of Holmesville, and townspeople in need of phone service paid the school for its use. Any calls made by the public at large were recorded, and a billing system based on names and addresses of all callers was used to collect charges from the town caller.

3. Benefits and Challenges of Providing Free iPhones as Government Phones

The work integrated and included cell phones into the social ecosystem and public mission of services, including cash transfers for social support (replacing special purpose EBT cards), home energy assistance (subsuming LIHEAP assistance), and long-term care and mental health services. Now, turning the cell phone into a smart iPhone-like mobile Internet device will lead to a second generation of services, including easy-to-use applications like GPS-guided transportation to health care, benefits access to estate, legal, funeral, and other services (reuniting separated families), and a range of creative applications that will link the public to private, community, and personal services. With universal cell phone service subsidized, cellphone subscriptions, and cellphone prices are already low enough so as not to be the most important remaining barrier to universal involvement. With universal free service, we make the indigent.

Benefits: Free cell phones mean that all families, at least in theory, have the opportunity to be connected. Clearly, it is impossible for every member of the public to have a computer and internet access either at home or in every neighborhood that they travel through. According to my data, virtually everyone eligible for E-rate-eligible school lunches already has a cell phone and associated plan. With this new option for E-rate, families will live daily with an upgraded network, which, through its applications, has more content than in the history of complex America. This will, in turn, catalyze a new wave of innovative applications on a network that is many times more powerful—making it enlarged commercially as well.

4. Case Studies and Success Stories

In Finland, now everyone can afford a telephone, payphone, or mobile telephone. But it was not always that way. In the year 2000, ETAK, the communications magazine, remembered the state of the telephone service at the beginning of the century. A postal and telegraph official offers the first periodic bulletin, free and then paid, already announcing the new telephone service. “The aim of the telegraph is to facilitate nearby communication became a limited reality in such a degree that the historical search for ETAK telephony continued until 1881. From that moment on, phones began to multiply through customs, banks, factories, and ministries, and between families of resources that allowed them to afford such a luxury.

4.2 Case Study: European Union (Finland)

In the context of Latin America, cases can be found in Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. In Mexico, the Federal Telecommunication Board contributed 37% of the total monthly expenditure in 2005. Just recently, the Brazilian Government transferred the funds to give voice to over 217 poor settlements. In Chile, the Municipality of Conchbo favored 130 families with free access to fixed wireless telephony in rural zones. These examples help us understand the importance of telephony among families of limited resources.

4.1 Case Study: Latin America

5. Policy Recommendations and Future Directions

One potential avenue for providing more universal mobile-device access to individuals living at or near the federal poverty threshold is to refine the government-subsidized free smartphone concept proposed by Laird for small rural carriers serving remote or high-cost areas and expand it to include large metro carriers. According to a report from Census Bureau data compiled by the Foundation for Rural Service, almost three times as many metro residents benefit from Lifeline compared to their rural counterparts. This attempt to generate more delivery options and lower costs – while offering recipients the flexibility to choose the type of physical equipment from a variety of supported devices without a mandate or the receipt of a “free phone” message – is in line with conclusions made by the PCAST research mentioned earlier to help narrow the digital divide.

The most pressing concern when it comes to government-issued smartphones is the privacy of the user. The government must take the lead on this issue. To help reduce the possibility that individuals using smartphones sponsored by government agencies are monitored, the cell provider utilized by the government should distribute cell phones to the recipients and be barred from accessing information except for purposes of checking whether the phone is being used lawfully, such as in a criminal behavior or fraud investigation. The phone and accompanying computer should also be reasonably secured from the intervention of unauthorized parties.