Washington Footing the Cell Phone Bill for Millions of Low Income Americans

Last year, a federal program paid out $1.6 billion to cover free cell phones and the monthly bills of 12.5 million wireless accounts. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons, with participation rising steeply since 2008, when the government paid $772 million for phones and monthly bills. But observers complain that the program ...

How to Get the Government to Cover Your Cell Phone Bill(s)

Last year, a federal program paid out $1.6 billion to cover free cell phones and the monthly bills of 12.5 million wireless accounts. The program, overseen by the FCC and intended to help low-income Americans, is popular for obvious reasons. But observers complain that the program suffers from poor oversight.

How to Get the Government to Pay for Your Cell Phone

How to Get the Government to Pay for Your Cell Phone

12 people busted in $250 million cell-phone cloning scheme 

A dozen people were charged Wednesday in a $250 million scam in which New York-area cell phone customer accounts were pilfered to clone cell phones. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said “tens of thousands” of customer accounts were stolen and used in the lucrative black market international calling scheme.

Review: Republic Wireless and its $19/month cell service

Republic Wireless is an upstart taking on some of the biggest behemoths in American industry—the major cell carriers—armed with WiFi as its main weapon. Republic keeps costs low by encouraging the use of WiFi on cell phones, though customers can still access 3G voice and data services, if needed. Though the service has some drawbacks, including a high startup cost, the previously limited service ...