The Federal government now offers Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Program to all eligible customers. Currently, many carriers participate in these programs. Some reputable carriers offering these programs are Assurance Wireless and Safelink Wireless, among others. If you are enjoying the programs offered by Assurance Wireless, chances are that you might want to know whether you can enjoy those of Safelink Wireless as well. In this article, we shall take a closer look at whether you can have Assurance Wireless and Safelink at the same time, alongside any other helpful idea.
Eligible Requirements for Assurance and Safelink Wireless Programs
As we stated in the introduction, Assurance Wireless and Safelink are some of the carriers that offer Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity program. For you to enjoy these programs, there is an n array of requirements that you must meet. In the subsequent sections, we shall take a closer look at how one can be eligible for these programs:
Lifeline Program
If you want to become eligible for the Lifeline program, you should ensure that your income stand at or is below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Better still, be a participant of a government assistance programs such as:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP)
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance(Section 8)
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit program
- You received a Federal Pell grant in the current award year
- You are a beneficiary of the free and reduced-price school breakfast program or school lunch program.
If you reside on Tribal lands, be sure that you can now enjoy the benefits of Lifeline program. However, here are the programs that you should participate in:
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(Tribal TANF)
- Tribal Head Start
- Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations(FDPIR)
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)
For you to be eligible for the Affordable Connectivity program, you should ensure that your income stands at or is below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Since different states have different Federal Poverty Guidelines, there is a need for you to check what your country’s FDG stipulate and then establish if you meet the much-needed threshold or not.
In case you do not qualify via the low income criteria, be certain that you can now qualify for ACP facility if you are a beneficiary of a government assistance programs. Some of these programs include:
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Security Income
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
- Federal Public Housing Assistance(FPHA)
- You are a beneficiary of the free and reduced price school breakfast program or school lunch program.
- You received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year
In case you reside on Tribal lands, be sure that you can now enjoy the benefits of the ACP facility. However, you have to be a beneficiary of any of the following Tribal-based programs:
- Tribal Head Start
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(Tribal TANF)
Is It Possible To Have Assurance Wireless And Safelink At The Same Time?
Not really. You can only enjoy the benefits offered by one carrier’s Lifeline or ACP at a time. For instance, if you are a beneficiary of Assurance ACP facility, you cannot enjoy the ACP benefits of another carrier, such as Safelink Wireless.
Therefore, if you want to enjoy the ACP or Lifeline benefits of a different carrier from the one you are subscribed to, you need to switch and transfer your number. This way, you will enjoy your current service provider’s Lifeline and ACP benefits seamlessly.
Lifeline and ACP Unlimited Plan – Assurance and Safelink
If you qualify for the Assurance Lifeline and ACP unlimited plan, be sure that you will enjoy the following benefits:
- 10GB of mobile hotspot
- Unlimited mobile data
- Unlimited voice minutes & text
Although you might enjoy unlimited data, be sure that the internet speeds will reduce once you exceed the 35GB data cap. Such is the case whenever there is a network congestion.
If you qualify for the Safelink Lifeline and ACP unlimited plan and live in other states other than California, here are the benefits that you are likely to enjoy:
- Free smartphone
- Unlimited talk and text
- 25GB of high-speed mobile data
- You will be at liberty to make calls to Mexico and Canada
- Up to 5GB of hotspot data
- Free access to 911
- Voicemail services
- Caller ID
- 3-Way calling
- 411 directory assistance at no extra cost
- A good network coverage
However, if you reside in California, you will enjoy all the above-mentioned benefits apart from the 25GB of mobile data and 5GB of hotspot data. Instead, you will enjoy up to 15GB of hotspot data and unlimited monthly high-speed mobile data.
Frequently Ask Questions
How Do You Compare The Assurance and Safelink Network Coverage?
To start with, both Assurance and Safelink are Mobile Virtual Network Operators. Assurance Wireless relies on T-Mobile network towers in order to offer its cell phone services to all its customers. On the other hand, Safelink relies on TracFone network. However, TracFone relies on 3 main networks.
These include AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. With this in mind, it is imperative to note that Safelink Wireless have a better coverage than Assurance Wireless as the above-mentioned networks have an incredible coverage.
Do the two providers have BYOP programs and how do they work?
Well, Assurance Wireless does not offer the BYOP program. Instead, this carrier only allows those devices that have been provided by it free of charge or those that have been purchased at its online store. On the other hand, Safelink Wireless allows you to bring your device to its network.
As long as your device is unlocked and is compatible with this carrier, you will be good to go.
Additionally, your phone of choice must utilize a SIM card. This is because this carrier has Micro, Nano and traditional SIM cards. Finally. If you have a Sprint CDMA, Cellular CDMA, T-Mobile GSM, AT&T GSM or GoSmart mobile phone, be sure that you can bring it to this Safelink’s network and get started.
Can I have the Safelink lifeline and Assurance Wireless lifeline program at the same time?
No. You are only allowed to enjoy Lifeline benefits from one carrier at a time. For example, if you apply for the Assurance Lifeline service, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of that program as long as you do not make a switch to another carrier. Once you switch to Safelink Wireless, these benefits will be discontinued. Here, you may have to apply for the new carrier’s Lifeline program so that you can enjoy its benefits.
Can I have Safelink ACP and Assurance Wireless ACP at the same time?
No. You can only enjoy ACP benefits from one carrier at a time. For instance, if you apply for the Safelink ACP and want to enjoy the ACP benefits offered by Assurance Wireless, you have to make a switch so that the Safelink ACP discounts can be discontinued. Thereafter, you will be free to apply for the Assurance ACP afresh so that you can enjoy the benefits offered by this program.
Can I have Safelink free phone and Assurance Wireless free phone at the same time?
Not really. You are only allowed to have one free phone at a time. Therefore, you can choose to either apply or the Safelink free phone or Assurance free phone. More importantly, ensure that preferred carrier’s Lifeline program is available in your state. Additionally, ensure that you meet the much-needed eligibility requirements and you will be good to go.
Can I have Safelink lifeline and Assurance Wireless ACP at the same time?
Yes. Since these programs are unrelated, you can enjoy Safelink Lifeline and Assurance ACP facility benefits at the same time. However, if you want to get the best from these two programs, consider applying for the Lifeline and ACP combo or unlimited plan offered by any of these carriers.
Can I use the Safelink number and Assurance Wireless phone number at the same time?
Well, this is possible if at all you have an unlocked device and it supports dual-SIM functionality. With these features in place, you will be able to connect to both networks at the same time. For instance, you can choose Assurance Wireless SIM card to make calls and send messages while Safelink Wireless SIM card is for mobile data services. However, you need to live in an area that enjoys network coverage of both carriers.
Can I bring my Safelink phone to assurance wireless and vice versa?
Not really. As we speak, you cannot bring your Safelink Wireless phone to Assurance Wireless. This is because Assurance Wireless does not offer the BYOP program to its customers. However, you are at liberty to bring your Assurance Wireless device to Safelink network and get started. As long as your device is unlocked and is compatible with Safelink Wireless, be certain that you will be able to get started on this carrier’s network.
Do the two carriers have the same network?
Not really. Safelink Wireless relies on TracFone network while Assurance Wireless relies on the T-Mobile network. Since these carriers rely on other carrier network towers, they are simply known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO).
Can I transfer my Safelink lifeline benefits to Assurance Wireless?
Not really. This is because Lifeline benefits are non-transferable. Therefore, if you switch to another carrier, the benefits that you used to enjoy with the previous carrier will be lost. In this case, you will have to apply for the Lifeline program offered by Assurance Wireless after making a switch to that carrier.
