Whidbey Telecom participates in the Federal Lifeline Program and, where applicable, in the Tribal Link-Up program.
Under the Lifeline program, qualifying low-income consumers receive a discount off of the monthly rate for residential voice or broadband service. For qualifying low-income consumers under the Tribal Link-Up program, additional discounts for either of these services may apply, as well as discounts by up to $100. towards Whidbey Telecom’s installation charge for either of these services on Tribal Lands (as defined by the FCC).
Please refer to the table for the current residential voice and broadband service charges2 and program discounts3. Please note that partial payments made towards your Whidbey Telecom service charges must be first applied towards the balance of charges to pay down the allocated price of the Lifeline residential voice or broadband service.
Hat Island Telephone Company participates in the federal Lifeline program, and where available and to the extent applicable, in the Tribal Link-Up program. Under the Lifeline program we offer to qualifying low-income consumers a discount off of the monthly rate for residential voice or broadband service. For qualifying low-income consumers under the Tribal Link-Up program, additional discounts for either of these services may apply, as well as discounts by up to $100 towards Hat Island Telephone Company’s installation charge(s) for either of these services on Tribal lands (as defined by the FCC). For information about Lifeline on Hat Island, click HERE.
*To get Digital Basic Voice Service, you must subscribe to a Whidbey Telecom High Speed Internet service.
| Residential Service Program | Monthly Recurring Service Charge | FCC Subscriber Line Charge4 | Lifeline Discount Amount5 | Discounted Monthly Recurring Service Charge |
| Digital Basic Voice Service | $22.00 | N/A | N/A | $22.00 |
| Basic Voice Service | $18.00 | $6.50 | $5.25 | $17.25 |
| DSL 25/3 Internet Service | $55.00 | N/A | $9.25 | $50.75 |
For more information on these programs that may help you afford phone or broadband service, please contact our Customer Experience Center representatives. For South Whidbey and Hat Island please call (360) 321-1122, and for Point Roberts, please call (360) 945-1122. When calling from outside the local area, please call us toll-free at (860) 548-7760. You may also contact the Federal Communications Commission at 1 (888) CALL-FCC / 1 (888) 225-5322 (voice) or 1 (888) TELL-FCC / 1 (888) 835-5322 (TTY) or visit their website at www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/lifeline-support-affordable-communications.
Lifeline Service Application | To Apply
1The Lifeline program is a governmental assistance program that is limited to one discount per eligible household. Only eligible consumers may enroll in the Lifeline program and the service is non-transferable. To receive Lifeline program benefits you must provide documentation for Hat Island Telephone Company to confirm either your participation in one of the qualifying federal programs or your household income to be at or below 135% of the current Federal Poverty Guidelines. A Hat Island Telephone Company Lifeline Service Application Certification & Authorization form must be completed and signed certifying the accuracy of the information you have provided to Hat Island Telephone Company and authorizing the use of some of your information in a national database in order to verify your eligibility and to maintain your eligibility in the Lifeline program. Benefits for the Lifeline program begin on the date Hat Island Telephone Company receives your completed Lifeline Service Application Certification & Authorization form, completes its review of the applicable federal program participation or household income documentation, and verifies the necessary information through the National Lifeline Accountability Database or, where and when applicable, determines your eligibility through the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier (i.e., whichever system or process is in use and/or applicable at the time of your application for Lifeline benefits). Lifeline-discounted service may not be ported to another service provider prior to the completion of the minimum service period of 60 days for voice service and 12 months for broadband service. Exceptions to this requirement may apply.
2Prices shown in the above chart do not include taxes or other applicable recurring/non-recurring charges. Other High-Speed Internet service packages are available that the Lifeline discount may be applied towards. Actual speeds and availability may depend on distance from centrally located servicing equipment, your computer’s performance, phone line conditions, inside wiring at your location, network configurations, speed of websites visited, and other factors.
3Please note that the Lifeline program is not available within Whidbey Telecom’s Supplemental Service Area. The Lifeline discount(s) apply only to residential voice or broadband internet access service. You will have to pay the full monthly charge for special features such as Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, and/or static IP addresses, which are added to your residential service(s). Basic residential local exchange service includes an unlimited number of local and Extended Area Service (“EAS”) minutes. EAS consists of calling from the South Whidbey exchange to the Hat Island exchange. Charges for long distance calls are in addition and will be as determined by the long distance carrier you select and/or utilize. The long distance charges described in the link above, labeled Long Distance under Products & Services, are for long distance provided by Whidbey Telecom Long Distance. Toll Restriction is offered without a monthly recurring charge. Certain non-recurring charges may also apply to installation or change of service. Charges for basic residential local exchange service, long distance service, broadband internet access service, and installation or change of service are subject to change and in some instances are subject to change without notice.
4The Lifeline discount will be applied first towards any federal End User Common Line charge, to waive this charge. Whidbey Telecom will then apply the federal Lifeline support discount to reduce the cost of the customer’s residential voice service plan or package.
5Additional discounts towards a monthly service charge, as well as for the installation charge for such service, may apply for the benefit of qualifying low-income consumers on tribal lands.
