Gov Employee Cell Phone Discount Act 1996

[troy malone]

A friend of mine e-mailed this to me today.. I contacted verizon and it looks like i've been overpaying for my cell phone service.. i wonder how many more people cell phone companies don't tell about this discount.. they don't do refunds for past service,, but i'll be getting my discount as soon as i fax the required info.. just ithought i'd share the information to other federal government employees & service men and women.



Cell Phone Bill Discount: Federal Telecommunications Act 1996 Discount to Federal Employees Past and Present



Apparently, federal employees are entitled to a discount on their cell



phones IAW the Federal Telecommunications Act 1996 Discount to Federal



Employees Past and Present. It may be worth your time and money to call



your cell phone company and tell them you are a current or previous Federal



Employee and you want the "Federal Telecommunications Act 1996 Discount to



Federal Employees Past and Present" applied to your phone service.



Discounts vary:







Sprint 1-888-788-4727/1-877-812-1223 Sprint = 15%



Verizon 1-800-922-0204/1-800-865-1825 Verizon = 10% (USAF 23%)



T-Mobile 1-866-646-4688 Mobile = 22%



Cingular 1-800-319-6393 Cingular = 19%



Nextel 1-800-639-6111 Nextel = 18%



AT&T = 17%

 

[TrainTrac]

Discussed in a previous thread. You have to ask for the discount, they won't automatically offer it. Speaking with a supervisor is usually required, because the customer service reps that answer the phone usually don't have a clue about this.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

It's common for telco's to not tell you about the discounts. T-mobile is perfect example...check their service plans and the minutes go up each month and the price goes down. But if you don't check they don't offer it. And, when you change the plan to save money they hit you with a 1 to 2 year extra contract to stay with them. However, I was looking at their web site and ended up saving 50% on three phone lines. But, as you said they don't reimburse for the overcharges.



BTW did you also know that you can as for an upgrade on your phone close to when your contract expires? You have to ask. I've switched to a new phone every year paying close to nothing for the new and better model.



Thanks,

SST

 

[Austin Tatious]

I've had a $4.99 a month plan with Verizon for about 3 years. I had to ask for it and show a valid school ID. No bells and whistles - 150 minutes of local calls.



I'm not sure if this is required by law or not, but after Columbine schools got on the fast track to improve communications. We had three phones and two lines at a school with 400 students and teachers. Now we have 50 phones and 4 lines.



California passed a law to allow students to carry cell phones, though the school can require they be turned off during school hours.

 

[Ken Stewart]

Yep, it works. I have Cingular and got the discount myself by providing my military email address and filling out info on their website. No need to talk to my supervisor or anything.