# Is having a cell phone a right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 3, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378 "2011-08-03T21:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/1 "2011-08-03T21:29:39Z")
If you can’t afford one do you have the right to get a free one from the government along with free minutes to go with it? Some people think so. [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s\_749344.html](http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_749344.html) > [@](#): > > In Pennsylvania, two programs offer free cell service: Assurance Wireless and SafeLink from Tracfone Wireless, which specializes in “no-contract” cellular service. The federal Universal Service Fund, which all telecommunications providers support as required by federal law, pays for the programs. > > Amy Storey, a spokeswoman for CTIA - The Wireless Association in Washington, said all U.S. wireless carriers charge consumers a fee to recover the cost of their contribution to the fund, which varies quarterly as determined by the Federal Communications Commission. > > Assurance Wireless, which is in 26 states and Washington, D.C., started in Pennsylvania in February and is now being publicized in newspaper, TV and radio ads. The company reports more than 5.5 million people could qualify for the program in Pennsylvania. Gary Carter, manager of national partnerships for Assurance, was not able to provide the exact number of people who have signed up. > > SafeLink, which has been available to Pennsylvanians for three years, is in 39 states. Spokesman Jose Fuentes could not provide an exact number of users in Pennsylvania, but said there are more than 2 million nationwide. > > “The program is about peace of mind,” Carter said. “It’s one less bill that someone has to pay, so they can pay their rent or for day care. … \*\*It is a right \*\*to have peace of mind.” I can see there being a debate about the right of healthcare, education, food, shelter, etc., but cell phone service? Come on. Hell cell phones have only become prevalent in society within the last 15 years. They are certainly not essential. Yet while the rest of us pay higher fees to our cellular providers, who in turn remit them to the Federal government, so that less fortunate people can be like the rest of us and have a cell phone too. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/2 "2011-08-03T21:47:11Z")
At best, I can see free cellphones being given to people who are already on some other government program, or making cellphone costs up to a certain limit a refundable tax credit, but making it a right? Troubling. ---
**Author:** ![gallan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ee59a6/32.png) [@gallan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/3 "2011-08-03T21:57:25Z")
Well, I found this online: > [@](#): > > **Courts have recognized an inmate’s right to telephone access, but have not reached a consensus on the precise level of access required by the Fourth Amendment.** In Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 407 (1989)(quoting Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 84, 94-99 (1987)), the Supreme Court held that “‘prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitution,’ . . . nor do they bar free citizens from exercising their own constitutional rights by reaching out to those on the ‘inside.’” In Pell v. Procunier, 417 U.S. 817, 822 (1974), the Supreme Court held that a prison inmate retains those constitutional rights "that are not inconsistent with his status as a prisoner and with the legitimate penological objectives of the corrections system. Bolding mine. So it would seem that there appears to be a fundamental agreement that access to a telephone is a right. I know this applies to inmates, but generally speaking, the rights of inmates are the same as the rights of everyone else. Based on this, I would say that at the very least, access to a telephone is a right. I suppose one could then say that if a person doesn’t have a telephone in their home, and they live in a city that’s done away with phone booths, then it wouldn’t be unreasonable to supply them with a cell phone. Paying for that cell phone is a bit of a stretch though. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/4 "2011-08-03T22:05:14Z")
Well, we already have a right to a keep and to bear arms (sadly, the bears have no rights under our system ☹ ), plus the whole pursuit of happiness thingy, so why not a cell phone in every pot as well? Seems reasonable to me. Basic cable and internet access as well, plus all the porn you can eat also seems reasonable… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/5 "2011-08-03T22:07:21Z")
The idea was that in exchange for deregulation of the telecommunications market guarantees of universal access were made explicit. This was in the [Telecommunications Act of 1996](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996). This included the [Universal Service Fund](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_service_fund), paid into by all telecom providers, used to support programs to spread telecom access to rural and low-income communities. It seems pretty natural that cell phone service would be included in this. I guess the question comes down to “who owns the spectrum?”. The way the law is set out currently the providers do, on the condition that they pay into the USF to fund programs geared towards universal access. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/6 "2011-08-04T01:31:59Z")
This is a program which enables people who are already reliant upon safety net programs to get a free phone from Tracphone or Net10, and 100 minutes a month (no free nights and weekends, btw) of airtime. It is, essentially, a one time $20 phone and a $20 monthly subsidy to their existing program cash, paid directly to the phone provider to ensure that the money is being used for what it’s intended. (They’re free to buy more minutes if they can afford them, or have minutes given to them.) Couching it as a right is specious, at best. But I find it hard to be angry at this program. Having a minimal amount of minutes available to make medical appointments, in case of emergencies with children, and to avoid isolation of seniors (daily check-in calls, for example) is a better use of $20 than a lot of ways that government money is spent. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/7 "2011-08-04T01:34:06Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Well, we already have a right to a keep and to bear arms (sadly, the bears have no rights under our system ☹ ), plus the whole pursuit of happiness thingy, so why not a cell phone in every pot as well? Seems reasonable to me. Basic cable and internet access as well, plus all the porn you can eat also seems reasonable… > > -XT You have a right to own a gun if you can afford it not the right to have the gun just because you want it. BIG difference. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/8 "2011-08-04T01:42:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Hell cell phones have only become prevalent in society within the last 15 years. They are certainly not essential. But, to be fair, there are lots fewer publicly available pay phones than there were 15 years ago, which people without cell phones used-to-could’ve used instead. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/9 "2011-08-04T02:22:50Z")
[QUOTE=Qin Shi Huangdi] You have a right to own a gun if you can afford it not the right to have the gun just because you want it. BIG difference. [/QUOTE] You don’t actually have a right to a keep of your own OR to bear arms either. If you want bear arms you are going to have to go out and kill your own bear…preferably with a butter knife. Wearing a fig leaf. In the winter. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/10 "2011-08-04T06:14:55Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > The idea was that in exchange for deregulation of the telecommunications market guarantees of universal access were made explicit. This was in the [Telecommunications Act of 1996](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996). This included the [Universal Service Fund](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_service_fund), paid into by all telecom providers, used to support programs to spread telecom access to rural and low-income communities. And even beyond that, it comes out of the Lifeline service, which was a program set up in 1984 that gave low income customers discounts on phone service. Here’s the actual website: [http://www.lifeline.gov/lifeline\_Consumers.html](http://www.lifeline.gov/lifeline_Consumers.html) I also find it really hard to be very bothered by this. Whether telephone service is a right or not, it’s really a necessity in 21st century America, and without a telephone, it’s next to impossible for a poor person to get out of poverty. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/11 "2011-08-04T08:25:27Z")
Is having a swimming pool a right? Then why do we have a city rec center? If you don’t like government services, move to Somalia. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/12 "2011-08-04T13:58:28Z")
Ummm…reading comprehension? The woman quoted in the article says peace of mind is a right, and that for the particular case of the people she’s helping, paying for celphone access helps them have peace of mind. Granted its pretty debatable whether peace of mind is a right, but in anycase, no one in the linked article or in this thread is saying that having a celphone is a right, so it seems kinda a silly thing to debate. But in anycase, the program seems like a pretty good idea, IMHO. Its pretty difficult to get a job and schedule daycare/medical appointments/school/whatever without a phone, and celphones and celphone services have gotten cheap enough that its pretty cheap to provide phones to people that need them. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/13 "2011-08-04T14:09:14Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Ummm…reading comprehension? The woman quoted in the article says peace of mind is a right, and that for the particular case of the people she’s helping, paying for celphone access helps them have peace of mind. > > Granted its pretty debatable whether peace of mind is a right, but in anycase, no one in the linked article or in this thread is saying that having a celphone is a right, so it seems kinda a silly thing to debate. > > But in anycase, the program seems like a pretty good idea, IMHO. Its pretty difficult to get a job and schedule daycare/medical appointments/school/whatever without a phone, and celphones and celphone services have gotten cheap enough that its pretty cheap to provide phones to people that need them. Granted it’s also pretty clear by the quote that the woman was talking about the phone giving them that peace of mind… (as a right) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/14 "2011-08-04T17:47:37Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Whether telephone service is a right or not, it’s really a necessity in 21st century America, and without a telephone, it’s next to impossible for a poor person to get out of poverty. Wow, who knew that prior to 1995, no one could get out of poverty. Learned something new today. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/15 "2011-08-04T17:50:50Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Wow, who knew that prior to 1995, no one could get out of poverty. Learned something new today. You seem to have misread - he said _in 21st century America_ it’s next to impossible for a poor person to get out of poverty without access to a phone. Do you disagree? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/16 "2011-08-04T18:13:09Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > You seem to have misread - he said _in 21st century America_ it’s next to impossible for a poor person to get out of poverty without access to a phone. > > Do you disagree? The OP is talking about cell phones, not telephones in general. You both seem to have missed the point of the OP. ETA: I hardly every use a phone, land-line or cell. Most stuff I need to get done, if not in person, is over the internet or by e-mail. So should we now provide a computer and internet service to all people that can’t afford one? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/17 "2011-08-04T18:15:33Z")
No, we didn’t. Did you read the link provided by **Captain Amazing**. These are an extension of existing programs to provide phone service to low-income and rural people. Providing pre-paid cell phones is, in many cases, significantly cheaper than providing land-line services. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/18 "2011-08-04T18:21:13Z")
**Captain Amazing** , since you raised the issue that telephone services are necessary for poor people to get themselves out of poverty, do you have any studies that show the growth in income of people below the poverty before and after they got phones? I’m sure that there are plenty of statistics that show that poor people don’t have phones, while people above the poverty level have phones, but are there any studies that have shown that once poor people got a phone, that their income level rose? ---
**Author:** ![buzz2u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc79bd/32.png) [@buzz2u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buzz2u)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/19 "2011-08-04T18:21:21Z")
No ,i do not think a cell phone is a right. There is a cut for you mr. congress. (only 14 trillion more to go.) Now saying that i know mobile commerce will be 10 times bigger than e commerce. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378/20 "2011-08-04T18:33:49Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > **Captain Amazing** , since you raised the issue that telephone services are necessary for poor people to get themselves out of poverty, do you have any studies that show the growth in income of people below the poverty before and after they got phones? Here is one in Africa: [http://www.ilovedondesoi.org/solutions-to-poverty-in-africa-through-mobile-phones.html](http://www.ilovedondesoi.org/solutions-to-poverty-in-africa-through-mobile-phones.html) Here is Indonesia: [http://realizedworth.posterous.com/wireless-tech-alleviates-poverty-in-indonesia](http://realizedworth.posterous.com/wireless-tech-alleviates-poverty-in-indonesia) The US-based papers I can find seem to be behind pay walls, but I’ll keep looking when I get a chance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-a-cell-phone-a-right/591378.md?page=2)