PITTSBURGH -- Viewers have been calling the Channel 11 hotline asking if ads touting free cell phones are legitimate.

Channel 11 looked into the ads and found out the offer is a real government program.

TracFone provides the phone along with 48 minutes a month of airtime.

The program is called SafeLink and is for low-income families and anyone receiving Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income and other government assistance programs.

More than half-a-million households in Pennsylvania qualify for the service.

But how fast you get a phone will depends on how you apply for it.

Jeannette Jones of Wilkinsburg has had a free phone for a few months.

Jones, who suffers from seizures and receives Medicaid, said the phone has been a life saver.

“I don't feel I have to have someone with me at all times,” Jones said.

Jones said the process of getting her phone was easy.

With the help of her daughter she applied for the phone online and just three days later, it was at her door.

It sounded great, but then Robert Keilback of West Newton told Channel 11 he’d been trying to get an application for a phone for almost two months.

Keilback has arthritis in his legs and uses two canes to get around.

He’s fallen a few times while out by himself and a cell phone could be a lifesaver, but he can’t afford to buy one.

He doesn’t have a computer, so he called SafeLink’s toll-free number (1-800-977-3768) and asked for an application.

The operator asked him a few questions that concerned him.

Keilback said, “She wanted my bank numbers. "

When Channel 11 contacted SafeLink, the company running the program for TracFone, a spokesperson said a Social Security number is required, but bank account information is not.

Keilback never got his application, but tried again when a Channel 11 crews was at his house.

After 20 minutes on the phone and giving his address to the operator four times, he finally got a promise that an application would be mailed.

A week later, he still had not received the application.

That is why SafeLink recommends people apply for the phone online.

For more information on the free cell phone program go to SafeLink or call 1-800-977-3768.