Public Notice

Illinois Linkup is a state program to help qualified households pay the installation charge for telephone service. You can help support the Illinois Link Up program by electing to contribute on your monthly phone bill. To find out how you may help, please contact Madison Telephone Company's business office at 618.635.1000.

Lifeline is a federal program to help qualified consumers pay the monthly charge for local telephone or broadband service. Lifeline is a non- transferable, federal benefit that makes monthly telephone service or broadband service more affordable and is available for one service only per household. Lifeline customers also have the option to apply the discount to a service bundle, such as home phone and home internet. A household is defined as an individual or group of individuals who live together at the same address and share income and expenses. Based on the program participation or income-related eligibility criteria described below, you may qualify for this program. This means you may receive a monthly credit for your voice telephone service or broadband service (when selecting a speed package of 25 Mbps/3 Mbps or greater). This Lifeline service also includes toll blocking to qualifying customers without charge.

The current discount provided under the Company’s Lifeline service is $5.25 per month for each month that the customer qualifies for voice telephone service and $9.25 per month for broadband service. To receive this discount, an individual, a dependent, or someone in the household must participate in one of the following federal assistance programs: “Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Supplemental Security Income; Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8) or Veteran’s or Survivor’s Pension Benefit.” Or, the total household income must be at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines. Consumers who make false statements in order to obtain the benefit can be punished by a fine or imprisonment or be barred from the program.

To find out if you qualify for these programs, please contact Madison Telephone Company's business office at 618.635.1000.

MADISON TELEPHONE COMPANY

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Madison Telephone Company proudly offers voice telephony and broadband services and functionalities designedtoexceedtheFederal CommunicationCommission'srequirementsasstatedinC.F.R.§54.101, including

• Voice grade access to the public switched network;

• Minutes of use for local service provided at no additional charge;

• Access to emergency services provided by local government or other public safety organizations, such

as 911 and enhanced 911, to the extent the local government in Madison Telephone Company’s service

area has implemented 911 or enhanced 911 systems; and

• Broadband Internet access service which includes the capability to send data to and receive data from

the Internet, but excludes dial-up service.

The current rates and charges for the above-listed services and functionalities can be found in the tariffs on file at the appropriate governing agencies and are subject to change upon proper notice. See the Madison Telephone Company Tariff Number 18 on file with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Madison Telephone Company would be pleased to provide you with specific rates for your area upon request. Madison also offers reliable high-speed broadband internet service.

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