Prepaid home telephone service is designed for people who have been denied service or who do not wish to purchase service through their traditional local telephone company. Prepaid local telephone requires no credit checks or deposits.

Basic prepaid telephone service generally includes unlimited local calling, access to toll-free numbers and 911 emergency. In order to keep the service affordable, long-distance services are not offered. Rather, customers are encouraged to purchase prepaid long-distance products to be used for long-distance calls from home. Along with the basic phone service, several carriers offer additional features including: call waiting, a non-published number, three-way calling and caller ID.