In Texas, 91.4 percent of households had telephone service in 1996 according to a national survey, ranking Texas 45th in the U.S. by percentage of residences with telephones. One goal of the PLTS program is to increase the number of those households so that residents have access to needed local and emergency services. The 8.6 percent of households without telephone service represents about 1.55 million people. They can still report service problems seven days a week, have access to the business office of the telephone company, and get a primary directory listing. Customers may pay for Extended Area Service, Extended Local Calling or Extended Metropolitan Service if those services are provided in their area.
Customers can also pay extra to have an unlisted number.
PLTS customers cannot have any optional services such as call waiting, Caller ID, call blocking, speed calling, or call forwarding. They also cannot use Directory Assistance, which could result in additional charges. PLTS customers also must ensure that no additional charges accrue on their bills from dialing options like auto redial and call return or from accepting collect calls. Customers who incur additional charges can be disconnected from the PLTS program immediately. PLTS customers can receive long distance calls, and they may call toll-free numbers.