First I have heard of this...
Other free cell phones I have heard of were people donating used phones and they were given out to people poor for 911 use only etc in which even without a paid service 911 is suppose to work as a free service. Its a good service to have 911 free as for ever since cell phones came out just about all phone booths are gone. I saw a phone booth last summer out in Maine and was like WOW a vintage 1990s era phone booth, and it was still in service with someone using it but not for 911 at the time.