AT&T is a large, fragmented company that hires outside companies to provide customer support and sales consultation.  They don't offer the same services in all geographic areas, even within a geographic area some homes are not able to recieve all services. I've had similar experiences to yours dealing with Charter, and they don't have all the regulatory problems that AT&T does.

I know this doesn't justify it, but is the way it is.  Eventually they'll get better, or they'll lose market share.

In any case, we're just customers doing the best we can to help you.  I don't know squat about lifeline services.  I can tell you that you can evaluate the costs for U-verse Internet and Voice by going to this link:

http://www.att.com/u-verse/availability/index.jsp

It will tell you what you can get for what price.  Add an estimated 15% for the various taxes and fees, and there you go.