# Site listing which cell phone Co. owns which #? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205 "2009-07-07T15:56:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JozefKafka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@JozefKafka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JozefKafka)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/1 "2009-07-07T15:56:18Z")
Is there a site that will tell you which cell phone provider owns which number? For example if I want to find out which company owns (212)924, also written 212.924 – the 924 number in the 212 area code – is there a site that will tell me this? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/2 "2009-07-07T16:20:07Z")
Are you talking US phone numbers? If so, do you mean a site that would tell you who owns an individual phone number like (123) 456-7890, or do you mean a site that would tell you who owns all numbers starting with area code 123 and first 3 digits 456, i.e. (123) 456-XXXX? If the former, I don’t know. If the latter, then I’m sure you realize that you couldn’t say which cell phone company owns (123) 456-XXXX since the numbers starting with (123) 456-… could belong to a variety of cell phone companies. ---
**Author:** ![JozefKafka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@JozefKafka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JozefKafka)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/3 "2009-07-07T16:33:41Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Are you talking US phone numbers? > If so, do you mean a site that would tell you who owns an individual phone number like (123) 456-7890, or do you mean a site that would tell you who owns all numbers starting with area code 123 and first 3 digits 456, i.e. (123) 456-XXXX? > If the former, I don’t know. If the latter, then I’m sure you realize that you couldn’t say which cell phone company owns (123) 456-XXXX since the numbers starting with (123) 456-… could belong to a variety of cell phone companies. I presumed one company would own all the 456 numbers. I’m trying to find out which co. owns a certain number. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/4 "2009-07-07T16:36:18Z")
> [@JozefKafka](#): > > I presumed one company would own all the 456 numbers. It used to be that way, but not anymore. Customers “own” their number and can take it from provider to provider as they switch plans. ---
**Author:** ![JozefKafka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@JozefKafka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JozefKafka)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/5 "2009-07-07T16:38:05Z")
I just found out what I wanted to know using this site: > **[Fone Finder query form](https://fonefinder.net/)** > > Telephone search engine that returns the city, state, and country of any phone number in the world. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/6 "2009-07-07T16:43:22Z")
> [@JozefKafka](#): > > I just found out what I wanted to know using this site: > > [http://fonefinder.net/](http://fonefinder.net/) It’s not accurate. It thinks my number is still with T-Mobile. I’ve been with AT&T for over 2 years. It still thinks my dad’s is a landline, when he ported it to his cell over 4 years ago. I think it’s referencing who originally had the number in their pool. It certainly doesn’t have much bearing on reality today. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/7 "2009-07-07T17:33:25Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It used to be that way, but not anymore. Customers “own” their number and can take it from provider to provider as they switch plans. Exactly. For quite a few years now, phone numbers have not been tied to particular cell phone companies. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/8 "2009-07-07T18:40:20Z")
true, but what percentsge of cell or landlines have switched ca carriers? 5%, 10%? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/9 "2009-07-07T19:34:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > true, but what percentsge of cell or landlines have switched ca carriers? 5%, 10%? Just going by my immediate family, all of them. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/10 "2009-07-07T19:51:16Z")
> [@JozefKafka](#): > > I just found out what I wanted to know using this site: > > [http://fonefinder.net/](http://fonefinder.net/) The area code and first 3 digits of my cell phone number ( (780) 237 ) aren’t even in that list. ---
**Author:** ![Improvisor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@Improvisor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improvisor)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/11 "2009-07-07T20:00:14Z")
The short answer is no. I work in building out SMS applications and such for mobile phones and we are charged a lot of money by the carriers every time we look up a phone number. I think it is something like 7 cents per lookup against (relatively) real-time carrier tables. I don’t know of any place to find this info for free. And other posters are correct in that just trying to find what carrier owns ‘a block’ of phone numbers is not really relevant anymore since number portability came along. The carriers and aggregators make alot of money charging service providers for this data (which is basically free to them), so they are not going to let this info out anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/12 "2009-07-07T20:10:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > true, but what percentsge of cell or landlines have switched ca carriers? 5%, 10%? It’s not just that- that list is also _really, really_ out of date. It has my number pegged in more or less the right geographic area, but thinks it still belongs to Aerial Wireless. Aerial hasn’t existed for about 10 years, since its assets and subscribers were purchased by VoiceStream in 1999 - which soon afterward became T-Mobile. I’ve had the number since 2001. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/13 "2009-07-07T20:10:44Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > It’s not accurate. It thinks my number is still with T-Mobile. I’ve been with AT&T for over 2 years. It still thinks my dad’s is a landline, when he ported it to his cell over 4 years ago. I think it’s referencing who originally had the number in their pool. It certainly doesn’t have much bearing on reality today. Same here. Thinks I’m TMobile, I’m AT&T for over 2 years. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/14 "2009-07-07T20:17:40Z")
From their FAQs: > [@](#): > > “What about Number Portability?” – Due to act of Congress, any telephone number in the USA can be “ported” away from its geographic nexus and default telco ownership, to a new telco. After a port, a new telco is assigned to the specific number. FoneFinder cannot track these numbers’ telco because the official owner of the porting database is Neustar which has a nondisclosure agreement which prohibits anyone from releasing porting information. I wish I could provide this information to you, but am prevented from doing so. Bottom Line: FoneFinder is inaccurate to the extent that numbers have been ported. > [@](#): > > “The city Fone Finder shows does not match reality. Why?” – With the new explosion of CLECs, many city names listed in Fone Finder do not match the geographic location. This is because companies get to name the C.O. location themselves, and often use some generic big city name that’s local. > [@](#): > > “Why do you show GTE as the telco when the new name is Verizon?” – We use the official, registered company names. Telcos sometimes use a different company name when marketing to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/15 "2009-07-07T20:23:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Same here. Thinks I’m TMobile, I’m AT&T for over 2 years. \*\* IAmNotSpartacus \*\* said something similar. Perhaps you didn’t notice that they have a FAQ page, which says: > [@](#): > > FAQ > > (1) “What about Number Portability?” – Due to act of Congress, any telephone number in the USA can be “ported” away from its geographic nexus and default telco ownership, to a new telco. After a port, a new telco is assigned to the specific number. FoneFinder cannot track these numbers’ telco because the official owner of the porting database is Neustar which has a nondisclosure agreement which prohibits anyone from releasing porting information. I wish I could provide this information to you, but am prevented from doing so. Bottom Line: FoneFinder is inaccurate to the extent that numbers have been ported. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/16 "2009-07-07T20:39:53Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > \*\* IAmNotSpartacus \*\* said something similar. Which would be why I quoted him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/17 "2009-07-07T20:41:53Z")
_ **echo** _ ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/18 "2009-07-07T21:04:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > From their FAQs:From their FAQs: > > Quote: > “What about Number Portability?” – Due to act of Congress, any telephone number in the USA can be “ported” away from its geographic nexus and default telco ownership, to a new telco. After a port, a new telco is assigned to the specific number. FoneFinder cannot track these numbers’ telco because the official owner of the porting database is Neustar which has a nondisclosure agreement which prohibits anyone from releasing porting information. Is that correct? I knew I could port my cell phone number over to another supplier. I’ve also ported a landline between carriers, but the phone physically stayed in the same house. This part of the FAQ seems to be saying that I could take a phone number assigned to a landline in Chicago, and port it over to a carrier/landline in Ohio. If that is possible, how are long distance charges figured? Based on the original phone number locataion, or the current one? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/19 "2009-07-07T21:19:09Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Is that correct? I knew I could port my cell phone number over to another supplier. I’ve also ported a landline between carriers, but the phone physically stayed in the same house. This part of the FAQ seems to be saying that I could take a phone number assigned to a landline in Chicago, and port it over to a carrier/landline in Ohio. If that is possible, how are long distance charges figured? Based on the original phone number locataion, or the current one? I don’t think you can port a number between area codes. If it’s a (say) 555 number in Chicago it’s a 555 number in Indianapolis and anyone in Chicago who wants to call you gets to pay long distance rates. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205/20 "2009-07-07T21:22:40Z")
My sister and her husband moved from San Diego to Boston a couple of years ago. They chose to keep their phone numbers the same and just have the company send the bill to their new address in Boston. My plan includes long distance so I don’t know how that sort of billing works anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/site-listing-which-cell-phone-co-owns-which/502205.md?page=2)