How to Obtain a Cell Phone Carrier From a Number

Sometimes people have a need or desire to find out which cell phone carrier a person uses. Perhaps they are curious because they want to know if the person uses the same provider that they use. Many times, calling the cell phone of a person who uses the same provider is free to the caller. Another possibility is to determine the popularity of a certain cell phone provider among friends and family members. This information could be helpful in making a decision regarding which provider to choose for cell phone service. No matter the reason, determining a cell phone carrier from a phone number is a simple process.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access

Instructions

1. Visit one of the websites listed in the "Resources" section below.

2. Type in the cell phone number for which you wish to determine the carrier.

3. Click the designated "Search" button to retrieve the information.

4. The results you receive will tell you the name of carrier for the cell phone number that you entered. You also may receive other information such as city, state and ZIP code.

Tips & Warnings

• Sometimes cell phone users change to a different provider but keep their original phone number, otherwise known as mobile portability. This can cause the provider information results to be inaccurate because they may reflect the carrier through which the person originally obtained the mobile phone number and not the current provider.

References

• WhitePages.com: Mobile Carrier Lookup
• Seabreezecomputers.com: How to Find Out if Your Friend's Number is Free for You

Resources

• TelcoData.us: Telecommunications Database
• Fonefinder.net: Search for Phone Numbers
• Number-Finder.info: Information for All Phone Numbers