Blue Jay Wireless was a Lifeline provider that offered free or discounted phone service to low-income households on the Sprint and Verizon networks. It is defunct. Wikipedia lists its end date as 2018, and in September 2018 Missouri regulators cancelled its carrier status after it stopped filing and could not be reached.
Blue Jay Wireless is gone
Blue Jay Wireless is defunct. Wikipedia lists its end date as 2018. On September 4, 2018, the Missouri Public Service Commission cancelled its Eligible Telecommunications Carrier designation. Blue Jay had not filed its required 2018 annual report, its website was down, and staff could not reach the company. The order also noted an online notice from another company saying Blue Jay customers would become its customers as of July 6, 2017.
If you had a Blue Jay Wireless line
No single successor carrier is confirmed. A Missouri order cites another company’s notice that Blue Jay customers would move to it in July 2017, but the order does not name that company. Blue Jay accounts no longer exist. If your number still works, the carrier that holds it now can give you its account number and transfer PIN.
How Blue Jay Wireless ended
- November 2013 to August 2014: Blue Jay enrolls Tribal Lifeline subscribers in Hawaii; these enrollments later draw an FCC investigation.
- July 15, 2016: FCC releases a consent decree; Blue Jay repays about $2 million to the Universal Service Fund.
- July 6, 2017: Another company’s online notice says Blue Jay customers become its customers on this date.
- February 21, 2018: Blue Jay files its 2017 Lifeline certification late.
- September 4, 2018: Missouri cancels Blue Jay’s carrier designation, effective September 14, 2018.
Why Blue Jay Wireless ended
The sources do not give one stated reason. They show a company in trouble. In July 2016 Blue Jay settled an FCC investigation into its Hawaii Tribal Lifeline enrollments and agreed to repay about $2 million to the Universal Service Fund. By 2018 it was missing required filings, its website was down, and regulators could not reach it. Lifeline providers depend on these federal payments, so losing standing left no business to run.
How to find who holds an old number now
- Check an old bill or payment record. It names the company that billed you last.
- Run the number through a carrier lookup tool. It shows the carrier that holds the number today.
- Call that carrier and ask for the account number and transfer PIN.
- Start the port from the new carrier. Never cancel the old line first.
Your right to keep a number
Number portability is federal law, not a carrier policy. The rule is the FCC’s: Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers.
How we verified Blue Jay Wireless
BestCellular.com tracks active carriers and defunct ones. We keep both, because people still search for brands that no longer exist. Every fact on this page comes from the sources listed below, and we leave a detail out when no source states it. Where sources disagree, this page says so. If you can document a correction, tell us and we will check it against the sources.
Tracked and active are different counts on this site. Blue Jay Wireless counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Blue Jay Wireless
Is Blue Jay Wireless still available?
No. Wikipedia lists Blue Jay Wireless as defunct with a 2018 end date. Missouri cancelled its carrier designation in September 2018 after the company stopped filing and could not be reached. The old website is no longer a phone service.
Which network did Blue Jay Wireless use?
Wikipedia lists Blue Jay Wireless on both the Sprint and Verizon networks, using CDMA and LTE technology. It sold Lifeline service, which gives low-income households free or discounted phone plans.
What happened to Blue Jay Wireless customers?
No confirmed successor is on record. A Missouri order cites another company’s online notice that Blue Jay customers would become its customers as of July 6, 2017, but the order does not name that company or confirm the move.
Why was Blue Jay Wireless fined by the FCC?
In July 2016 the FCC settled an investigation into Blue Jay’s Tribal Lifeline enrollments in Hawaii. Blue Jay admitted certifying Tribal residency for some subscribers who did not live on Hawaiian Home Lands, and agreed to repay about $2 million in total.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- Wikipedia: List of mobile virtual network operators in the United States: Defunct table: Blue Jay Wireless, Lifeline CA, Sprint and Verizon, CDMA and LTE, ended 2018.
- Missouri PSC: Order Canceling ETC Designation of Blue Jay Wireless, LLC: September 4, 2018: designation cancelled; missed filings; website down; July 6, 2017 transfer notice.
- FCC Enforcement Bureau: Blue Jay Wireless consent decree (DA 16-790): Released July 15, 2016: Hawaii Tribal Lifeline findings and about $2 million repayment.
- RCR Wireless: Blue Jay Wireless dinged $2M for Lifeline ‘investigation’: July 20, 2016 coverage of the FCC settlement.
Best Cellular. “Blue Jay Wireless: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/blue-jay-wireless/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.