ClearTalk was the brand of Flat Wireless, a small carrier with its own CDMA network in parts of Texas, California and Arizona. It discontinued service on March 16, 2018, according to Wave7 Research. Flat Wireless moved customers to Boost Mobile and turned its ClearTalk stores into Boost Mobile stores.
ClearTalk is gone
Flat Wireless sold service under the ClearTalk brand on its own CDMA network in small markets in Texas, California and Arizona. Fierce reported on April 6, 2018 that the company was shutting that network down. Wave7 Research put the end of ClearTalk service at March 16, 2018. Flat sold much of its spectrum; the buyers were not named. Wikipedia separately says Flat Wireless assets went to Sprint and lists 2017.
If you had a ClearTalk line
ClearTalk customers were moved to Boost Mobile, then Sprint’s prepaid brand. Switchers were offered a $49.99 iPhone 6 or a free Android phone, per Fierce. ClearTalk stores became Boost Mobile stores. If you moved your number to Boost in 2018, start with that Boost account. A number never moved off ClearTalk cannot be ported through ClearTalk now.
How ClearTalk ended
- 2016: A separate Cleartalk affiliate, WGH Communications, sells its South Carolina licenses to T-Mobile US and exits, per Wikipedia.
- 2017: Wikipedia lists Flat Wireless (ClearTalk) assets as acquired by Sprint.
- March 16, 2018: ClearTalk discontinues service, according to Wave7 Research.
- April 6, 2018: Fierce reports Flat Wireless is shutting its network, moving customers to Boost Mobile and converting ClearTalk stores to Boost Mobile stores.
Why ClearTalk ended
Flat Wireless CEO Kevin Beierschmitt gave the reasons to Fierce in April 2018. Prepaid competition got harder after AT&T bought Leap Wireless (Cricket) and T-Mobile bought MetroPCS. CDMA phones became hard to get and costly. He called the major carriers’ roaming rates unfair and said the FCC had not helped. He said prepaid needs very deep pockets, and Flat did not have them.
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 ClearTalk
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. ClearTalk counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about ClearTalk
Is ClearTalk still available?
No. ClearTalk discontinued service on March 16, 2018, according to Wave7 Research as cited by Fierce. Flat Wireless shut its CDMA network and stopped selling ClearTalk plans, so no ClearTalk line works today.
Which network did ClearTalk use?
Its own. Flat Wireless ran ClearTalk on its own CDMA network in small markets in Texas, California and Arizona. Wikipedia lists CDMA2000 voice with EV-DO and LTE data. It was a network operator, not a virtual carrier.
What happened to ClearTalk customers?
They were moved to Boost Mobile, then Sprint’s prepaid brand. Fierce reported in April 2018 that switchers were offered a $49.99 iPhone 6 or a free Android phone, and ClearTalk stores became Boost Mobile stores.
Was the South Carolina Cleartalk the same company?
No. Wikipedia lists a separate Cleartalk affiliate run by WGH Communications. It sold its South Carolina licenses to T-Mobile US and exited the business in 2016. Flat Wireless ran ClearTalk in Texas, California and Arizona.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- Another small wireless network operator, Flat Wireless, calls it quits (Fierce): Network shutdown, March 16, 2018 end per Wave7 Research, customers to Boost Mobile, stores to Boost, CEO’s reasons (April 6, 2018).
- List of mobile network operators in the United States (Wikipedia): Two former-operator rows: WGH Cleartalk affiliate sold SC licenses to T-Mobile US (2016); Flat Wireless assets acquired by Sprint (2017) (checked 2026-10-13).
Best Cellular. “ClearTalk: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/clear-talk/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.
Where ClearTalk customers went
ClearTalk customers were directed to Boost Mobile. These live carriers are also worth a look.