Farmers Mutual Telephone Company appears in an FCC handset report for 2017 with CDMA and LTE phones. Today the Fruitland, Idaho company of that name sells fiber, fixed wireless internet, phone and TV, and lists no mobile service. BestCellular.com found no official end date and no successor carrier.
Farmers Mutual cell service appears to be shut down
An FCC handset report for calendar year 2017 lists Farmers Mutual Telephone Company with CDMA and LTE phones. The report does not give a state. The Fruitland, Idaho company of that name (fmtc.com) now sells fiber internet, fixed wireless internet, satellite internet, phone, VoIP and TV. Fixed wireless is home internet, not cell service. No mobile phone service is listed as of October 14, 2026, and BestCellular.com found no official end date.
If you had a Farmers Mutual cell line
No source names a carrier that took Farmers Mutual cell customers. If your number still works, ask the carrier that holds it now for your account number and port-out PIN. For an Idaho landline, call Farmers Mutual Telephone Company at 208-452-2000. Iowa customers of the Harlan co-op should contact that company instead.
Several telephone companies use the Farmers Mutual name, and the FCC report does not say which one held the 2017 handsets. BestCellular.com could not find an official shutdown notice and will update this page if one is published.
How Farmers Mutual Telephone Company ended
- 2017: FCC hearing aid compatibility report lists Farmers Mutual Telephone Company with CDMA and LTE handsets for calendar year 2017.
Why Farmers Mutual mobile service appears to have ended
The sources do not say. A similarly named Iowa co-op, Farmers Mutual Cooperative Telephone Company in Harlan, says on its history page that it launched cellular with CommNet and Verizon, later ran FMCTC Wireless PCS, and then lost its Verizon Wireless partnership. That page gives no years for those events. BestCellular.com found no dated notice explaining when or why either company’s mobile service ended.
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 Farmers Mutual Telephone Company
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. Farmers Mutual Telephone Company counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Farmers Mutual Telephone Company
Is Farmers Mutual Telephone Company still in business?
Yes. Farmers Mutual Telephone Company in Fruitland, Idaho sells fiber, fixed wireless and satellite internet, phone, VoIP and TV. Its site lists no mobile phone service as of October 14, 2026.
Which network did Farmers Mutual Telephone Company use?
The sources do not confirm one. The FCC 2017 report lists CDMA and LTE handsets. The Iowa co-op’s history says it began cellular with CommNet and Verizon, then lost its Verizon Wireless partnership, with no dates.
What happened to Farmers Mutual Telephone Company customers?
The sources do not say. No successor carrier is named. Mobile customers would have moved their numbers to a carrier of their choice. Idaho landline customers can call 208-452-2000.
Is Farmers Mutual Telephone Company the same as FMCTC Wireless?
Not confirmed. FMCTC Wireless belonged to Farmers Mutual Cooperative Telephone Company of Harlan, Iowa. The Fruitland, Idaho company uses a similar name. No source links the two or says which held the 2017 handsets.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- FCC: Handset Totals by Service Provider and Air Interface (DOC-349838A1): Lists Farmers Mutual Telephone Company CDMA and LTE handsets, and Farmers Mutual Cooperative Telephone Company CDMA handsets, for 2017.
- Farmers Mutual Telephone Company: Home: Fruitland, Idaho; internet, phone, VoIP and TV; phone 208-452-2000; no mobile service. Checked October 14, 2026.
- FMCTC: History: Iowa co-op history: cellular with CommNet and Verizon, FMCTC Wireless PCS, lost Verizon Wireless partnership. Undated entries.
Best Cellular. “Farmers Mutual Telephone Company Cell Service: Appears to Be Shut Down,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/farmers-mutual-telephone-company/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.