GTC Wireless was a discount cell phone service that ran on Cingular’s GSM network, now AT&T. GTC Telecom sold its wireless assets to Atrium Wireless Partners in November 2007. Atrium kept the GTC Wireless name. Wikipedia lists the service as ending in 2009. No source names a successor carrier.
GTC Wireless is gone
In July 2006, RCR Wireless reported that GTC’s service used Cingular Wireless’s GSM network. Atrium Wireless Partners bought GTC Telecom’s wireless assets in a deal that closed in early November 2007, and kept the GTC Wireless name. Wikipedia lists an end date of 2009 on AT&T. That row cites no reference, and BestCellular.com found no shutdown notice that confirms the date.
If you had a GTC Wireless line
No source names a carrier that took GTC Wireless customers after the service ended. GTC lines would have stopped working when service ended. If your number still works, it now sits with the carrier you moved it to. Ask that carrier for your account number and port-out PIN before you switch again.
The 2009 end date rests on one uncited Wikipedia row; the 2007 sale is confirmed by RCR Wireless News.
How GTC Wireless ended
- November 2005: GTC Telecom announces a name change to GTC Wireless, per a Business Wire release cited by Wikipedia’s GTC Wireless article. That article dates the change to 2006.
- July 13, 2006: RCR Wireless reports GTC’s service runs on Cingular’s GSM network, with plans from $18 a month for 125 minutes, and a new agent-sales subsidiary, Shine Wireless.
- November 2007: Atrium Wireless Partners closes its purchase of GTC Telecom’s wireless assets and keeps the GTC Wireless name.
- December 17, 2007: RCR Wireless reports the deal. Atrium adds GTC’s postpaid plans, from $10 a month, to its prepaid lineup.
- 2009: Wikipedia lists 2009 as the end date for GTC Wireless on AT&T.
Why GTC Wireless ended
The sources do not give a reason. What they show is a change of hands. GTC Telecom, a Costa Mesa, California company, sold its wireless business to Atrium Wireless Partners in November 2007. Atrium’s president, Jon Horovitz, said the plans targeted people who needed a phone mostly for emergencies. Wikipedia lists service ending in 2009, but no source BestCellular.com opened explains why Atrium stopped.
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 GTC 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. GTC Wireless counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about GTC Wireless
Is GTC Wireless still available?
No. Wikipedia lists GTC Wireless as a defunct US virtual operator with a 2009 end date. BestCellular.com found no current GTC Wireless phone service. No successor carrier is named.
Which network did GTC Wireless use?
Cingular Wireless’s GSM network, per RCR Wireless in July 2006. Cingular became AT&T, and Wikipedia lists AT&T as the host network. BestCellular.com found nothing more on this point.
What happened to GTC Wireless customers?
In November 2007 they moved with the business to Atrium Wireless Partners, which kept the GTC Wireless name. No source says where customers went after service ended.
Who bought GTC Wireless?
Atrium Wireless Partners L.L.C., a privately held company led by president Jon Horovitz. It bought GTC Telecom’s wireless assets in a deal that closed in early November 2007. Terms were not disclosed.
Sources
Checked October 14, 2026.
- Wikipedia: List of mobile virtual network operators in the United States: Defunct, merged, and acquired operators table, checked October 14, 2026. The row states: Personal market, host network AT&T, GSM and UMTS, end date 2009, no notes. The row cites no reference.
- RCR Wireless News: Atrium snaps up GTC for post-paid service: December 17, 2007. Atrium Wireless Partners bought GTC Telecom’s wireless assets, closed early November 2007; kept the GTC Wireless name; plans from $10 a month.
- RCR Wireless News: GTC launches independent distributor effort for wireless service: July 13, 2006. GTC service uses Cingular Wireless’s GSM network; plans from $18 a month for 125 minutes; Shine Wireless subsidiary.
- Wikipedia: GTC Wireless (IPFS mirror): Archived article: renamed from GTC Telecom (2006 in text, source dated November 7, 2005); sold to Atrium in November 2007; MVNO on AT&T; based in Whippany, New Jersey.
Best Cellular. “GTC Wireless: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/gtc-wireless/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.