Silver Star Communications is a rural telecom company in western Wyoming and eastern Idaho. It entered mobile wireless in 2004 and ran its own network with roaming partners. It ended cell service in Star Valley, Wyoming on December 30, 2022. About 2,200 customers had to move to another carrier. Silver Star still sells internet and voice.
Silver Star Communications cell service is gone
Silver Star announced in April 2022 that it would exit cellular service in Star Valley, Wyoming. Service ended on December 30, 2022. Cowboy State Daily put the number of affected customers at about 2,200. The company did not close. It kept its internet and voice business and said it would focus on fiber broadband. Wireless was about 10% of its business at the time.
If you had a Silver Star Communications line
No single carrier took over Silver Star cell customers. Customers had to choose a new carrier and switch before December 30, 2022. The sources do not name a preferred replacement. If your number was not moved before that date, contact Silver Star through silverstar.com to ask whether any record of the account remains.
Cowboy State Daily dates Silver Star’s wireless entry to around 2017, while a 2013 Rural Wireless Association post says it entered mobile wireless in 2004; this page uses 2004.
How Silver Star Communications ended
- 1912: Ranchers and businessmen start the telephone company that becomes Silver Star in lower Star Valley, Wyoming.
- 2004: Silver Star enters the mobile wireless market with a network built for local terrain.
- January 25, 2013: Silver Star joins RTG, a rural wireless carrier association, and notes its roaming relationships.
- April 19, 2022: Telecompetitor reports Silver Star will exit cellular service in Star Valley.
- December 30, 2022: Silver Star cellular service ends. About 2,200 customers had to switch carriers.
Why Silver Star Communications ended cell service
Cost. Silver Star’s president said keeping up with wireless technology came at a large expense, and that rising data use and roaming costs made the service unsustainable. Cowboy State Daily reported that upgrades such as 3G to 5G can cost millions, with too few local customers to cover them. National carriers had also expanded rural coverage and offered perks Silver Star could not match. The company chose to put its money into fiber broadband.
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 Silver Star Communications
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. Silver Star Communications counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Silver Star Communications
Is Silver Star Communications still available?
Silver Star still operates as an internet and voice provider in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. Its cellular service in Star Valley, Wyoming ended on December 30, 2022, and it no longer offers mobile lines there.
Which network did Silver Star Communications use?
Its own. A 2013 Rural Wireless Association post says Silver Star designed its network around local terrain and formed relationships with roaming carriers for coverage elsewhere. No source ties it to a national host network.
What happened to Silver Star Communications customers?
About 2,200 cell customers had to pick a new carrier and switch before December 30, 2022. Silver Star did not name a preferred replacement, so customers chose their own carrier.
Did Silver Star Communications go out of business?
No. Cowboy State Daily reported in April 2022 that Silver Star was not going out of business. Only the wireless side ended. The company kept its internet and voice services and shifted its focus to fiber broadband.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- Cowboy State Daily: Silver Star Discontinues Cell Service In Star Valley; 2,200 Customers Affected: End date, about 2,200 customers, upgrade cost reasons, company continuing (April 21, 2022)
- Telecompetitor: Silver Star exiting cellular services in Star Valley: December 30, 2022 end date, cost and roaming reasons, fiber focus (April 19, 2022)
- Rural Wireless Association: RTG Welcomes Silver Star Communications: Entered mobile wireless in 2004, own network, roaming relationships (January 25, 2013)
- Silver Star: About Us: 1912 founding, current internet and voice services, service area (fetched October 13, 2026)
Best Cellular. “Silver Star Communications: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/silver-star-communications/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.