Trumpet Mobile was a prepaid phone brand that ran on Sprint’s network. It launched at RadioShack in April 2008 with Western Union money transfers for Latino customers. Ready Mobile acquired it in January 2009. Wikipedia lists its end date as 2013. Ready Mobile’s own service ended December 31, 2020.
Trumpet Mobile is gone
Trumpet Mobile began selling at more than 4,300 RadioShack stores in April 2008. Ready Mobile, part of Ready Wireless of Hiawatha, Iowa, acquired the brand in January 2009 and ran it on Sprint’s network. Wikipedia lists Trumpet Mobile among defunct US operators with an end date of 2013. No dated notice for the Trumpet brand itself was found.
If you had a Trumpet Mobile line
No source says Trumpet Mobile customers were moved to another brand. Its owner, Ready Mobile, ended its own wireless service on December 31, 2020. Sprint, the host network, merged into T-Mobile. An old Trumpet number is most likely inactive. Ask any current carrier whether it can still be ported.
The 2013 end date comes from an uncited Wikipedia row, and no source says what happened to Trumpet Mobile customers when the brand ended.
How Trumpet Mobile ended
- April 1, 2008: Trumpet Mobile partners with RadioShack to sell prepaid service with Western Union mobile money transfers.
- January 2009: Ready Mobile acquires Trumpet Mobile.
- August 6, 2009: Ready Mobile says it is relaunching Trumpet Mobile with free international calls to landlines in Mexico, Puerto Rico and 34 other countries.
- 2013: Trumpet Mobile ends, per Wikipedia.
- December 31, 2020: Ready Mobile, Trumpet’s former owner, ends its wireless phone service.
Why Trumpet Mobile ended
No source explains why the Trumpet Mobile brand ended. It started as a prepaid service for Latino and unbanked customers, sold at RadioShack with Western Union transfers. After Ready Mobile bought it in January 2009, the brand was repositioned for heavy international callers. Wikipedia lists its end as 2013. Ready Mobile itself stopped wireless service at the end of 2020.
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 Trumpet Mobile
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. Trumpet Mobile counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Trumpet Mobile
Is Trumpet Mobile still available?
No. Wikipedia lists Trumpet Mobile as a defunct operator with an end date of 2013. Its former owner, Ready Mobile, also ended its wireless phone service on December 31, 2020. No Trumpet Mobile plans are sold today.
Which network did Trumpet Mobile use?
Trumpet Mobile ran on Sprint’s CDMA network, per Wikipedia. Ready Wireless, which owned the brand, also said it used Sprint’s national network. Sprint no longer exists as a separate network. It merged into T-Mobile.
What happened to Trumpet Mobile customers?
No source says where Trumpet Mobile customers went when the brand ended. No successor carrier was named. Ready Mobile, the brand’s owner, ended its own service on December 31, 2020, so that is not an option either.
Who owned Trumpet Mobile?
Ready Mobile acquired Trumpet Mobile in January 2009, according to co-founder Fred Haumesser in an August 2009 interview. Ready Wireless, based in Hiawatha, Iowa, sold both the Ready Mobile PCS and Trumpet Mobile brands.
Sources
Checked October 14, 2026.
- Wikipedia: List of mobile virtual network operators in the United States: Lists Trumpet Mobile: Personal market, Sprint host, CDMA, end date 2013, no notes or citation (checked October 14, 2026).
- Fierce Network: RadioShack, Trumpet launch prepaid mobile money: Trumpet Mobile sold at 4,300+ RadioShack stores with Western Union transfers for Latino and unbanked customers (April 1, 2008).
- Prepaid Wireless Guide: Fred Haumesser Ready Mobile interview: Ready Mobile acquired Trumpet Mobile in January 2009 and was relaunching it for international callers (August 6, 2009).
- CSP Daily News: Casey’s offering Ready Wireless phones, airtime: Ready Wireless of Hiawatha, Iowa sells Ready Mobile PCS and Trumpet Mobile brands on Sprint’s national network (undated).
- ReadyWireless, LLC: Ready Mobile service notice: Ready Mobile wireless phone service no longer available as of December 31, 2020; does not mention Trumpet.
Best Cellular. “Trumpet Mobile: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/trumpet-mobile/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.