Watch Ted Danson in Consumer Cellular ad aimed at the 55 and up crowd. By Phoebe Bain. Published on June 27, 2023.

In October 1995, with the fledgling wireless industry serving primarily business users and a few early adopters of cellular technology, co-founders John Marick and Greg Pryor launched Consumer Cellular with a vision of making the convenience and safety of cellphones accessible - and affordable - for everyone.

GTCR After a bidding war that involved Dish Network, Altice USA, Ultra Mobile, a group led by Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton and others, Chicago private equity company GTCR has purchased Consumer Cellular for around $2.3 billion.

Including its corporate headquarters in Portland, Oregon, Consumer Cellular is completely U.S. based, employing more than 2,400 people at three additional locations in Phoenix, Arizona, and a support center in Redmond, Oregon.

Now over 25 years old, Consumer Cellular has 4 million customers and sells affordable, contract-free cellular plans primarily to buyers aged 50 and older.

8 Most Engaging Commercials of 2023

• Progressive, “Interruptions”
• NFL, “Run With It”
• Dunkin', “Drive-Thru”
• Taco Bell, “Breakfast with Peter”
• Allstate, “Mayhem: Promposal”
• State Farm, “Color Commentary”
• The Farmer's Dog, “Forever”
• Amazon, “Saving Sawyer”

Consumer cellular does not work internationally, no matter what they say.

Consumer Cellular's Unlimited Talk & Text plan places ninth in our Best Cell Phone Plans of 2023 ratings. Based in Portland, Oregon, Consumer Cellular has over 4 million customers, focusing on those 50 and older.

Consumer Cellular is an MVNO that either uses AT&T or T-Mobile as its carrier. Most users are on AT&T's network. According to this prepaid phone news article, if your SIM ID (ICCID) "starts with 890126 it's for T-Mobile, AT&T SIM IDs start with 890141."

The company is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), meaning it leases service from another carrier. In Consumer Cellular's case, those carriers are AT&T and T-Mobile. It offers unlimited talk time and texting in all its plans, with data plans from 1 gigabyte (GB) to unlimited data for $20 to $55 per month.

Consumer cellular does not work internationally, no matter what they say.

2023 (MMXXIII) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2023rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 23rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2020s decade. Centuries: 20th century.