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Cellular Phones/Blackberry Tour SIM question

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Expert: - 12/28/2010


Question
Hi DebiN,

My family is thinking of switching carriers from Alltel to Verizon.  My brother currently has a BB Tour and is happy with it and has no desire to switch to a different phone.

Is it possible for him to keep the current phone and just swap out the Alltel SIM card for a Verizon SIM in order to avoid having to pay for him to get a new version of the exact same phone?  If so, will a Verizon rep agree to do this or will we have to find a way around that?

Thank you!

Answer
The SIM card is only used for international roaming and not for anything else in the US as neither Verizon nor Alltel use SIM card since they work on the CDMA network. Verizon may be able to flash the phone to Verizon so that it will work properly on their network especially in light of the fact that they bought the CDMA part of the Alltel network and I'm assuming that they are the carrier in your area now. The Tour is free with Verizon today for the most part with a new agreement, so your brother may just want to get a brand new one from Verizon when he switches over.  

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DebiN

Expertise

I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

Organizations
I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

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