In iPhone 5 news, Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said Monday that the company will not prevent customers who purchased iPhones from them the capability to use the phone with another wireless carrier.
The Verizon Wireless version of the phone went on sale Friday, and came with the unexpected feature of being able to be used on AT&T's network as well many other phone companies.
It's the first time Verizon, the country's largest cellphone company, has sold a phone that works on competing U.S. networks with no complicated hacking, or "unlocking," procedures.
The feature may mean little initially to most buyers, since they sign up for two years of Verizon service when buying the phone. But it does give them the option to switch carriers when the contract expires, or they can sell the phone to someone who plans to use it on a competing network. They also have the option of breaking the contract, paying an early termination fee, and signing up for cheaper service -the Verizon iPhone 5 even works on prepaid service plans.
Verizon and Sprint do "unlock" other phones on request, but only for use on non-U.S. networks. They do so to let travelers save money by using local SIM cards and accounts when overseas.
Although Verizon Wireless offers the unlocked iPhone 5 for customer, they can only access 4G LTE speeds with the Verizon network only. If the owner of the phone switches their service to AT&T, they will be subjected to a non-4G LTE network that contains slightly lower speeds.
T-Mobile USA, the country's fourth-largest phone company, has a network that's compatible with the Verizon iPhone 5 for voice calls and low-speed data. It's revamping the network in a way that will make it compatible with the iPhone 5 for high-speed data as well, and last week started actively marketing to iPhone 4 owners.
Sprint Nextel said Monday that its iPhone 5s are locked. Customers in good standing for at least three months can ask to have them unlocked for international use only. AT&T unlocks phones once they're out of contract.
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