cdma phone can be used for other carriers ?

Is it possible to use cdma phone of one carrier for other carrier.

like I am having verizon cdma phone , can I use it for other carrier
like sprint or any other carrier that offers cdma service ?

can I use cdma phone in asia also ?

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sc wrote:
>
> Is it possible to use cdma phone of one carrier for other carrier.
>
> like I am having verizon cdma phone , can I use it for other carrier
> like sprint or any other carrier that offers cdma service ?

It depends on the carrier... For example, Verizon will allow phones from
other carriers to be activated on their system, while Sprint will not.

Notan

sc wrote:
> Is it possible to use cdma phone of one carrier for other carrier.

In theory, yes. In reality, often the answer is no.

This is really a carrier-based decision. While North American CDMA
phones are technically compatible with other CDMA networks, the two
major CDMA carriers in the US (Sprint and Verizon) have instituted
policies that make it difficult or impossible to do this.

Sprint, for instance, will not activate ANY phone that is not Sprint
branded, and whose ESN is registered in Sprint's inventory. Conversely,
Sprint has programmed their phones with a "subsidy lock" to deter people
from activated a Sprint branded phone on another carrier's CDMA network.

Some Verizon users have reported that recently, Verizon has prevented
people from actiating non-Verizon branded phones, or at least phone
models that Verizon does not carry. I am not sure if Verizon phones are
subsidy locked, however.

On the other hand, I've heard Alltel will activate any compatible phone,
and does not subsidy lock their handsets.


> like I am having verizon cdma phone , can I use it for other carrier
> like sprint or any other carrier that offers cdma service ?

It definitely won't work on Sprint (again, not because it's not
compatible, but because Sprint doesn't WANT you to use a non-Sprint
branded phone). You might get it to work on Alltel.

> can I use cdma phone in asia also ?

This is even trickier. Many CDMA carriers in countries outside of North
America use different frequencies from those in the US and Canada. So a
CDMA phone made for a US carrier will not always work overseas. There
are a FEW countries, some in Asia, where they could work.

To make matters worse, many Asian carriers use R-UIM cards, which are
the CDMA equivalent to a SIM card. North American CDMA phones normally
do NOT accept these kinds of cards.

Again, a lot of these limitations are based on choices made by US CDMA
carriers. Our phones COULD have been designed to use SIM-type cards,
but the carriers chose not to. We COULD have world band phones, but the
US CDMA carriers have largely decided against that. And our phones
don't HAVE to be subsidy-locked, but the carriers like to try and ensure
that they phones they sell will make them money.



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Isaiah Beard wrote:
> sc wrote:
>> Is it possible to use cdma phone of one carrier for other carrier.
>
> In theory, yes. In reality, often the answer is no.
>
> This is really a carrier-based decision. While North American CDMA
> phones are technically compatible with other CDMA networks, the two
> major CDMA carriers in the US (Sprint and Verizon) have instituted
> policies that make it difficult or impossible to do this.
>
> Sprint, for instance, will not activate ANY phone that is not Sprint
> branded, and whose ESN is registered in Sprint's inventory. Conversely,
> Sprint has programmed their phones with a "subsidy lock" to deter people
> from activated a Sprint branded phone on another carrier's CDMA network.
>
> Some Verizon users have reported that recently, Verizon has prevented
> people from actiating non-Verizon branded phones, or at least phone
> models that Verizon does not carry. I am not sure if Verizon phones are
> subsidy locked, however.
>
> On the other hand, I've heard Alltel will activate any compatible phone,
> and does not subsidy lock their handsets.
>
>
>> like I am having verizon cdma phone , can I use it for other carrier
>> like sprint or any other carrier that offers cdma service ?
>
> It definitely won't work on Sprint (again, not because it's not
> compatible, but because Sprint doesn't WANT you to use a non-Sprint
> branded phone). You might get it to work on Alltel.
>
>> can I use cdma phone in asia also ?
>
> This is even trickier. Many CDMA carriers in countries outside of North
> America use different frequencies from those in the US and Canada.

Which countries are not using 800 Mhz or 1900 Mhz for CDMA? I see the
list of CDMA countries at
"http://www.cdg.org/worldwide/index.asp?h_area=3&h_technology=999" and
there is only one country (Peru) that has any network (450 Mhz) other
than 800 Mhz or 1900 Mhz (and they also have 800 Mhz). It's not like
GSM, where North America is 800 Mhz/1900 Mhz and the ROW is 900 Mhz
/1800 Mhz.

> To make matters worse, many Asian carriers use R-UIM cards, which are
> the CDMA equivalent to a SIM card. North American CDMA phones normally
> do NOT accept these kinds of cards.

True, but in many cases you can still roam onto these networks, but at a
high price. You just can't stick in a prepaid card. I've rented phones
in Korea, and it's very cheap.

> Again, a lot of these limitations are based on choices made by US CDMA
> carriers. Our phones COULD have been designed to use SIM-type cards,
> but the carriers chose not to. We COULD have world band phones, but the
> US CDMA carriers have largely decided against that.

As pointed out, the CDMA frequencies are the same, worldwide. So we all
do have world band phones.