This is just a question I've been wondering.
Why hasn't VZW moved over to using sim cards in their phones yet?

 

So they can stick it in your ass when you want to switch phones.

 

Verizon is basically national service (they are starting out to go global) and operate on a different network then GSM.

 

You would think verizon knows its potentail and has its competitors already global

 

What would be the benefits of moving to a sim card platform? I know how they function, just wanting to know why the consumer's life would be so much better with one than without one.

Please don't say because they use them in Europe or the rest of the world (because they don't control America, never have never will).


The only 2 things I can think of is 1) making it easy to switch between handsets and 2) phonebook.

 

Thats pretty much it

Verizon has so many customers. So many more than its competitors, it would be the biggest pain in the ass to switch service. They will have to continue supporting the old service, so basically they will have more reponsability. that means anyone coming into the company will have to be trained on both systems.

Unless they FORCE everyone currently on Verizon to switch to GSM (Which is impossible) Then I really don't see how they think it will work. Besides, thei're service area is regarded as the best in the US, Why would they mess with that?

 

I am responsibile for the Blackberries at my company and let me tell you having to call Verizon to swap phone numbers every time a device is swapped (upgraded, old one broke) is a big PITA.

 

Surely those 2 points listed can't be the only reason. For now yea I can see it as that. Couldnt this be the early stages of the probable advances in sim card technology? If so it would be nice to jump on it.
yea I might be talkin out my ass but I obviously dont know much about sim cards

 

The networks at Sprint and Verizon are CDMA and only allow one phone number and one phone's serial number (ESN) as a valid match in order to complete a phone call. No other combinations are valid so it's one-to-one only. IOW, no one else can use your phone number in their phone.

On GSM, a phone number can be matched with any number of phone's serial numbers (IMEI)...they allow one-to-many combinations.

So a sim-card would be useless on Sprint and Verizon unless they changed the whole thing. Changing phone numbers between Sprint phones is a 2-minute phone call when you talk to a Sprint customer service rep (generally). There use to be an online page for swapping but I think that was taken down.

Nextel phones have sim-cards so that's going to be interesting for Sprint (Sprint and Nextel are planning to merge companies).

 

it would be a great idea..but that is about it..

 

Hopefully in the future If CDMA Goes towards W-CDMA like in japan, it will be CDMA with High Connection Speeds, Sim cards, Video Phones, possibilities are endless, but thats a while from now

 

ur question should be, why havent the GSM service provides moved onto CDMA yet !!

 

To answer your question, in our modern age of global business, many people travel between countries around the globe and it's nice to be able to go to a foreign country, pop the sim card out of your phone and swap if for one that can be used on the local network so that you don't have to pay international roaming.

 

today the sprint phone will work in a several foreign countries. tomorrow the sprint phone will work in a whole lot of countries.

why need a sim-card when you can just use your own phone and account? why convert all the phones over to a sim-card basis, instead just use your phone...that's what we are working towards in the next few year.

sim-card in cdma is just not going to happen.

 

CDMA does have its pros and cons

If you are a customer and Lost your phone, You can report the ESN and it will be barred from Re-Activation, While with a Stolen GSM Phone, just pop out the chip and re-activate with new sim card, but the thing is, It is good for Sprint too, because people buy phones and cancel there plan or throw up a high bill, they than Bar it from Re-Activation so the customer cant go out and get it activated on a Pre-Paid service, but many customers run high bills on GSM Phones and when there phone is shut off, they come to stores and activate it on prepaid, or even another GSM Service because they can unlock the phone.

Theres many Pro's and Con's but GSM makes it easy for the consumer and for the Retailer, No ESN Changes, or charges for those type of fees, Just buy a new phone, and Pop your old Sim in it, if I had to Do ESN Changes for each customer daily for each T-Mobile phone I sold, it would be hectic.

I can also buy used phones off of people and re-activate and sell them, CDMA its not possible

 

The used CDMA phone market is pretty brisk.

I just don't see people wanting to change phones that often. A few do, but I bet most are switching because they can. If they were told they couldn't or it was more difficult for them, I bet they would forget about it rather than complain they've been inconvenienced. Sprint has tried to make it easy to "add-a-phone" onto your account for little to no charge, only thing is you have a different phone number...and call forwarding costs.

If T-Mobile doesn't block stolen phones, they should learn how.

You are right about Sprint. You don't pay your bill, a lien could be put on your phone rendering it useless anywhere...practically forever.

 

The problem is using your own account means international roamind charges, which get expensive. With a sim card, you can swap for a local network and not pay international roaming.

 

T-Mobile I am sure has some type of database, where they track stolen phones, but that database will do nothing, Unlike in European Countries they have a national Database, which all companies Universally use, but in America I can get a T-Mobile Phone, Unlock it, and put it on a Cingular Prepaid service, without Cingular knowing anything, But in Europe the way everything is setup, the phone will not work on any network unless you Change the IMEI # which there is ways to do, but totally illegal.

Sprint even has Lock Codes, and if I dont know that lock code, I cant even re-program the phone without contacting sprint, so even if I was to use the Sprint phone on a different service that uses Sprint Network on Prepaid, even if I could activate the phone, I could not program it, unless I knew the lock code, which can only be obtained by Sprint or Generated by a ESN System, but I have heard you can go on there site and get that lock code if You are a sprint customer.

What people mean above is, Yes CDMA might work all over the world after a while, but I would still be a Sprint's Customer Roaming Internationally with WHOPPING Charges, while with GSM I can pop in a local companies SIM card, and I am than there customer and using the phone locally with lower charges, but I believe some GSM/CDMA Phones are coming out or already out.

 

So I've heard about this from several angles.

You have some that say that the vast majority of the international roaming is business-related and putting in place a solution for the very very very few who would actually use as regular non-business consumers...business travel is always willing to pay a little bit more hence the current pricing.

This whole international thing is just now taking off and as soon as it's [CDMA] seamless (meaning voice, data, and everything else) you will see the prices come down. In the meantime, they actually aren't that bad (with Sprint in France it's $1.50 a minute long distance included)...but I guess I wouldn't know since I haven't had to pay them.

So the last time I went overseas I took a Sprint sim-card, yes we have them and we have GSM phones for people who just HAVE to have them, I used a local prepaid sim-card and I was unhappy that I couldn't receive any phone calls to my regular everyday phone number when I was using a prepaid sim-card purchased from a vending machine. Is this the same, is this what you are referring to in "local network"? I think I tried to get a temporary account as a regular customer on one of these foreign networks....no dice. It was use your own, prepaid, or borrow a friend's.

It's really a give and take with pros and cons but we're just not seeing the demand for it. Both Sprint and Verizon sell the
Samsung A790 which is a GSM phone that you can use overseas....nobody wants it, nobody is asking for it. If customers would just show some more interest in this area, you would see more of it. I really think overseas travelers either are going without a phone or borrowing a friend's...or they make one or two phone calls on their own dime which isn't going to break the bank. The cool thing would be to let you use the minutes in your bucket, maybe at a 2-1 or even a 3-1 rate.