I think to do that (you are talking about the sim card, I think), you have to buy an unlocked cell phone.

And make sure you won't incur hefty cancellation fees from your initial carrier.

he is buying the phone outright and there will be no
2 year contract.

just wondering if the phone could be switched over
to a different carrier. It is a $375 phone.

I was told by my carrier that I just have to move the sim card, BUT you have to have service that covers all the things your new phone can do. Mine just costs $8. a month with no contract and is just simple phone service and I think voice messages. It's all I need.

Verizon phones do not have SIM cards and will only work with Verizon.

ah... interesting, CB!

We pay for his verizon right now. He wants the internet
service and a smart phone. We said no way are we paying for that. lol
He was looking at T Mobile 59.99 unlimited texts and
internet usage without a contract. That is what we pay
right now on verizon. BUT you have to buy your phone
outright, OR buy it for $99 and pay an extra $20 a month
for service. To add the internet to Verizon, it's $30/month I believe.

It depends on the phone and the carriers. There's a number of different types of service out there too. For instance different carriers use different frequencies (CDMA, PCS, GSM, etc)

SIM cards are suggestive of GSM technology used by Tmo and ATT. If you're looking to use prepaid service you can sometimes use the phones but won't always have all the features. If you're looking for a contract service, then as cautioned before, beware of costs to change. Often the smallest thing will extend your contract. For instance, if you get a new phone, you generally get a new (extended) contract with hefty cancellation fees.

You'll have to get more info from the companies, but generally speaking, Tmo will not be interchangeable with Virgin and Verizon. Tmo & AT&T are more likely to be options.

Probably not answering your question, but not an easy question to answer!

Mine is T Mobile To Go.

Does Verizon have a family plan? If so, he might be able to get on someone else's family plan and just pay them monthly. It'd be way cheaper.

I don't have a cell phone for me! lol
Well, I kind of do, my boss gave me one to use
on the job and said I can use it for emergencies.
then DH's work phone changed so I can call him and
ds free on the verizon network

Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone!

Kat, check into Virgin Mobile pre-paid, if they have coverage in his area. They had a plan with text, calls and internet that seems reasonable, compared to Verizon's plans.
On all pre-paid, no-contract plans, you usually have to buy the phone.

If you have verizon he can go on a family plan but you do have to have a verizon phone. You can get an unlocked one from craigslist but call the phone company first and make sure it's a clean phone. It's just the coverage thing and what the phone can do with that company.

i second the Virgin Beyond Talk! i had Sprint for myself & DH w/ internet, texting, talk etc... $129 together. we've been w/o a contract for 1.5 yrs and DH found the Virgin plan and dumped Sprint and went to Virgin. I was VERY leary of Virgin which uses Sprint service LOL i would not change. DH did buy his phone which he waited till it was 50% off and has had the service for 3 months now w/ NO problems :-0 it's $25 month w/ 300 minutes, unlimited internet & texts. much to my chagrin LOL ;-)) well i finally dumped Sprint, have not signed up for Virgin yet since i do have a work phone w/ Verizon & internet and everything... now i may not ever get my own phone since i'm kinda liking not paying for one LOL ~ liz

There's now Straight Talk (at Walmart). They use Verizon prpaid towers. Unlimited talk,text and internet for $45.00mo. You buy the phone outright and they differ in price and the bells and whistles!

We have a verison pkg. DS paid me $10 per month for the data plan that gives him limited internet, stuff like facebook, some other stuff. (no chips that I know of) We have unlimited text and are required to buy only verison phones. I'm not sure what verison phones use the limited plan. About half the price of a smart phone, last year. I have the only smart phone in the family cause I am the only one who would make use of GPS and internet for the good of the family. lol, I really do!
I wonder why cell phone companies always have to make things so complicated.