Verizon Wireless says its LTE phones will not be compatible on other LTE networks in the United States because "the phones will be on different frequencies," according to Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney. Of course, in principle, and at some risk of cost or complexity, the range of supported frequencies could include the AT&T bands. But that would lessen the customer lock in, and it is a rare company that really wants to make it too easy for a customer to defect to another.
The new 4G LTE system used by Verizon, MetroPCS, and soon AT&T runs on SIM cards much like the ones for GSM networks, and GSM phone owners are used to being able to switch phones from network to network, as long as they're unlocked.
But Verizon may be designing its phones to only run on Verizon's very specific wireless frequency, locking out all other possible carriers.
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