BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Verizon Wireless, U.S. largest cellphone company, said on Monday that its version of iPhone 5 works on the network of AT&T and many other phone companies, a move that gives users more options to switch carriers.
It is the first time Verizon has sold a phone that works on competing U.S. networks with no complicated hacking, or "unlocking," procedures.
With the new feature, buyers can switch carriers when the Verizon 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.
Even unlocked, Verizon iPhones are tied to Verizon's network: it's the only one that can provide them with "4G LTE" data speeds. The Verizon iPhone 5 can access AT&T's non-LTE "4G" network, which has slightly lower speeds.
Apple sold over 5 million iPhone 5 smartphones in the three days since it hit stores, and the early total for the iPhone 5 topped sales of the iPhone 4S, which sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend after Apple introduced it in October 2011.
As one of Apple's most aggressive international rollouts to date, the phone will be available in 31 countries and regions on Sept. 28 and in more than 100 by the end of the year, according to Reuters report.
(Agencies)
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