iPhone 5 on Verizon has a dirty secret!

USA Today (via AP) is reporting that if you put an AT&T sim card into a Verizon iPhone 5, it will run on AT&T’s network (yes, you have to have an AT&T account. Maybe. More in a bit).

Why is this interesting?  AT&T and Verizon use different technologies:  AT&T runs off a GSM network while Verizon is a CDMA one.  Okay, I know the non-tech heads are saying, “What?”  Just stop at the colon in the second sentence; it’s okay.  The more important thing is: Verizon customers who have bad experiences (either network or customer service) can threaten to jump ship and switch, and not have to buy a brand-new device.

I LIKE that, because I’m all about competition.  I’ve been saying for years, “All devices on all carriers.”  THAT’s the way for the consumer to truly decide which device is best for them independent of carrier, and which carrier is best for them independent of device.  Case in point: I hear a lot of complaining about AT&T.  However, for where I live and work, they have the most and the best coverage.  I can get 2 and 3 bars no problem at my house in the Very Suburbs, and I can get a bar or two at my parent’s house, which is even further out in the Nearly Rurals (although I do have to be by the front window or physically outside to do it).  My parents are on T-Mobile and have 1 bar at my house and 0 at theirs.  Their mobile phones are useless at their house for calls.  (WiFi is, of course, a different discussion.)

So: if you’re on Verizon, do you think this may influence you?