Verizon will no longer activate 3G phones; network will shut down at the end of 2019
Do you remember your first 3G smartphone? For yours truly, it was the BlackBerry Storm, which was released half-baked from Verizon on November 21st, 2008. Let's say that after all these years, you want to re-activate your old Storm or BlackBerry Storm 2 (the latter was a decent phone) on the Verizon network. That will no longer be possible. A statement released today by Big Red confirms that the nation's largest carrier is no longer activating devices that do not support 4G LTE connectivity.
"For several years we’ve been been publicly saying that our 3G CDMA network will remain available through the end of 2019. Virtually all traffic on our network is on our 4G LTE network. To facilitate a smooth transition to 4G LTE capable products and services, we are no longer allowing devices that are not 4G LTE capable to be activated on our network."-Verizon
So, do you remember your first 4G LTE smartphone? And we're being specific here. Do not include any handsets of the HSPA+ variety. The first 4G LTE yours truly had was the Motorola DROID 4; before you know it, we all will be looking back and discussing our very first 5G handsets.
source: Verizon
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Things that are NOT allowed: