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iDownloadBlog has confirmed that the Verizon iPhone 5 being sold on contract does arrive unlocked for use on GSM networks, allowing users with a nano-SIM or a trimmed micro-SIM from a GSM carrier such as AT&T to use the device on their networks.
I can confirm that the Verizon iPhone 5 is indeed GSM unlocked. Even though I bought an iPhone 5 from Verizon under contract, I was able to cut down my AT&T Micro SIM, and use it in my Verizon iPhone 5 to pick up an AT&T signal. By doing so, I was able to hop onto AT&T’s HPSA+ network, or “4G” as they so ridiculously name it.
As the report notes, users attempting to use a Verizon iPhone 5 on AT&T in the United States will not have access to AT&T's LTE network, due to hardware differences that leave the Verizon iPhone 5 (which is essentially a single CDMA/GSM world-mode phone for 3G purposes) incompatible with LTE frequency bands 4 and 17 used by AT&T and Canadian carriers.
For other international GSM carriers, Verizon iPhone 5 owners should simply be able to obtain a nano-SIM card from the international carrier and use it in their phone.
Top Rated Comments
When Verizon licensed the rights to the 700C Block of LTE spectrum, they agreed to a very specific set of rules. One of these would be that they "Cannot configure devices to be locked against use on another network" This means that Verizon would be violating Federal law if the iPhone 5's sim slot is even partially locked.