With Verizon's move to LTE and SIM card-carrying handsets, many users are excited at the thought of being able to use any LTE phone they want on Big Red's network, something that isn't possible now due to their CDMA tech.  Unfortunately, Gemalto exec Jean-Louis Carrara says that while Verizon customers will be able to swap their LTE SIM into as many Verizon devices as they'd like, Big Red could opt to lock non-VZW devices out of their network.  One of the features of LTE SIMs is that they can be forced to report which device they're in, which can be used to help prevent theft and provide better customer service, but could also be used to block unwanted handsets from jumping onto Verizon's airwaves.

Verizon has never actually come out and said whether or not they'd allow non-VZW LTE handsets onto their network, but many of us have been hoping that they would do so with the switch to SIM-based phones.  Carrara doesn't think that the carriers will actually go so far as to lock devices out, and I certainly hope he's right.  It would be awesome to be able to buy an LTE handset and be able to use it on either AT&T or Verizon, and it could make things a little easier for device manufacturers, too.  Even if Verizon does end up locking out phones from other networks, though, at least SIM cards should make switching VZW phones a little easier, right?

Via PCMag (Image via Droid-Life)