MetroPCS intros MetroFlash service to port Verizon and Sprint handsets

There’s nothing like a little friendly carrier-rivalry to give entrenched incumbents a good jolt. Competition ends up benefiting the consumer, after all. So, what better way to eat in to CDMA competitors’ giant wireless subscriber-base than to offer their customers a way to bring their CDMA Sprint (NYSE: S) or Verizon (NYSE: VZ) handsets to MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS)’s network?

MetroPCS has introduced their MetroFlash service, aimed at bringing Sprint and Verizon customers in to MetroPCS’s flat-rate calling network. MetroFlash aims to reprogram, or “flash,” compatible CDMA handsets to disable any annoying carrier locks and branding and allow handsets previously locked to Sprint and Verizon to work on MetroPCS’s airwaves.

While GSM customers (at least those with unlocked handsets) have been able to take their GSM handset from carrier to carrier with little regard for compatibility issues, MetroPCSs MetroFlash service is among the few CDMA-based offerings to attempt to replicate that same level of convenience.

CDMA handsets deemed compatible with MetroPCS’s network (read: tested by MetroPCS) can be “flashed” by MetroPCS to work on their CDMA network. Of course, the service is limited to CDMA handsets, as GSM handsets, like the iPhone, work on a completely different communications standard.

The MetroFlash service offers eligible customers unlimited flat-rate wireless service for $40 a month - a particularly attractive proposition to Sprint and Verizon customers that don’t leave their home-area often.

The new service will only be offered in markets covered by MetroPCS’s network, so make sure you can jump on the MetroPCS bandwagon before you tell Sprint or Verizon to bugger off.

[Via: InformationWeek]