Why doesn't Shop BlackBerry ever sell CDMA phones?

It's getting time to upgrade my Z30 and have been looking into buying a Priv. I am a customer of Verizon and they are finally offering the phone for sale now. I'm out of contract and would rather just buy the phone right out then go back in contract with them. However they are asking like $720 for the phone while on Shop BlackBerry the price for a GSM phone is $650. The CDMA version of the phone does not seem to be available yet on Amazon.
Whenever I look on Shop BlackBerry's site, they only offer GSM phones and never CDMA. Can someone explain to me why this is? I chatted online with BlackBerry this morning but they couldn't really tell me why. They are the ones that manufacture the phone so why wouldn't they sell it right on their website like the GSM phones? There are advantages to buying straight from BlackBerry it seems. The OS updates come straight from them then instead of going through a carrier and getting hung up for months on end while they add all their dumb bloatware.
BlackBerry tried to tell me this morning that it maybe has to do with their contract with Verizon but even that was a maybe. Besides that, Verizon isn't the only company to run the CDMA network. And they manufacture the phone so can't they control how they sell it? Rounding of here, why don't they sell it direct to customers and why wouldn't they to increase the amount of people they could sell their phones to by offering it in their online store??

CDMA phones require whitelisting by the carrier in order to work, you can't just pop in a SIM and be on your way like a GSM phone. As well, a Verizon phone is only designed for Verizon, so it won't fully work on a GSM carrier or even another CDMA carrier (Sprint).

Originally Posted by thurask

CDMA phones require whitelisting by the carrier in order to work, you can't just pop in a SIM and be on your way like a GSM phone. As well, a Verizon phone is only designed for Verizon, so it won't fully work on a GSM carrier or even another CDMA carrier (Sprint).

I don't know if that's the case anymore... Don't think Nexus users had any issues bringing their unlocked CDMA devices to Verizon, all they did was slip in a SIM card. Back in I think September of last year Verizon kinda opened the doors.

What's really strange is someone on Android Centrals team had taken a GSM PRIV and activated it on Verizon, and said it was working fully - voice and data. With the right LTE coverage that might be possible - don't think LTE Voice is really up and running on the whole network.

I think it has more to do with Verizon/BlackBerry coming to some kind of agreement about the sale of CDMA devices.

Thanks for the info. I had not known that about white listing. Friends of mine have taken their CDMA phones to other networks and it seemed like they only worked as good as the carrier they took them in would spend time setting them up. It is interesting how GSM devices are easier to move around.

Another friend recently took his Verizon Classic to AT&T and activated it. It worked okay for the most part but he didn't have full 4G LTE. Just 4G.

I hope in the future that Verizon and BlackBerry can make an agreement to let Shop BlackBerry sell devices though. Sure would be nice!

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Originally Posted by BBernie3

Thanks for the info. I had not known that about white listing. Friends of mine have taken their CDMA phones to other networks and it seemed like they only worked as good as the carrier they took them in would spend time setting them up. It is interesting how GSM devices are easier to move around.

Another friend recently took his Verizon Classic to AT&T and activated it. It worked okay for the most part but he didn't have full 4G LTE. Just 4G.

I hope in the future that Verizon and BlackBerry can make an agreement to let Shop BlackBerry sell devices though. Sure would be nice!

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What would be nicer is Verizon dropping that caveman technology and moving to VoLTE, which means they can enjoy device parity with the rest of the planet.

Originally Posted by Dunt Dunt Dunt

I don't know if that's the case anymore... Don't think Nexus users had any issues bringing their unlocked CDMA devices to Verizon, all they did was slip in a SIM card. Back in I think September of last year Verizon kinda opened the doors.

What's really strange is someone on Android Centrals team had taken a GSM PRIV and activated it on Verizon, and said it was working fully - voice and data. With the right LTE coverage that might be possible - don't think LTE Voice is really up and running on the whole network.

This doesn't necessarily contradict what thurask said. The Nexus phone worked because it had CDMA and Verizon carried it (=Verizon approved.) I believe the Priv -1 works because Verizon is carrying the Priv. The -1 is a much weirder case because not only is it lacking CDMA, but also LTE band 13, so Verizon is under no obligation to accept the -1 on its network. What I really want to know is if the -3 is also whitelisted, but AFAIK, nobody has tested it yet.

If there's a phone out there for which a) no CDMA variant exists, and b) Verizon isn't outright 'carrying' (selling) it, and it still works on Verizon--I would say even this phone has to have Verizon's approval at some level. Verizon is very particular about this; I remember when they wouldn't allow a Nexus tablet with LTE band 13 to work on their network. I remember reading that some people "went to war" with Verizon legal and ultimately got the tablet whitelisted (the entire IMEI range or just in their individual tablets, I don't remember) while others did the IMEI switcheroo trick to get theirs on the Verizon network.

It's a pity nobody with a Passport escalated things beyond trying a SIM card.

As to the OP's question, I think it's because:

1. An agreement between BB and Verizon that all devices designated by Verizon are to be sold by Verizon, and/or
2. An understanding at BB that they're never going to outsell Verizon at selling Verizon phones. So why not send all inventory to the channel that sells the most?

Originally Posted by thurask

What would be nicer is Verizon dropping that caveman technology and moving to VoLTE, which means they can enjoy device parity with the rest of the planet.

They have had plans to go all-LTE with their new phones for a while. They just keep pushing the date. It was supposed to happen in 2014, then last year, and now by the end of this year.

I believe the Priv -1 gaining approval, while weird, is a positive step towards this happening.

That is interesting they have approved that version. All 4G Verizon phones require a Sim card now so maybe it is getting easier to BYOD. As long as the phone you bring has the right radios in it to connect with the network frequencies.

And on raino's thought about the agreement between BlackBerry and Verizon, I could agree with. But then do they have that agreement with all other carriers that use CDMA also? I thought BlackBerry only made one version of a phone with those radio files in it and it worked on all CDMA networks then. That's why I have been puzzled why the version was never available on Shop BlackBerry even for other networks.

I had heard that to that Verizon was going to be going Voip awhile back but they must still be trying to line their ducks up. Wish they would get it together. Is it also true that they have all the LTE frequencies bought and other carriers rent some of the bands off them?

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Originally Posted by BBernie3

And on raino's thought about the agreement between BlackBerry and Verizon, I could agree with. But then do they have that agreement with all other carriers that use CDMA also? I thought BlackBerry only made one version of a phone with those radio files in it and it worked on all CDMA networks then. That's why I have been puzzled why the version was never available on Shop BlackBerry even for other networks.

They have always made separate models for use on different CDMA carriers. Verizon gets their own, Sprint got their own, and going farther back, US Cellular, Virgin Mobile, etc.

Originally Posted by BBernie3

Is it also true that they have all the LTE frequencies bought and other carriers rent some of the bands off them?

No, not really. They have the densest nationwide network and may have roaming agreements with other CDMA carriers, but they don't outright own all or most of the spectrum. Sprint actually holds spectrum than any other carrier, but the bulk of it is so high in frequency that it's useless for wireless telecom unless paired with lower frequency spectrum.

Well I just learned something then! I appreciate you taking the time to inform me! That explains things that I had always wondered about with the whole system.

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