Former AT&T Wireless customers must replace cell phone Sim cards by Jan. 31

By April Barbe

January 11, 2006 10:53 am

— According to representatives from Cellular One, all former AT&T customers need to get new Sim cards before Jan. 31, or phone service will be discontinued.
Wes Payne, area sales manager for Cellular One, said the company recently extended the deadline from Jan. 15 to Jan. 31 in hopes that no cellular phone user’s service will be interrupted.
“When Cellular One bought out AT&T, we had to switch to new Sim cards, which are already set up,” Payne said.
Any wireless customer who was formerly with AT&T may go to any Cellular One location to have a Sim card replaced at no charge, but Payne said he recommends going to the conversion center in Nacogdoches, just in case the local center is overloaded.
“We will exchange the Sim card and replace the phone, if we need to, at no cost. Sometimes the older phones will not unlock, but this is not the customers’ fault, so we will replace the phone for free,” Payne said.
Other models, like Nokia, can be unlocked through a Web site, which center representatives will also have access to, according to Payne.
“If you bring your phone to the conversion center in Nacogdoches, they can handle more customers, because it if gets busy at the Jacksonville location, they may have to keep your phone overnight,” Payne said.
According to Payne, less than 6,000 customers remain to migrate into the Cellular One Sim card program. With a proven 7,000-8,000 customers already converting a month, Payne said he believes the extended deadline will be a convenience to all remaining customers.