[maximumoverload]

Hm. Interesting.

If you want to buy a new phone and keep your number.... what do you do?

Well I guess you can just ask in the store to move it to the new one, that's true. It's just... strange.

[rblatz]

You don't ask, they hand you a phone and it just works.

[untog]

Unless you want to buy an unlocked phone, etc. etc.

[pessimizer]

Why would you want to do that?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World

[nknighthb]

Give the provider the phone's public key fingerprint.

You're letting yourself be constrained by the very brokenness people are saying should be fixed.

[maximumoverload]

Well in that case you have to have it tied with your name, so it will only work for contracts; and only about half of the people here are on contracts.

[Keats]

Works for pay as you go as well