Qwest Wireless Disconnects Customers, Pushes Verizon Switchover

The regional telephone provider has begun to send out notices of the service shutoff and said that it will not charge early contract termination fees. Customers will be able to port their numbers to other providers, such as Verizon Wireless, which is offering former Qwest users combined billing.

However, the company said that current Qwest customers will need to purchase new phones once the wireless service is shut off. To that end, Verizon Wireless is offering the company's former customers new handsets, but a two-year Verizon Wireless service agreement is required to qualify for the deal.

In addition, if Qwest users choose Verizon Wireless service they can combine their Verizon service and Qwest services in one monthly bill to get bundle discounts on certain Qwest services every month.

As of September and October, when a Qwest customer tries to make a call they will automatically be routed to a live Qwest service representative who will remind them to change services. Only then will customers be able to complete their calls.

In 2008, Qwest severed ties with Sprint Nextel and signed a five-year deal with Verizon to market and sell Verizon Wireless service beginning this summer. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under terms of that agreement, the companies said they will work together on bidding for enterprise and government wireless contracts and collaborate to develop converged services such as a unified voice-mail box for mobile and landlines as well as integration of Qwest's IP networking solutions with Verizon Wireless' mobile data network for business and government customers.