Unicel customers have until Feb. 22 to pick a new phone from Verizon Wireless, which purchased Unicel last August. Verizon is providing three models for free, including the Samsung U430 pictured. Unicel service will cease — and Unicel phones will stop working — April 5. For more information, visit http://unicel.com/support/faq_list/22 or call 800-231-6323.

When one company purchases another, sometimes the only change a customer may notice is a new logo on the storefront or new styling for the monthly bill. For Central Oregon customers of the wireless provider Unicel, it will mean both, as well as new phones.

Last August, Verizon Wireless completed its purchase of Minnesota-based Rural Cellular Corp., which does business in Central Oregon and other parts of the country as Unicel. As a result, Unicel customers have to switch phones, as the two companies run their wireless networks with incompatible technologies.

Earlier this month, Verizon sent letters to its Unicel customers stating their Unicel phones will no longer work as of April 5. To ease the migration from one service to another, Verizon is offering Unicel customers a free phone and a 30-day free trial.

Perhaps predictably, foot traffic at Verizon stores is up drastically.

Scott Charlston, a spokesman for Verizon, said the number of visitors to Verizon stores in the Northwest has tripled since the letter was issued.

“We really hope people will be patient as we take them through this process,” said Charlston, adding that there are roughly 90,000 affected Unicel customers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. “It will be a good deal on the other side, but it does take some work.”

At Verizon’s store in Bend, store manager Brian Vernon said some customers are waiting up to two hours to speak with a Verizon representative about migration details. Customers have the option of choosing one of three phone models for free, or upgrading phones and service plans.

“It’s been busy all day,” Vernon said. “Some days we open with 10 people at the door. It feels like the day after Thanksgiving.”

Waiting to be helped Thursday at the busy Bend Verizon store was local television personality Bob Shaw, a meteorologist for Bend’s NBC affiliate, KTVZ.

Shaw was planning to upgrade to a BlackBerry, a brand of cell phone that enables users to read and send e-mails, among other features. But he’ll also have to sign a new two-year contract with Verizon. “The convenience of the technology is well worth it,” Shaw said.

New phones, new service plans

When switching wireless providers, there are phone models, service plans and service contracts to be considered, and for Unicel customers migrating to Verizon, it’s no different. There are several ways to continue with Verizon. Unicel customers also can leave the company altogether at no cost.

Verizon is offering a free phone, but only one of three models: the Samsung U430, Motorola 755 and LG 8360. All have a variety of features but are low- to mid-tier phones, said Brian Longaker, a sales representative at The Wireless Source, an authorized Verizon reseller in Bend.

Unicel customers who have a Personal Digital Assistant can replace it for free with one of two PDA phones from Verizon, the Samsung Saga or Palm Centro.

Each letter Verizon sent to its affected Unicel customers contains a mailer that allows Unicel customers to select which phone they want. Verizon will then mail back the selected phone within six to eight weeks. Verizon also will migrate Unicel customers to service plans similar to what they had with Unicel, Charlston said.

Verizon’s service plans will attempt to mirror the amount of minutes Unicel’s plans offered. Verizon’s plans generally are $5 to $10 more a month, said Longaker. However, Verizon does not charge for long distance. It does, though, charge for incoming calls, which Unicel did not.

What you can do to prepare, and when

Unicel customers have until Feb. 22 to respond to Verizon. If they do not, Verizon will send them one of the three phones, at which point a customer would have 30 days to either visit a store and choose a different phone or terminate service.

Customers unhappy with Verizon before the 30-day trial is up can return their new phones and terminate service with Verizon for no fee. Customers will be billed $175 if they do not return their phones.

If the Unicel customer keeps the phone for more than 30 days, a contract with Verizon is implied, thereby meaning any cancellation made after the initial 30 days will likely incur a termination fee of $175, even if the phone is returned, Charlston said.

“If you migrate (to Verizon) and pick a phone and keep it beyond 30 days, we assume you want to keep the service, and it’s an assumed service contract, and potentially would accrue an early-termination fee,” Charlston said.

Unicel service contracts will be canceled upon April 5, when Unicel phones will no longer work.

A Unicel customer also can choose to upgrade to a different Verizon phone or service plan. The phones are offered at a 25 percent discount, and the company has roughly 30 phone models to choose from, Vernon said. In such cases, a new service contract with Verizon of one to two years would be required. There is no activation fee.

“We’re just trying to make the process as seamless as we can,” said Vernon, who added that Verizon also will discount phone accessories, such as car chargers, for Unicel customers.

Upgrades

Vernon said roughly 50 percent of the walk-in Unicel customers are upgrading their phone or service plan. Vernon said the BlackBerry is a popular upgrade for people.

In November, Verizon debuted its new BlackBerry Storm, a touch-screen BlackBerry that is seen by many in the wireless industry as a strong competitor to Apple’s iPhone.

Shaw, while waiting to speak Thursday with a Verizon representative, said some difficulty should be expected with any transition. But so far, everything has gone fairly smoothly, he said.

“Anytime there’s change like this, it’s difficult, but we’ve all gone through mergers, where means, methods and modes change, so it’s inconvenient — but in the end it’s usually worth it,” Shaw said.

For more information, call the Unicel migration hot line at 800-231-6323 or visit unicel.com/support/faq_list/22.