[bradart]

O.K. Speaking from my experience....
//possible sprint fanboyism
I've tried every major carrier in the U.S.
I prefer sprint.....Greatly
Least gimped handsets by far
//end possible sprint fanboyism
This seems like a prime instance where you can break your contract with no ramification. You would be able to go try out every carrier available in your region for 30 days and go where you will from there. Verizonis pretty much out to screw you and, speaking purely from a fiscal perspetive, getting the hell out of there right now seems to be your best bet. I'm not saying switch to Sprint, just to get the hell out of Verizon. You should be able to take your Altell Diamond to any other CDMA carrier and get that beast back on the prowl. I hope this works out for you, bro. This is some B*S* and you don't deserve to come out underneath their bright red boots of injustice.