Does Verizon work in Puerto Rico or anywhere in that area?

Nope, CDMA carrier are North American coverage only!

Not so sure about that... I believe Verizon works in Puerto Rico.

http://www22.verizon.com/about/inter...erto_rico.html

Not sure if they have BB coverage there.

Well, I will report back, going all through the Eastern Carib next week. I will see what works where...

Expect little coverage in the Caribbean outside of Puerto Rico.

Yes, That's what I figured, voice at least, but I am looking to see what will happen with data

Verizon is the largest Phone company in Puerto Rico (and obviously they are a CDMA carrier), and they have coverage all throughout the Island. And whats even better is that since it is part of the United States, there are no roaming fees involved, your data coverage should be just as if you were here in the US. I have had no trouble when I have been down there.

Generally worked for me in San Juan and in/around Mayaguez (other side of island). -Pk

A few clarifications are in order:

1. VZW-PR is NOT part of VZW-USA. It is the old "Celulares Telefónica", doing business as VZW-PR, since Verizon (not VZW-USA) owns a majority share of the PRTC (Puerto Rico Telephone Company).

2. Verizon is in the process of selling its stake in PRTC. This will almost certainly mean the end of the VZW-PR brand. Furthermore, the future owners, a Mexican conglomerate, have indicated that they would like to transition the network to GSM once the purchase is complete.

3. Currently, if you are a VZW-USA customer, you get voice and SMS coverage in Puerto Rico as part of your "Extended Network". However, and just as it is in the mainland, data services generally don't work on "Extended Network". In fact, back in 2004 when I had a VZW-USA Treo 600, it was good only for voice and SMS in Puerto Rico. I'm surprised that you say that you haven't had any trouble using your data services in Puerto Rico. If true, this is a relatively new development, but one that may not last long (see point #2 above).

4. If you would like Blackberry service in Puerto Rico that comes as part of your standard plan, then go with Sprint or Cingular. T-Mobile is not an option, as it treats any usage you make in Puerto Rico as "international" roaming.

Finch, CDMA's reach is broader than you think. In South America GSM and CDMA companies compete, just as they do here in North America. Europe is an exception, as they have officially adopted GSM as their only wireless standard.

Edited.

Just as a heads up from my experience of working in Puerto Rico (San Juan, Cidra, main area corridors) for 6 months ending in Feb 2006...

I'm on Rogers Wireless, started with a 7780 and then used a 8700r down there. Service is generally with Cingular, and all I can say is that it sucks big time. Dropped calls up the wazoo, large pockets of dead coverage on main roads and areas, and call quality was below par.

The few times it roamed onto a local/non-national wide provider (can't remember its name), the quality was considerably better.

I didn't use Verizon so I can't help you there. Hope for your sake that its better than Cingular.