These vary but often its time based for prepaid carriers ... And in some cases, like with Verizon, you’ll have your phone unlocked within 90 days whether it is paid over or not.

Note, Verizon prepaid data plans are best used as add-ons to an existing prepaid phone plan. Upfront, these plans are quite pricey but adding them to an existing account means a $30 per month ...

If you're shopping for a new mobile phone service ... what you need. Verizon's post-paid unlimited data plans are the main offering from the carrier, although it does also have prepaid options ...