1.   You need a contract with a phone company to activate the phone and purchase service.

2.   Another wrinkle is that salespeople typically earn a commission each time they activate a phone.

3.   A user would hit the talk button on the handset to activate the phone, and then tell it to dial.

4.   Already companies like Cellular One, a franchise operation, is offering secret personal identification numbers that must be used to activate a phone.

5.   Criminals illegally ship phones to countries like Colombia, Mexico and Russia when the phones cannot be activated in this country, Wilkinson said.

6.   You could activate the phone with a credit card.

7.   No documentation is required and the phone is activated instantly when the user purchases a starter kit.