Can I switch my phone number from an alltel phone to a verizon phone?

I have an alltel contract. My friend gave me his old phone he had with verizon. Would I be able to transfer my phone number to this verizon phone, considering Verizon bought alltel?

Off the top of my head, I know Verizon is a CDMA network and Alltel has a CDMA network, however, that doesn't mean all Alltel phones are CDMA. It will most likely work if you call customer service and tell them what you are wanting to do. On the other hand, some telecoms will Provider-Lock their phones (with software inside the phone) to keep them exclusive to their network. You could run into trouble if the phone is Provider-Locked but customer service should be able to tell you and/or help you if it is.

The rest of this answer is just in case I misunderstood your question. If you are asking if you can switch from Alltel to Verizon and keep your number the answer is: Yes. In fact, federal legislation was passed not long ago that required telecoms to allow customers leaving their network to be able to take the number with them if they choose. For example, in the past, assume you had a Verizon Phone (CDMA) for years and one day, a friend talks you into trying AT&T (GSM). Before the new legislation was passed, Verizon could (and usually would) deny the number transfer because back then Verizon (technically) owned that number.

This is all right from the top of my head so there could be small mistakes and/or not true in it's entirety, however, it is mostly right.

If the chip in your phone is transferable, then you can switch numbers.

i think so. but you might have to shut down your number for getting the new number.