Verizon and Microsoft are back together again, and the two companies have formed an alliance to help Verizon customers get their phones back on the go.
Microsoft is now one of the biggest mobile providers in the US, and Verizon is the second-largest provider.
The merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, with the companies saying it will boost competition in wireless, expand the number of devices available to customers and strengthen their ability to deliver high-quality mobile broadband services to the masses.
The move was welcomed by privacy advocates and telecom executives who fear that Microsoft could soon offer more personal data to its customers than it can do now.
“The end goal is to create a true consumer-centric mobile platform that will enable consumers to control their personal data,” said David Drummond, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Microsoft says it will give customers three months to decide whether they want to keep their phones on their phones or not.
The carrier is also planning to provide more detailed customer support options and a suite of new security features.
Verizon is also working to help customers upgrade to new devices from Windows 10.
The new Windows 10 phones have a new camera and a new hardware upgrade, so users should be able to upgrade to the new devices in about two weeks, the carrier said in a blog post on Wednesday.
VerifyWireless, the wireless carrier that helps customers enroll in new devices, will offer its own new version of the device and an upgrade program for those customers.
Verizons wireless network is also going to be upgraded to Windows 10, but customers will still be able use the older versions of the network for now.