Yes, good point, bear. I think mine was under contract. I purchased it brand new from someone in another state who could not use it. The manager at Cricket assured me it would work on their network, and he claimed that should I decide to change carriers even as little as three to six months from now, my phone will work wherever I take it. I have no plans to change carriers, but I sure hope he is correct!
OP, who is your carrier, and is your phone under contract to someone??