Kansas City, Mo. ? Wireless subscribers of Sprint Nextel Corp. may no longer have to buy a new phone if they jump to a new carrier.

As part of a proposed class-action settlement, the Reston, Va.-based provider, with operational headquarters in Overland Park, has agreed to provide departing Sprint PCS customers with the code necessary to unlock their phones’ software.

That would allow the phones to operate on any network using code division multiple access technology, or CDMA. Competitors using that technology include Verizon Wireless and Alltel Corp., although the Sprint handset would still have to meet those networks’ technical standards to work.

The codes won’t work for Sprint’s Nextel-branded phones, which use iDEN technology, and don’t allow switching to AT&T or T-Mobile, which use global system for mobile communication, or GSM, technology.

Sprint made the offer as part of the proposed settlement of a California class-action lawsuit, filed last year, accusing the company of anticompetitive practices.

T-Mobile is facing a similar class-action lawsuit in California. Users of the iPhone, which is locked to the AT&T network, filed two separate lawsuits last week against the carrier and Apple Inc., claiming its use restrictions and a software upgrade that disables unlocked iPhones constituted unfair business practices.

The plaintiffs in the Sprint case claimed the software “lock” forced customers wanting to switch carriers to have to buy a new phone, throwing up a barrier to competition. A similar lawsuit was filed in Palm Beach County, Fla., and is covered by the proposed settlement.

On Oct. 2, an Alameda County Superior Court judge gave the settlement his preliminary approval. A final approval hearing hasn’t yet been scheduled, said Matt Sullivan, a Sprint Nextel spokesman.

“We believe this settlement is fair and reasonable,” Sullivan said, adding that the company denies wrongdoing and settled the suit “so we can continue to focus on our business.”

Sprint doesn’t expect to pay any financial damages as part of the settlement, other than possible legal fees, Sullivan said.