Is phone service on a developer WP7 phone a requirement?

[squadbumrush]

Hey gang!

I'm very seriously looking into learning some WP7 development. I am a current Verizon customer who is out of contract and would like to take my business over to Page Plus (because I like Verizon's network quality but I'm too cheap to shell out $30/month for data). Therefore, I'm currently limited to using Verizon's HTC Trophy as my WP7 device.

I have been on eBay for the past 2 weeks monitoring new/used Trophys. With eBay, obviously, I run a significant risk of buying a Trophy with a bad ESN, which renders the voice/text aspect(s) of the phone useless for my purposes (VoIP notwithstanding).

My question is whether or not I am required to have cellular service on my WP7 developer phone? I expect that I should still be able to use the WiFi features of my phone for data, regardless of whether I have a voice plan with a carrier or not.

Can anyone shed some light please? Thanks in advance!

 

[squadbumrush]

Well, it appears that I found the answer to my own question here: How can I get a developer phone - App Hub Forums

As far as I can tell, you do not need a voice or data plan to be able to develop WP7 apps with a WP7 phone. Furthermore, the link contains another link to a retail partner that sells carrier-locked developer phones without voice or data services, and they are a few bucks cheaper than buying the same phone on the carrier's site.