Here here!

Really. Time to pro-rate. RIGHT ON.

Make them unlock the iPhone and I'll name my first kid after you.

Verizon Wireless FTW!!!!

I been having to wait for my gfs contract to expire these last two months to cancel her contract since crap T & T wont prorate the 2 months she has left. Oh well by the time they implement prorated ETFs we'll be long gone.

@howie_in_az: You already can. It's not illegal to unlock a cell phone. Carriers don't have to help you do it but there is a DMCA exception that permits unlocking phones so that they can be used on another network.

AT&T already prorates ETF on contracts entered after Dec. 31, 2007.

@Sam2k: not yet, Im afraid

Good idea, but why does the government need to be spending our tax dollars telling private businesses how to run themselves?

Don't like non-pro-rated ETFs? Don't sign up with one of those carriers...

@TheUncleBob: OK, and what do you do when ALL the companies have non-pro-rated ETFs? Just not have a phone?

I want free market as much as anyone, but the fact is, with systematized corporate consolodation of everything, it just isn't practical anymore.

If I had to not do business with companies that are known to be predatory, I literally would not be able to do anything. My grocery store uses 'loyalty cards', my apartment is owned by a real-estate corporation, my phone is a cell, I couldn't have cable TV, I couldn't buy a TV (Circuit City/BestBuy), forget about a car, etc. You can only go so far with the fanciful idea that the market will regulate itself. It won't. It will consolodate down into a systematized oligopoly that makes a science out of fleecing everyone. That's not my opinion--that's already history.

@TheUncleBob: oh so I'll sign up with which carrier then? It's a collusive market with no real competition. They all suck, and are all subsidized by tax dollars to NOT improve the quality of our networks, whilst being rewarded with tax breaks for shipping call center jobs over seas. This is exactly why we want government busting up this kind of activity. This isnt a free market, it's rigged.

@goodkitty: beat me to it. nicely done.

"Early termination fee" is a legalized way of saying, "Fuck you if you think our service is lousy, we're not going to fix it! Pay up and leave!" If cellphone carriers were actually providing good service to customers, they wouldn't need legalized theft by fee.

This isn't competition, it's collusion. If it were real competition, one carrier would drop the "fee" (or pay it for you) as a means of enticing new customers.

wow, i love that AT&T didn't even bother to respond...

I love that two people responded (and one agreed) that there's no options when the article itself points out "Verizon already pro-rates their ETF."

Aside from that, there are many small, local carriers that pro-rate their ETF. Additionally, you can always go no-contract, pre-paid and not have an ETF. Finally, there's the option of simply not having a cell phone. Man managed without them for hundreds of years... I think you could go a few more years without one - several people do.

@cbear: Actually they do. If you entered a contract (new service, upgrade, etc.) with AT&T after Dec. 31 2007, go to an AT&T store or call customer service and ask them to look up your ETF. It will show a prorated fee rather than $175.

Consumerist actually ran a story on this when AT&T announced it...

Sure, Verizon prorates the ETF (most of the time), but they also auto-renew your contract so you'll never be free of an ETF unless you cancel at just exactly the right time. Good luck figuring out what day your contract actually expires on...

Umm... Verizon doesn't "auto renew" your contract...???

@ whuffo... You have no idea what you are talking about. VZW would only renew/extend your contract for 3 things: discounted phone purchase (1 or 2 year agreement), promotional feature/package/plan (i.e. overage protection minutes), or suspension of service without billing (whether it was on the customer's end or due to non payment of the bill. Duh.

And the average American is a moron when it comes to cellphones. FREE PHONES FREE PHONES. No. There is no such thing. Even that shitty Razr you got for free actually cost someone at least $100. Probably more. The early termination fee is so that the customer doesn't get a heavily discounted phone one day, duck and run the next day and fleece the company of money in the process. The whole idea is that the phone will be subsidized by the calling plan for a one or two year agreement, and you can see online how the pricing fits that analogy. The early termination fee insures that that phone is going to be paid off one way or the other.

So it DOES make sense to have an early termination fee based on the current business model. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be adjusted, that brand new phone isn't worth as much after that one or two year contract is winding down, hence the government stepping in and enforcing variable/diminishing/pro-rated ETFs.

Also, some people, thinking that the phone is "free" or next to it, treat their phones as one would a Nerf football. Or worse. They only understand the true value of that cellphone if it is damaged, lost, or stolen, and they don't have insurance on that phone, and have to pay full retail for it. Then it becomes apparent, that crappy Razr is going to set them back $200!

So what is the solution? If it were up to me, and clearly it isn't, I'd think it'd make more sense to take cellphone sales out of the hands of the wireless carriers. Blasphemy, I know. Well, look at it this way. You go to your favorite electronics store, (either in person or online) and you purchase a new cellphone. You are aware that only certain cellphones will work on certain carriers, and it will be noted as such (if you are in the US, CDMA and GSM)

You purchase your latest and greatest phone. It costs you around $350. It's not a smartphone, it's just the latest flipphone. But you know what? You can use it on any carrier that supports that technology. And you just pay for that service for as long as you want it. If you are unhappy with the service they provide, or the current pricing, after that month is over, pay your bill, and leave. No subsidized phones means no need for an early termination fee, no real need for a contract. If you are happy with a carrier, why would you leave? No need to have a legally binding document to keep you together.

Well, that's an idea anyhow.

I am currently stuck in ETF hell with T-mobile. I have 3 phones on a family plan. They were all added at different times, one had a phone replacement due to being run over by a car (not me) and reset the contract. Even tho I have ONE family plan, each phone technically according to Tmobile has its own contract, so if I want to change plans with another company, they will gig me up to 3 separate $200 ETF's.

One phone ends in May 08, one in Nov 08, and the last in March 09. So as it stands, if we need a new phone, we buy an unlocked one off of Ebay till I can get off these contracts. At some point I would like a viable alternative, but since I travel a bit out of the country, I need a plan with worldwide capability.

Unfortunately, you can't count on businesses to do the right thing without being forced.