You know what's worse than showing your Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? Raising your early termination fee to stratospheric heights. Just over a year ago, we honestly though this whole ETF thing was headed in the right direction, as most of the major carriers (VZW included) sought to prorate contracts in order to lessen the charge as one's contract drew closer to an end. Now, however, Big Red is evidently gearing up to pull a 180, with the slide above showing a $350 ETF for "advanced" devices (read: probably anything deemed a smartphone). The newly hiked rate will go into effect on November 15th, and while that $350 will decrease by $10 per month over the life of the agreement, this pretty much guarantees that you won't be adding a line, disconnecting and then flipping that phone on eBay.

You just thought that whole AT&T-Dobson Communications tie up was completely over. Turns out, AT&T is now being asked to pay $2 million as part of a civil settlement for violating a pair of court orders related to the acquisition. According to a petition filed by the Department of Justice, the carrier failed to fulfill its obligations when divesting mobile wireless businesses in three rural service areas (two in Kentucky and one in Oklahoma). In essence, AT&T personnel reportedly obtained "unauthorized access to the divested businesses' competitively sensitive customer information, and in some situations used it to solicit and win away the divested businesses' customers," and it doesn't take a lawyer to understand how sketch that is. Tsk, tsk, AT&T.

[Via RCRWireless]

We really, really hope you didn't ink a contract with AT&T over the weekend. If so, casually close your browser and attempt to avoid this post forever. Right on cue, AT&T has implemented its consumer-friendly prorated early termination fee, which enables new and renewing subscribers to have their $175 ETF drop by $5 each month they stick with the carrier and pay their bill. Yeah, the burn rate isn't exactly the greatest -- after all, you'll still owe $60 if you cancel with a month remaining -- but it's certainly a move in the right direction.

[Via phonemag]

Simmer down, Verizon subscribers. A trial date has yet to be set, but apparently, an arbitrator has "certified a huge class action against Verizon Wireless" that could cost it nearly $1 billion in refunds of early termination fees. Reportedly, this case marks the "largest class ever certified in arbitration, with approximately 70 million members of the subscriber class." Essentially, the lawsuit is attempting to extract refunds for hordes of VZW customers that were charged with "illegal ETFs," and while a company spokesperson unsurprisingly declined comment, we're hearing that the trial could get going as early as mid-2008. That's two, who's next?

[Image courtesy of Spusa]

Remember when a la carte messaging fees started to go up earlier this year and a couple carriers started to test the waters with unlimited texting plans, it ended up sweeping the whole freaking industry in a matter of a few months? Looks like the move to prorated early termination fees could be the next big move, with AT&T following Verizon away from hefty fines for canceling plans mid-contract. The company has announced that ETFs will be lower the further you are into your agreement period to offer subscribers "more flexibility," while folks simply wanting to change their plans -- not their carriers -- will no longer be required to agree to new terms. Any other carriers want to join the bandwagon?

[Via Phone Scoop]

Though you may be used to hearing Alltel boast of its consumer-friendly policy that enables users to change their plan at anytime without requiring a contract extension, now would be a good time to gear up for lots of similar chatter from Verizon. Reportedly, Verizon Wireless will soon allow its users to change up their plans mid-contract without asking them to sign on for any additional time, which should thoroughly excite those customers who've been regretting their plan decision since day two. So go on, Verizon customers, start scoping out which plan best fits your current lifestyle, because the new rule goes into effect on October 7th.

[Thanks, Kiwi616]

We've yet to find an average joe (or jane) who just adores that two-year agreement they signed to receive a single subsidized device on day one, and while Sprint hasn't been one to let folks off the hook early, it is trying a slightly different approach with Xohm. Reportedly, the carrier will be relying on "subscriptions," which will enable customers to save more when paying for larger chunks of time, while not forcing them into anything long-term. On the same token, this also means that you'll likely be paying full price for any hardware. Notably, the outfit's CTO also made clear that Xohm "would not be backed by what the industry calls service-level agreements," so don't count on any kind of minimum bandwidth guarantee. As for pricing, the numbers are apparently still being worked, but it was suggested that the service would "probably be based on tiers."

[Via TechDirt, image courtesy of BroadbandReports]

We tend to give our wireless carriers a pretty tough time around here, but not without just cause. Case in point: early exit fees. It's semi-understandable to charge the $150 to $200 contract termination fee when folks cancel near the beginning of their two-year contracts, however, that's a bit steep if you cancel say, 18 to 23 3/4 months in. Verizon Wireless, however, has gone on record with plans to prorate early termination fees starting this fall. If so, they would be the first major US carrier to lesson exit fees on departing customers the closer they got to the end of their contract. That's certainly a nod in the direction of consumer satisfaction and welcome news for us early adoptin' nomads with an innate fear of committal. Sure, regulators must still "review the details" but the FCC chairman, Kevin Martin, already seems stoked by the benefit to customers in what "could signal a new trend among wireless carriers." We'll just have to sit tight for now and hope these dominos begin a rapid, and timely tumble.

It looks like the days of bloated roaming fees within Europe are nearly over. Orange, Telecom Italia, Telenor, TeliaSonera, and Wind have joined T-Mobile in an agreement to cap the rates they charge eachother within the European Economic Area – 45 euro cents per minute from October 2006 dropping to 36 euro cents per minute by October 2007. In time, that should result in a savings of nearly 50% for consumers travelling within Europe and from abroad as the proposed cap is extended to operators outside the sub-continent. An independent watchdog group will then monitor fee reductions on the open market and publish an index every six months. And what of Europe's largest carrier, Vodafone? Well, they're apparently sticking to their rather dubious "Vodafone Passport" scheme said to save punters 40% on roaming fees after registering for the service, after a "connection fee" of 75p per call and after April 2007 when the rate cuts would go into effect. Now this isn't the first time the cabal European operators have agreed to lower roaming tariffs so we'll just have to see how this plays. Just remember dear carriers, the world and Viv is watching.