early termination fee

Early Termination Fee Be Damned — I Want My iPhone

John Paczkowski in Mobile on November 30, 2011 at 5:25 am PT

How badly do some folks want a new iPhone?

Forty Percent of AT&T’s iPhone Subscribers Could Flee to Verizon

John Paczkowski in Mobile on May 25, 2010 at 7:37 am PT

What will AT&T’s post-paid subscriber numbers look like if the company loses its iPhone-exclusivity deal with Apple and if Verizon begins selling the device, as some believe it soon might? About six million subscribers lighter than they are today, according to Davenport & Company analyst Drake Johnstone, who believes AT&T will take a nasty hit if/when Verizon receives Apple’s blessing to sell the iPhone.

17 Percent of Verizon Customers Would Upgrade to iPhone

John Paczkowski in Mobile on May 24, 2010 at 5:01 am PT

AT&T’s iPhone-exclusivity deal hasn’t yet expired; nor has Apple announced plans to sell the device through a second U.S. carrier. But that’s not stopping analysts from speculating about what might happen when it does. Riffing on rumors of a Verizon iPhone, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty theorizes in a research note this morning that given the opportunity, nearly 17 percent of the carrier’s customers would upgrade to an iPhone.

AT&T’s New Early-Termination Fee for the iPhone: $325

John Paczkowski in Mobile on May 21, 2010 at 11:18 am PT

A word of warning to AT&T subscribers who would switch carriers when the company’s iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple finally ends: The cost of doing so will soon rise–substantially. Come June 1, AT&T is raising its early-termination fee on smartphones to $325 from $175.

Going Out Of Business: Google’s Nexus One Store

John Paczkowski in News on May 14, 2010 at 10:11 am PT

So much for Google’s Web-only smartphone sales model. This morning, the company announced plans to stop selling its Nexus One Android phone through its Web store, acknowledging that efforts to change the way consumers purchase phones haven’t quite played out the way it had hoped.

FCC to Google: A $350 “Equipment Recovery Fee”? What’s Up With That?

John Paczkowski in News on January 27, 2010 at 6:02 am PT

The Federal Communications Commission, which has sent letters to all major carriers regarding their wireless early-termination fees, has expanded its investigation to include an industry newcomer: Google. On Tuesday, the agency sent a letter to the search company inquiring about the $350 “equipment recovery fee” it has attached to its new Nexus One phone.

And if You Think $550 in Nexus One Early-Termination Fees Is Bad, Just Wait Until Verizon Gets Involved

John Paczkowski in News on January 12, 2010 at 8:32 am PT

Caveat emptor: Purchase a subsidized Nexus One from Google and you’ll pay dearly if you cancel service early. According to the device’s terms of sale, the search company charges an “equipment recovery fee” of $350 in the event users cancel service before 120 days have passed. This, in addition to the $200 in early-termination fee that carrier T-Mobile assesses.

Verizon Wireless Defends Fee

Amy Schatz, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 21, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

Verizon Wireless said a new $350 fee that it charges some subscribers to break cell-phone contracts is necessary to cover its higher costs and the “risks” of offering high-speed wireless Internet service. The wireless giant offered up a defense of its new fee–double the fee charged to other subscribers–in response to an inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission.

Is Verizon’s New Early-Termination Fee Anti-Consumer?

John Paczkowski in News on November 6, 2009 at 11:06 am PT

Beginning Nov. 15, Verizon subscribers looking to get out of their smart-phone contracts early will pay $350 for the privilege. That early-termination fee is double the current one, but Verizon insists it’s justified because of the higher prices of today’s phones. An interesting move for a carrier that just last year agreed to pay $21 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by California consumers over the very early-termination fees it is now increasing.