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Sprint boosts protection plan fee, early out for contracts?

Major carriers' contracts have had the sticking power of Teflon lately, what with everyonesuddenlydeciding that 15 cents is the fair market value for text messages (no price fixing there, of course). Sprint's about to open the floodgates one more time, though -- this time with a bump to the monthly fee for its TEP (Total Equipment Protection) plan. The service goes from $6 to a whopping $7 on February 18 for both new and existing subscribers, giving folks partaking in the plan one more 30-day window to jump ship penalty-free and move to greener pastures (perceived or actual). Samsung i760, anyone?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: We're getting intermittent reports that this price hike may not lead to a get-out-of-jail-free card, possibly due to the fact that the TEP is not managed by Sprint proper but by a third party. As with past ETF skating opportunities, mileage often varies from day to day and from customer service rep to customer service rep; ultimately, we may not know until February 18 rolls around and reports start filtering in from the field whether folks are having any luck.