FCC details ETF regulation proposal
Following prior comments that he supported standardization of early termination fees imposed by carriers, FCC head Kevin Martin went into detail last week at a public hearing on exactly what the Fed has in mind. As he's said before, he wants ETFs to be prorated -- which many carriers are now doing anyway -- and would like customers to be able to go over their first bill before deciding whether they want to slide out of their contract penalty-free. He also raises a point that the fee for breaking a contract on an expensive phone should be higher than that on a cheap or free phone; at first glance that seems logical, though we'd imagine that some of those "free on contract" phones actually end up costing more for a carrier to subsidize than handsets in the $50-and-up set. There's no indication yet that the FCC will actually end up wresting control of the nation's ETF policies, but the way Martin's talking, it certainly seems like they want to.
[Via Phone Scoop]
