Sprint Nextel revealed the details of its new plan to pro-rate early termination fees (ETF), joining the other major U.S. cellular carriers in the practice.
The new policy, which will come into effect on Nov. 2, drops the $200 termination fee by $10 increments beginning in the sixth month of the contract, meaning that by the 15th month of the contract, the ETF is down to $100, which Sprint calls an industry-low. The new policy applies to both new customers and those who are renewing service agreements, who sign up on or after Nov. 2.
Earlier this spring, early termination fees came under closer scrutiny from the FCC, which had been discussing ways the carriers could work with customers to give them more flexibility in their contracts.
Verizon Wireless was the first carrier to pro-rate ETFs, back in November 2006. AT&T Mobility followed suit in October 2007 and T-Mobile USA jumped on the bandwagon in November 2007.
For more:
- see this release [1]
Related Articles:
Sprint [2] to cut early termination fees
FCC [3] may cap early termination fees
T-Mobile USA [4] to pro-rate ETFs, too
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/sprint-launches-one-industrys-most-customer-friendly-policies-pro-rated-early-termina
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprint-cut-early-termination-fees/2008-10-21
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/fcc-may-cap-early-termination-fees/2008-05-21
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-mobile-usa-pro-rate-etfs-too/2007-11-08