NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C.  20554
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
November 5, 2008 Wayne Leighton at (202) 418-2500
STATEMENT OF 
COMMISSIONER DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE
Re:  Early Termination Fees
Consumers will be pleased that another cellular provider has announced it will prorate 
early termination fees (ETFs).  Starting this week, Sprint will lower its ETF by $10 per month 
after six months of service.  With this announcement, all four nationwide wireless providers –
which together serve more than 200 million customers – now prorate their ETFs.  
In this highly competitive wireless telecommunications market, wireless providers 
differentiate themselves in terms of size of network, customer service, additional features, “free 
phones” and even the terms of their ETFs.  This announcement by Sprint is simply one more 
example of how issues such as ETFs can be effectively addressed by industry solutions rather 
than government regulation.