The timing of this annoucement is kind of interesting, as over the last few weeks the lawsuits seem to be flying against carriers for monopolistic business practices. AT&T Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile service, said on Tuesday that it will reduce some fees for customers exiting contacts before there term is up, and offer greater flexibility to existing customers. You can't help but wonder if they are trying to take this step for fear that some regulatory measures may get imposed if everything continues on course.

The court case against T-Mobile, that we reported yesterday, includes this very topic... having to pay a fixed termination free even if you are well into the contract period. AT&T is apparantly planning to pro-rate their termination fees, and also allow existing customers to change their plans without restarting their contract term. AT&T has not made any changes to their policy of locking devices, although my understand is that if you switch to an international plan, you can have your device unlocked.

__________________
Mike - Been Converged?