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FCC Wants A Better Explanation from Verizon On ETFs

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Jan 8, 2010, 6:54 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Federal Communications Commissioner Julius Genachowski has indicated that he is not satisfied with the answer Verizon submitted on its recent Early Termination Fee increase. He said, "I thought [Verizon's] response raised more questions than it answered. The bureau is looking into that." Genachowski didn't say what the FCC is planning to do. Verizon said that it doubled its ETFs from $175 to $350 for advanced devices to cover customer acquisition and marketing costs.

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bluecoyote

Jan 9, 2010, 1:31 PM

PRESEDENT RABACK ABAMA IS KICKING !@! AND TAKING NAMES

Ohhhh yeahhh, Presedent RABACK DALAMA don't mess wif him!!! VZW try and be like "oh man we cool rite?" and PRESEDENT RABACK DALAMA come in and tell them oh no you DON'T!!!


GO FCC! GO RABACK DALAMA!!! Brutha!!!
I don't know whether to laugh or be ashamed at this post!
Well you sound like the typical, evangelical southern, NASCAR lovin', beer drinking', show me your T*ts, knuckle dragging Republican that we all came to know and love during the Cheney/Bush disaster.

Now go back to watching Faux Newz from you comfo...
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That puts a lot of your arguments in perspective. Always good to find one more person I can stop wasting my words on.
...
Seems every time you mention the President, you respell his name.

It's funny to watch, though. 🤣

I'm waiting for "Balack Madonna."
Please, let's have some respect. I know respect seems to be out of fashion but it makes the world a better place.
He should be called President Obama. He is our commander in chief no matter what we think.

As a conservative Republican I disagree w...
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zero03

Jan 12, 2010, 3:46 PM

hahaha

Google is joining the etf fee as a service charge . Looks like they are joining verizon 🙂
Kilya

Jan 8, 2010, 9:26 PM

Understand

There is no need for Verizon to increase their ETF fee. My guess is that people who are using there Smartphones are understanding they can get a much better experience from At&t thus they are increasing their ETF to make it more of a pain in the butt. Noone else is doing this but Verizon so there has to be a reason for this increase. I agree that people should know what they are getting into when they are signing a contract but the ETF does not need to be outrageous. An ETF fee should basically be the discount that the consumer is receiving on the device in my opinion. Example of this is lets say that when you sign an contract the Blackberry Curve is $100. However, when you buy it out right the phone cost $300. The difference between ...
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The make their money back on the ourageous $30/mo data charges that a re forced on people. And the reason I say the $30 for data is ourageous is because I'm a consumer, not a wireless employee, so therefore I'm not biased or brainswashed by any one wi...
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why are they giving Verizon such a hard time, when google is charging $350 on top of T-mobile termination fee. Consumers getting the Nexus One on Tmobile are looking at $500 dollars in fees in the first 3-4 months but you giving VZW grief about $350. ...
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Kilya said:
There is no need for Verizon to increase their ETF fee. My guess is that people who are using there Smartphones are understanding they can get a much better experience from At&t thus they are increasing their ETF to ma
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Understanding? Or Assuming (they can get a much better experience from AT&T)?
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jvp3

Jan 8, 2010, 9:06 PM

Yeah, Verizon, explain it better!

Explain it so that even a 5 year old can understand.

You know, because that's who works for us in Washington. Five year olds. 🤣
ARE U TALKING BOUT MY PRESEdENT!???
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jvp3 said:
Explain it so that even a 5 year old can understand.

You know, because that's who works for us in Washington. Five year olds. 🤣


You want to open a lemonade stand, so your mommy and daddy give you l...
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jvp3 said:
Explain it so that even a 5 year old can understand.

You know, because that's who works for us in Washington. Five year olds. 🤣



I love this post, it's great. 😁 And very true. Maybe if Veriz...
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Can't explain what they don't have a good answer for. They're just money hungry and people are stupid enought to still do it.
MrFisch13

Jan 9, 2010, 1:57 PM

Verizon's Answer:

Because we are ran by nazi's and hate our customers.
Wow. You really are an idiot. Verizon Wireless rated #1 in customer satisfaction but yet they hate their customers. Maybe you should apply at AT&T as Luke Wilson's sidekick and you can hate Verizon Wireless together (and both be out of work has-bee...
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tuminatr

Jan 8, 2010, 11:30 PM

it is the consumers choice just make a informed one

I am not the kind of guy to get all bent out of shape over this kind of a thing. I have verizon and in December upgraded to the droid. I was aware of the $350 etf and it does not bother me. I had a month to try the droid and if it did not make me happy I could return it and be out of contract.

I bought it intending to keep it, so whats the big deal?

I got it as a one year contract for $225 with my company discount.

I looked on expansys and they sell the milestone (the GSM droid) for $641 with out contract

even if I canceled today I could sell my droid on ebay for about $500 so how bad is it that Verizon has a $350 ETF. I would be out $75 Verizon lost a bunch

It was a good deal for me, I just don't understand why people got so...
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Because they want to make that extra $175 profit when they buy the Droid, cancel and then pop it on Ebay. Look I have upgraded my line and then switched back to my previous phone and made $400 on a Dare. It was sweet! I totally understand why these...
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Some what true, but then again, seeing this phone for most part will only work on one carrier, just how much would VZW be out, when the purchaser goes to VZW? They still will have a paying customer.
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Desolationblade

Jan 9, 2010, 3:11 AM

Hmm, just talked to my sprint, att and tmo reps

I had a very interesting conversation with my reps today. I am a radio shack store manager BTW. We sold verizon not too long ago and i still remember quite a bit.

Sprint's term fees start at 200, after the 4th month it declines 10, thens tops at 50, at month 20 and levels out.

ATT starts at 175, declines 5 a month, so it ends at 60.

Tmo stays at 200 i think she told me.

On a 69.99 data plan for sprint, adding in taxes and fee's it comes to about 79, sprint makes their money back on smart phones in 5 months.

on an 89.99 data text talk plan with att, with the exception of the Iphone, they remake their money back in 4 months.

Tmo depends on their plans, but a talk/txt/data takes about 5 months i believe.

Verizon, being th...
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You're assuming that every penny goes towards paying for the phone, and that talking/data cost the company nothing.
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There is alot more in play then that.


The "service" that is provided all over the nation.....has a price to maintain.


There is more then just the money lost at purchase.

the company I work for takes 11 months to break even on a r300.

...
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Sounds about right. When I worked there, VZW would teach employees that the average break even point was around 6 months (funny how their answer is so different when the FCC asks).

Honestly it is somewhat amusing to hear so many people try to come...
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arich97

Jan 10, 2010, 12:50 PM

2 Ways to Look at this ETF Increase only........

1. VZW did this to themselves with the BOGO deals. Quit this deal to stop the flipping and no need to raise the ETF. Simple as that.

2. You, Joe Consumer, signed a contract. If you didn't like the terms, don't sign it. And always make sure you know the terms before you sign, as some reps may not tell you everything unless you ask. Be informed.

I am a Sprint and AT&T user (my wife has T-Mob), and have never had VZW, and have nothing good or bad to say about them. This topic is just getting ridiculous as everyone is just beating a dead horse. Fanboys and Bashers please stop. This topic isn't exactly like we are trying to fix the state of the public education system or cure cancer or something really important!
2. You, Joe Consumer, signed a contract. If you didn't like the terms, don't sign it. And always make sure you know the terms before you sign, as some reps may not tell you everything unless you ask. Be informed.

The problem is, too many people in...
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infinitehorizon

Jan 10, 2010, 1:48 AM

Why doesn't the FCC look into the manufacturer's??

If I were the FCC, I'd be looking into why those "advanced devices" cost so much money. $599.99 full retail for a Droid?? Same for a Blackberry Storm 2. I find it difficult to believe that a mass produced item such as mentioned actually costs that much. If a phone comes out with a completely new technology that's never been seen before, then I could see raising the price up initially (like dvd players, blu ray, etc) but then drop down as the technology becomes more common. That would like end this whole debate.

I really think the FCC has no business in the matter, but that's just my opinion. 😁
I remember the full retail on the Samsung I830. It was like $800. It NEVER dropped.
...
Cars are mas produced, and they cost tens of thousands of dollars...

I love how people refuse to believe how much handsets really cost.
muchdrama

Jan 9, 2010, 1:46 AM

Good!

I'm glad the FCC is sticking it to Verizon. They deserve it for raising their ETF to a ridiculous and exorbitant amount.
So you frequently cancel your phone lines?
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You want someone to stick it to?? How about the greedy consumer. I've read hundreds of posts where people added lines taking advantage of the bogo offers, then disconnected and sold the phones only to make a sizeable profit. And there's also that fu...
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Disrespect

Jan 9, 2010, 2:52 PM

The world in a few years.

Disrespect said:
Thats right. Google will Reign!!!


O'Reilly will be President of the United States. Glen Beck will be vice.

Martha Stewart will be our Treasurer.

Mike Vick will be Head of Military and will bring all soldiers home and save souls by replacing soldier's with Well equipped and Well trained Pit Bulls.

The Doggie Soldiers will be equipped with Google Maps and Android bluetooth collars.

All bills and mail will arrive via Gmail. 😈
How will the influx of former military into the workforce affect the economy?
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More like:

1. Nothing will be subsidized anymore. This will have no significant effect on monthly charges unless you sign a contract, which now reduces monthly cost.

2. While the government is stealing the headlines by "protecting the consume...
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That's funny, but Michael Vick is the Devil. He should be fed to the pit bulls.
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Azeron

Jan 8, 2010, 7:34 PM

It Would Be Nice...

...if Verizon responded honestly. "We raised them because we can. We are not forcing anyone to sign these contracts and the Early Termination Fee only applies to customers who cancel service while under contract."
* We like the Screw the Hell outa our customers!!**
If everyone just does what they agree to do when they sign a contract it doesn't matter what the etf is.
It'd be nice if the gov't just minded their own business. I hate Verizon as much as the next guy but it's people who sign these contracts that f themselves.
Learn to read and know exactly what you sign. You shouldn't have any problems then. Jeez, com...
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The American consumer doesn't want honesty. They want to hear the answer they wanted.
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netboy

Jan 9, 2010, 9:39 AM

FCC=pro-consumers, SEC=anti-consumers!

if you trade stocks and you dont have 25,000$ in your account, you only allow to daytrades 3 times in 5 days (1 week period).
but if you rich and have 25,000$ in your account, you are allow to daytrades as many as you wish!
isnt this discrimination? rich are allow to daytrades as many as your wish! if you poor, you only allow to daytrades 3 times in 1 week!

that is like going to casino, people bet over 100$ per game, can take their profits and leave anytime they wish! but if you bet 10$, you are not allow to leave the table until you played 8 hours! what is wrong with this picture?
It's because attacking a company like verizon will garner them more votes and popularity, while going after stock trading companies will look like pandering to the wealthy.
bogger44fl1

Jan 9, 2010, 10:57 AM

YEAH, ITS A BIT HIGH BUT.....

YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO SIGN OR NOT. I KNOW ITS ROUGH ECONOMIC TIMES, THATS WHY I CHOSE A REGULAR PHONE. EITHER WAY VERIZON SERVICE IS ON TOP, RELIABLE AND WORTH EVERY DIME. IF YOU TRAVEL ALL 48 STATES (TRUCK DRIVER) VERIZON'S GOT YOUR BACK.
 
 
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