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June 30, 2006
Verizon Wireless shifts ETF terms
Reacting to customer displeasure with early termination fees (ETFs) Verizon Wireless this week announced a plan to pro-rate the charge, which is assessed on customers who switch from Verizon to other wireless companies before their Verizon contract term is up.
While ETFs ostensibly protect the front-end loss carriers take on sale of heavily discounted wireless phones, consumers increasingly have objected to the ETF, which in Verizon’s case is $175, along with the increasing length of the commitment carriers demand—now as long as two years.
In a concession to this, Verizon Wireless ETFs on individual contracts will now decrease over time. It will cost Verizon customers substantially less to switch carriers in the final months of their contracts as it would at the outset.
"The number of complaints on this issue is the single largest that our customers have," said Denny Strigl, CEO of Verizon Wireless, in an interview with AP. He called ETFs a "black eye" for the industry. "It's a legitimate complaint: If they leave in month one or month 23, they pay the same charge."
The article notes that for Verizon, which has the best customer retention rates in the industry, the move is less of a gambit than it would be for other service providers. In addition, ETFs have been a target of regulators, and Veruizon’s move may be an attempt to fend off government intervention. For example, they would be tightly controlled under a new wireless consumer “bill of rights” proposed in New York State.
Verizon’s decision, however, shows that the market responds to adverse customer reactions. It’s what competition is all about. Perhaps here, one of Verizon’s competitors will choose to raise the stakes, and offer a better deal. Hence, ETF reform becomes a marketing proposition that can influence a buying decision, not a uniform code that encourages business conformity.
Posted by steve.titch at June 30, 2006 12:19 PM
I just don't have anything to say , but shrug. So it goes. Not much on my mind recently. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten31873 at January 24, 2007 04:35 PM
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I feel like an empty room, but eh. Nothing seems worth doing. I haven't gotten much done today.
Comment by: Sten79980 at January 26, 2007 08:23 AM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten27943 at January 26, 2007 08:39 PM
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I haven't been up to much today. I've just been letting everything happen without me. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I just don't have anything to say right now. More or less nothing happening.
Comment by: Sten66789 at January 27, 2007 04:38 AM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten22105 at January 27, 2007 04:19 PM
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My mind is like a bunch of nothing, but I guess it doesn't bother me. I haven't been up to anything recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing to speak of.
Comment by: Sten39910 at January 28, 2007 01:30 AM
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Not much on my mind lately. My life's been completely boring these days. I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. So it goes.
Comment by: Sten77241 at January 28, 2007 04:41 AM
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I just don't have anything to say , but shrug. So it goes. Not much on my mind recently. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten65813 at January 28, 2007 09:16 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten67608 at January 29, 2007 01:05 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I guess it doesn't bother me. Shrug. I haven't been up to anything. I haven't gotten much done today.
Comment by: Sten49559 at January 29, 2007 05:52 AM
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I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. What can I say? I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning, but pfft. Not that it matters. Pretty much nothing exciting happening to speak of. I haven't been up to much these days.
Comment by: Sten15926 at January 29, 2007 08:39 AM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten43515 at January 29, 2007 03:37 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten39809 at January 30, 2007 02:07 AM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I don't care. I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. Basically not much happening right now. Maybe tomorrow. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten61559 at January 30, 2007 09:45 PM
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I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. What can I say? I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning, but pfft. Not that it matters. Pretty much nothing exciting happening to speak of. I haven't been up to much these days.
Comment by: Sten40449 at January 30, 2007 10:17 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten70211 at January 31, 2007 04:31 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten4778 at January 31, 2007 07:44 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten84383 at February 1, 2007 03:35 AM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten17685 at February 1, 2007 05:20 PM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten68762 at February 1, 2007 10:35 PM
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I just don't have anything to say. Not that it matters. Eh. I've just been staying at home doing nothing, but I don't care. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten77672 at February 2, 2007 03:47 AM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen. Whatever. Not much on my mind lately. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten9705 at February 2, 2007 04:48 PM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I don't care. I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. Basically not much happening right now. Maybe tomorrow. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten90247 at February 3, 2007 12:33 AM
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I haven't gotten anything done recently. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I haven't been up to anything these days, but it's not important. Today was a total loss.
Comment by: Sten48673 at February 3, 2007 11:22 AM
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Not much on my mind lately. My life's been completely boring these days. I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. So it goes.
Comment by: Sten22359 at February 4, 2007 03:39 PM
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Not much on my mind right now, but it's not important. I've just been letting everything happen without me. I just don't have anything to say right now.
Comment by: Sten44754 at February 5, 2007 10:27 AM
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I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten2052 at February 6, 2007 03:33 AM
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I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. What can I say? I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning, but pfft. Not that it matters. Pretty much nothing exciting happening to speak of. I haven't been up to much these days.
Comment by: Sten54573 at February 6, 2007 08:05 AM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but shrug. I just don't have anything to say recently. I haven't gotten much done recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about.
Comment by: Sten44405 at February 6, 2007 08:21 AM
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Comments