• WTF? Google's Outrageous ETF

    Josh Levy
    January 12, 2010

    We got pretty upset when Verizon announced a new $350 early termination fee (ETF) on all "advanced phones," doubling the fee for many companies.

  • Commissioner Clyburn to Verizon: Are You ETFing With Consumers?

    Josh Levy
    December 24, 2009

    This post is by Marvin Ammori, Senior Advisor to Free Press. It was originally posted in the Huffington Post.

    I wouldn't mess with FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

  • A Brand New Gouge for the Same Crappy Service

    Josh Levy
    December 11, 2009

    Seriously, AT&T. This is nuts.

    Millions of AT&T customers have been griping about your service from the moment they were forced to join your network to use their iPhones. Complaints run from consistently dropped voice calls to slow and erratic data speeds to a lack of service in huge swaths of the country. Did I mention dropped calls? Can you hear me never?

  • Washington Weighs In Against Wireless Industry

    Josh Levy
    December 7, 2009

    Last week, we finally saw some federal action against anti-consumer practices in the wireless industry, in the form of legislation in the Senate and an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission.

  • Verizon and AT&T: Pulling Out the Stops

    Josh Levy
    November 24, 2009

    Verizon is doing a fine job of keeping itself in the news these days.

  • No Contract, No Subsidy

    Josh Levy
    November 19, 2009

    Two bits of news from the last couple of days point to a new trend: unsubsidized phones being offered without contracts. While these phones cost a pretty penny upfront, not being forced into a contract — and having the freedom to switch from carrier to carrier — is sounding mighty attractive these days.

    Some news on the open wireless Internet:

  • Gee, Contracts Are So Confusing!

    Josh Levy
    November 17, 2009

    This weekend, the New York Times’ Saul Hansell wrote a piece that could have been written by AT&T’s PR department.

  • Sen. Klobuchar: Verizon’s Fees Are Anti-Consumer

    Josh Levy
    November 9, 2009

    It's good to see that Congress is waking up to Verizon's outrageous early-termination fees, which were recently doubled to $350 for "advanced devices" (read: smart phones).

    Today, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) expressed her opposition to the fee, calling it "anti-competitive and anti-consumer."

  • Net Neutrality Is Pro-Business

    Josh Levy
    November 6, 2009

    Net Neutrality opponents would have us believe that an open Internet is bad for business. Funny then, that folks from the business and tech sectors have been penning editorials in recent weeks to make the case that Net Neutrality is actually pro-business and pro-job growth.

  • Verizon Doubles Early Termination Fees

    Josh Levy
    November 4, 2009

    You know those early termination fees wireless carriers charge? The ones that cost you an arm and a leg to cancel your contract?

    If you're a Verizon customer, I hope you have a few arms and legs to spare. Early termination fees are about to go up.

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