The Federal Communications Commission will hold hearings on June 12 to investigage whether it should regulate early termination fees (ETFs) on consumer cell phone and wireless communications plans. Currently, these fees are regulated on the state level.

We know from the respondents to our Survey of User Needs ( http://www.wirelessrerc.org/for-consumers/survey-of-user-needs.html) that the cost of cell phones is a common impediment to cell phone use. Also, anecdotal evidence indicates that a fair number of people with disabilities buy prepaid minutes rather than locking a long-term plan with a set monthly charge. Perhaps limiting early termination fees will help reduce the financial risk of signing up for a long-term plan.

See the news coverage at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/30/AR2008053002776.html.