• January 20, 2010

Verizon confirmed it has limited the number of phones subject to an early termination fee (ETF) of $350. The carrier's "Advanced Devices" category now only includes smartphones and netbooks-- multimedia phones, feature phones and data cards are subject to the lower $175 ETF.

Verizon told Fierce Wireless that eight devices had been dropped from list carrying the higher ETF: five LG devices, the Motorola Krave and the Samsung Rogue.

The step comes in the wake of the Federal Communications Commission's inquiry about the $350 ETF for advanced devices that Verizon adopted in November. In its reply, the carrier defended the higher fee for high-end devices as needed to help cover network and other operating costs beyond the expense of subsidizing smartphones.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn slammed Verizon's response, calling its answers "unsatisfying, and, in some cases, troubling" in a sharply worded statement released Dec. 23.

The shift to a smaller advanced devices list also follows Verizon's rollout this week of new pricing plans, including extending minimum $9.99 monthly data plans required for smartphones to mid-tier 3G multimedia phones. --Mark Walsh