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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>What is the rule in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region>? Celtel (read
Zain) – seems to have this rule as well?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>What’s in place here to protect consumers?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Edith Adera<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Gideon Christian
[mailto:gchristian@idrc.ca] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> 01 August 2008 16:39<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">ICT4D-Futures
Workspace</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Early cell phone
termination fees illegal</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on"><b><font size=6
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:24.0pt'>California</span></font></b></st1:State></st1:place>
judge rules early cell phone termination fees illegal<o:p></o:p></h1>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/99655">http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/99655</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In one of
the most significant legal rulings in the tech industry this year, a Superior
Court judge in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
has ruled that the practice of <a
href="http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10039461?source=most_viewed">charging
consumers a fee for ending their cell phone contract early is illegal</a> and
violates state law.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
preliminary, tentative judgment orders Sprint Nextel to pay customers $18.2
million in reimbursements and, more importantly, orders Sprint to stop trying
to collect another $54.7 million from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
customers (some 2 million customers total) who have canceled their contracts
but refused or failed to pay the termination fee.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While an
appeal is inevitable, the ruling could have massive fallout throughout the
industry. Without the threat of levying early termination fees, the cellular
carriers lose the power that's enabled them to lock customers into contracts
for multiple years at a time. And while those contracts can be heinously long,
they also let the carriers offer cell phone hardware at reduced (subsidized)
prices. AT&T's two-year contract is the only reason the iPhone 3G costs
$199. If subsidies vanish, what happens to hardware lock-in? Could an era of
expensive, but unlocked, hardware be just around the corner? It's highly
probable.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Of course,
the carriers aren't going to take this lying down. Early termination fees are
seen as critical to business, so carriers are expected to look for ways to
reclassify the fees (such as by calling them "rates," part of the
arcane set of laws that covers the telecommunications industry). The industry
is also pushing for the federal government to step in and claim oversight over
the early termination fee issue, which would invalidate any state ruling. The
FCC is generally more tolerant of such fees, though Chairman Kevin Martin has
proposed a plan whereby the fees are decreased the closer you are to the end of
your contract.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The FCC
may also buy the argument that, since carriers are nationally based (and
consumers can use their phones anywhere in the country), that a single policy
should apply across the nation, rather than creating a patchwork of legislation
that could lead to confusion and chaos caused by having 50 different policies.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Is the
early termination fee dead? Not yet, but it's looking a little haggard.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><strong><b><font size=2 color="#ff80ff"
face="Comic Sans MS"><span lang=FR-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Comic Sans MS";color:#FF80FF'>Gideon Christian</span></font></b></strong></st1:PersonName><strong><b><font
size=2 color="#ff80ff" face="Comic Sans MS"><span lang=FR-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#FF80FF'>,
LL.M
</span></font></b></strong><b><span lang=FR-CA style='font-weight:bold'><br>
</span></b><strong><b><font size=2 color="#ff80ff" face="Comic Sans MS"><span
lang=FR-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#FF80FF'>Research
Intern/Stagiaire
</span></font></b></strong><b><font size=2 color="#ff80ff" face="Comic Sans MS"><span
lang=FR-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:#FF80FF;
font-weight:bold'><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Int`l
Development Research Centre
(IDRC) </span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Centre
de Recherches pour le Développement International
(CRDI) </span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>150
Kent Str Ottawa, ON, K1P 0B2 Canada </span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Tel/Tél:+1-613-236-6163
ext
2063 </span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Cell:cellulaire:
+1-613-265-1300
</span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Fax/Téléc:
+1-613-238-7230
</span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Email/Courriel:
gchristian@idrc.ca </span></font></b></strong><br>
<strong><b><font face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>www.idrc.ca
/ www.crdi.ca </span></font></b></strong></span></font></b><span lang=FR-CA><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=FR-CA
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">ICA</st1:place></st1:City>, ICCO, IICD,
OneWorld, UNAIDS and World Bank<br>
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