Sprint to join rivals in cutting termination fees

Following its rivals, Sprint Nextel will soon begin trimming the fees customers face for canceling their cell phone service early. Chief Executive Dan Hesse said Tuesday that Sprint could start lowering the early termination fees as soon as December, once the company updates its billing software. The fee of $200 or more is charged to wireless subscribers who end their service before their two-year contract ends. The new policy would reduce the fee slightly for each month a subscriber stays with the plan. Competitors AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA already prorate their fees. A California judge this summer said such fees likely violate state law and ordered Sprint to reimburse customers more than $73 million. Days before that ruling, Verizon Wireless agreed to settle an identical lawsuit for $21 million.