AT&T Imposes Inexplicable Early Termination Penalty on iPhone Users

AT&T IMPOSES INEXPLICABLE EARLY TERMINATION PENALTY ON iPHONE USERS
[SOURCE: HearUsNow.org, AUTHOR: Bob Williams]
[Commentary] All those sleek new iPhones that have been flying off the shelves at $600 a pop have a built-in feature that isn't being touted by Apple or network provider AT&T -- an inexplicable early termination penalty of $175. Wireless phone carriers have imposed such penalties for years, arguing that they are necessary to help make up for lost revenues from discounted or free phones they use to coax customers into signing long term contracts. But Apple and AT&T are not offering any sort of discount on the highly-coveted iPhones. Which brings us to the other -- and probably more important -- reason wireless carriers impose early termination penalties on their customers. It's because long term contracts with early termination penalties are devastatingly effective in keeping customers from switching carriers.
http://www.consumersunion.org/blogs/hun/2007/07/post.html