In a decision that is surely to be heavily appealed and will be a landmark case if upheld, a California superior court judge ruled that Sprint's early termination fees are a violation of state law. In a tentative ruling, the judge is ordering Sprint to pay back $18.3M to consumers who paid the fee and credit another $54.8M to those who were charged the fee but refused to pay it. Sprint will most likely appeal.

In the meantime, the FCC is working on a structure of their own, leaning towards pro-rated termination fees. Their findings should be ready within the next month. Many people are waiting to see how California's tentative ruling will affect the FCC's results. Cel carriers instill termination fees on their phones as a way to contract a customer for subsidizing the cost of the cel phone device. Cel providers have argued that eliminating their right to charge the termination fee would lead to consumers paying more upfront for their phones and possibly result in higher service fees.

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