The Federal Communications Commission recently scheduled a hearing in order to discuss the highly debated issues concerning the mobile carriers’ cancellation fees. To date, all the service contracts made between the consumers and the mobile carriers present an attachment which claims that a certain amount of money must be paid in the event of an earlier collaboration stop than planned.

During the opening statement, Chairman Kevin Martin expressed his opinion that each cancelation fee should be calculated separately and should reflect the discount made by the company for each equipment or phone. “For example, a $500 phone shouldn’t have the same early termination fee as a $50 phone,” he said, according to BusinessWeek. He also added that when a consumer renews his contract without receiving new equipment, the early termination fee should no longer be calculated and that consumers should be allowed to cancel their new service without any sort of early termination fee if the decision is announced before receiving their first bill.

Also, these thought could lead to several other changes, such as when a certain consumer signs up for a contract but does not need to buy any sort of equipment or device  from the carrier, the cancelation fee should also be considerably smaller.

Another idea presented by Mr. Martin referred to the contract’s duration, which should only last for a “reasonable length of time.” The thought attached the two-year deals that the companies promote and if the FCC decides that a smaller contract period would better serve the population, it could mean a great deal of trouble for the carriers’ business but a significant gain for all U.S. consumers.

Chairman Martin concluded that the FCC understands the use and need of the ETFs, but he added that the fees might also repress the consumer’s right to freely decide on choosing new collaborators whenever a certain significant discontent might occur.