One of the greatest things about this country is the availability of choice. Want a breakfast cereal? You can choose from a multitude at your local grocery store. A loaf of bread? White or wheat no longer cut it--now, the more grains you have the better. 5? 10? 15? The grain sky is the limit. The ability for consumers to choose can be a good thing as long as there is actual choice. However, when we look at certain consumer areas--cell phone providers, for example--the actual ability to choose a specific provider is a limited one. The culprit? The early termination fee.

What's worse than paying a $200 ETF with Sprint? Paying a $350 ETF with Sprint! 

Here at UCAN, when we aren’t out escorting little old ladies across the street and saving kittens from burning trees, we like to read the terms of service of the various telecom companies. You mean you don’t read every single word and understand it before signing your life away? Well, we do, so read on to see how our nerdiness can work out to your benefit.

As any good running back knows, you need to exploit any weakness in the defense. In football, this means the smallest opening in the defensive line could mean a game-winning touchdown. In the realm of cell phone service contracts, a small rate change could be the opening you need to get out of your seemingly impenetrable contract. T-Mobile just might be the next cell phone company to give up a touch down.

Eventually, we had to jump on board and talk about the Verizon iPhone. It is great that now consumers have a choice (which we love here at UCAN), but if you are a current AT&T customer does it make sense to jump ship and head to Verizon?

Regulators are considering a ban on the imposition of two year contracts on the purchase of wireless phone. Unfortunately, it is German regulators who are considering imposing the ban on German wireless companies.

Some of you Cox subscribers may have received a notice in a recent bill about Cox’s Residential Price Lock Guarantee (or PLG for those in the biz). But what is it and is it good for consumers? Hit the jump to find out more.

As the old adage goes, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Well, if you are a DISH Network customer, you can add your service contract as a third certainty.

Sprint is charging a new monthly fee called the $4.99 Account Spending Limit charge.