As competition for new customers increased, contract lengths and early termination fees (ETF) rose too. AT&T have gone back to the drawing board, no doubt after growing legislative pressure threatened to make a reconsideration mandatory, and rewritten their ETF policy; as of May 25th, the standard $175 ETF will reduce by $5 for every month you’re with the carrier, rather than you being charged that full amount even if you’ve stuck out 23 months of a two-year agreement.

That means, if you choose to change carrier after a year, you’ll pay around $120 rather than the full $175. AT&T are at pains to point out that there are still options if even that reducing fee is too terrible: buying a handset at full price or using a handset you already own with a new AT&T SIM, which in both cases would let you opt for a month-by-month tariff, or opting for a prepaid contract.

Beware, though: if you buy a new phone before May 25th you’ll not be eligible for the reducing ETF and will get stuck with the full cost if you cancel early.

[via HotCellularPhone]