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While we haven’t seen the weekend sales numbers for the iPhone 3G, we do know that the launch could have gone a bit smoother. The whispers turned into yells early Friday morning, as customers began complaining that Apple simply could not get their phone activated. This happened basically across the board, as the iPhone launched in 21 countries. So it comes as no surprise that the global iTunes servers slowed down a bit, rendering many unable to receive service at first. It’s almost as if this fits some elaborate unwritten movie script.

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If this BusinessWeek report is accurate, it looks like MetroPCS might not be the only company to offer a phone unlocking service. Olga Kharif learns that Houdinisoft, the company providing Metro with the unlocking/reflashing services, is in talks with a number of other carriers to offer a similar program. This would be a boon for many Americans who are sick of their current provider, but wish to not purchase a new handset. GSM will still be GSM and CDMA will still be CDMA, but it might get a bit easier to migrate among a technology.

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We’ve been talking a lot lately about early termination fees, seeing as the government is trying to figure out how it can best protect big telecom from lawsuits. (Opinionated much?) We heard what FCC Chair Kevin Martin had to say on Friday, and much of it was reasonable. He could have extended the reach of some of the proposed ideas, but for the most part it seemed consumer friendly. Except, you know, the part that preempts lawsuits filed against telecoms in regards to early termination fees. Comsumers Union has weighed in on the matter and unsurprisingly, they’re not too happy about ETFs and the lawsuit preemption proposal.

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We’re getting a bit deeper into the matter of government oversight of early termination fees. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin spoke up during hearings yesterday, and his sentiments, coincidentally enough, nearly matched the ideas of the wireless carriers, which were proposed last month. To me, this is a bad sign. Wireless carriers tend to rail against government oversight, except when it benefits them. So if their proposals are matched by a governing body, well, it’s not outlandish to think the worst.

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Do you feel stifled by your current contract? Wouldn’t you like to get out of it and be free as a cellular bird? We all would, for sure. No one wants to pledge two years of loyal service to a cell phone company. I can’t make a commitment for longer than two days, never mind two years. Problem is, the big bad cell phone company wants to charge us $175 or more for the ability to leave them. So it is up to us, the cell phone consumers, to concoct various ways to escape the binds of their contracts fee-free.

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We’ve discussed the slowing growth of the mobile phone industry. Not only are handset sales down, but so are new wireless subscribers. This is logical, though, considering wireless has an 84 percent penetration rate. With a smaller pool of new customers to pick from, cell phone companies have to pick subscribers off from their rivals. And doing so could lead to some changes in competitive pricing.

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Our friends at Phone News remind us that new and renewing AT&T customers will now have their $175 early termination fee reduced by $5 per month. So if you want out in the 23rd month of the contract (for some unbeknownst reason), it’ll cost you $65 instead of $175. I just hope none of you signed an AT&T contract on Sunday.

This comes while the FCC is working to create a more consumer-friendly way to handle contract terminations, though the deal might not happen. Consumers don’t want to give up their right to sue, which would be part of such an agreement. The Supreme Court just rejected a T-Mobile appeal regarding the allowance of class action suits despite a binding arbitration clause in consumer contracts

The program in place by Verizon and now AT&T seems like a good compromise. You sign a contract, you get a subsidy on your phone. If you want out early, you can, you just have to pay back the subsidy. While it’s far from an exact science, once again, it’s better than having to paying $175 in month 23.

Do you have a cell phone contract? Then you’ve signed a binding arbitration agreement — which you can read about here. Basically, you waive your right to file a class action lawsuit against the company. Consumer groups consider it unjust, but businesses love it since, among other reasons, it means cheaper and quicker legal remedies for them. Bad news for companies, though: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that state laws can preempt federal laws regarding binding arbitration agreements.

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Easy come, easy go. Sources familiar with the issue are now saying that the FCC-proposed early termination fee agreement with carriers might be in the dumps, though talks officially continue. Though, it might not be a terrible thing. Sure, we’d love to do something about these fees, but the trade-off proposed in the matter doesn’t seem like one consumers would unilaterally accept. The deal, simply, is that carriers would gain protection from lawsuits, while we would shed ETFs.

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Early Termination Fees. ETFs. The bane of the cell phone subscriber’s existence. No one wants to pay $175 or $200 to rid themselves of a service they don’t like, or can no longer use. But that’s the way it is in the cell phone industry. While some companies, like Verizon and AT&T, have announced pro-rated early termination fee initiatives, it’s still not a standard in the industry. That is, until the government stepped in. Reports are that they are working with cell carriers to work on a way to make these fees a bit more reasonable.

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