Verizon Wireless to FCC: smart phones more costly

(AP) -- Verizon Wireless says it started charging customers more to break service contracts for smart phones because those devices cost much more.

Verizon says the difference between what it pays manufacturers for phones and what it charges contract customers is more than twice as large for "smart" phones as it is for standard cell phones.

The explanation Friday comes in response to an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission on why the carrier doubled the fees it charges customers to break service contracts on "smart" phones.

In November, the carrier doubled the maximum early termination fee for such devices to $350 from $175.

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