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In what was sure to take some of the "Merry" out of "Merry Christmas", DSLRepors.com is reporting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has responded to Verizon's explination of their early termination fees (ETF) for smartphones and charges of $1.99 for "phantom" web browser access without a data plan.Karl Bode wrote the following for DSLReports.com:"The problem is, the strange fee [$1.99 for simply launching the browser on a smartphone] has been documented for months by several customers, a number of newspapers, and even a Verizon whistle blower, who claimed Verizon knew about the junk fee but has done little to stop it because it generates millions in additional annual revenue. So Verizon's letter to the FCC denying all of this is raising a lot of eyebrows, as is Verizon's claim that a new $350 ETF for smartphones was to aid the poor (no, we're not kidding). In a response (PDF) posted this afternoon to the FCC website, [FCC Commissioner Mignon] Clyburn says Verizon's answers were "unsatisfying" and "in some cases, troubling".The FCC document reads, in part:"I am also alarmed by the fact that many consumers have been charged phantom fees for inadvertently pressing a key on their phones thereby launching Verizon Wireless's mobile Internet service. The company asserted in its response to the Bureau that it "does not charge users when the browser is launched" but recent press reports ...