The government is quietly negotiating to help cell phone customers avoid expensive fees when they cancel contracts with wireless companies by capping cancellation fees for cell phones.

Cell phone carriers routinely charge customers $175 or more for ending their service early. Under a proposal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), companies would give consumers the opportunity to cancel service without any penalty for up to 30 days after they sign a cell phone contract or until 10 days after they receive their first bill.

The proposal would cap such fees and reduce them over the course of a contract based on how long customers have left. The plan would not abolish cancellation fees entirely.

In exchange for the government's approval, the agreement would let carriers off the hook in state courts where they are being sued for billions of dollars by angry customers. If approved by the FCC, the proposal also would take away the authority of states to regulate early termination fees.

Verizon Wireless, with other leading wireless companies, offered the proposal after high-level meetings with senior FCC officials.

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