About 115,000 former Cingular Wireless customers in California will soon get refunds for cancellation fees they paid when terminating their service after they had trouble making and receiving calls.

The refunds are part of an $18.5 million settlement worked out between AT&T, which now owns Cingular, and the California Public Utilities Commission. The deal, which was announced Thursday, provides refunds to 115,000 customers who left Cingular between January 2000 and April 2002. The average refund check will be about $160 and covers fees that were charged for early cancellation of service, plus accrued interest.