Andre Yoskowitz
11 Feb 2012 13:41
AT&T, one of the kings of bleeding consumers dry, has announced it will be doubling its upgrade fee for new handsets.
Whenever a subscriber upgrades to a new handset after signing a new contract, the fee is currently $18. Starting tomorrow, that fee will be doubled to $36.
Says the carrier: "Wireless devices today are more sophisticated than ever before. And because of that, the costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased and is reflected in our new upgrade fee. This fee isn't unique to AT&T and this is the first time we're changing it in nearly 10 years."
It is not entirely clear what "costs" are actually associated with the upgrade, as all it takes to switch phones is to switch SIM cards over being that AT&T is a GSM operator.
Regardless, AT&T users should take note that next time they upgrade their phone, expect a heftier fee.