UpgradeFee
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Verizon's upgrade fees are now $10 more expensive
It's about to get more expensive for Verizon subscribers to upgrade to a new phone. When the carrier added a $20 fee in 2016 to its plans, a leaked memo indicated that the move was to cover "increasing support costs associated with customers switching their devices." Apparently, it's costing Big Red even more money when you get a new handset now, regardless of whether you're paying for it in installments or at one shot. As Ars Technica points out, the new fee went into effect on Jan. 5th, so not many people would have noticed or have had to fork it over yet.
AT&T doubling its upgrade fee to $36 on February 12th (update: confirmed)
What do you do after reporting "blow-out" earnings and instituting larger, pricier, data plans? If you're AT&T, why not go for the jugular by doubling upgrade fees? Per the above leaked memo, that's exactly what Ma Bell plans to do come February 12th, upping the existing $18 fee to a new high of $36. That might sound familiar, as it's much in the same vein as cross-town rival Sprint, who went through the same kerfuffle back in September. We've pinged AT&T about the price hike and will update when we hear back.Update: AT&T sent us the following statement confirming the increase: 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.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Sprint to double Upgrade Fee to $36 starting September 9th?
It's time to either find your favorite teddy bear or pinch a few hundred pennies. In today's second bout of unfortunate news coming from Overland Park, SprintFeed is reporting that we should brace ourselves for yet another hike in one-time charges on September 9th. This time, it's the oh-so-beloved Upgrade Fee that's the victim of inflation, getting beefed up to $36 for any existing customer who desires a new phone; if you're hoping to renew contracts on multiple lines, Sprint is graciously willing to cap the fees at a maximum of $150. There's speculation that these bumps may have something to do with the latest rumor coming out of Cupertino, but it may also simply be a routine policy change. Regardless of the motive, it means anyone holding out for the next best thing should start looking under every couch cushion they sit on, in hopes of scrounging up a few extra bucks.
AT&T bumping its smartphone early upgrade price to $200
While the basics have stayed the same for a while -- $200 for an annual iPhone sweetened by a slowly descending overall plan price -- carriers like AT&T of course have a lot of maneuvering to do in the periphery to make sure they're still getting their margins. Hefty ETFs have of course been the most egregious element of this, and now AT&T is bumping its smartphone early upgrade exception price from $75 to $200, which means if you lost or smashed your iPhone and decided to go Torch instead (we don't know why, it's AT&T's suggestion), that Torch would cost you $400 instead of the $500 unsubsidized price or the $275 tag you could've gotten away with a week ago. This new price only applies only to smartphones, and only non-Apple ones at that, and of course there's always the potential for flex based on how long you've been a customer and how far you are into your contract. So yeah, we doubt this will impact most users, but it's a nice bit of sand in the eye for a select, unlucky few.
