AT&T Raises Phone Upgrade And Activation Fee To $20, Matches Verizon

You may remember just over a week ago when we learned about Verizon’s plans to raise activation fees for new lines or new phones for old lines for a wider variety of their customers. Someone over at AT&T Wireless apparently thought that sounded like a good idea, since the carrier will also raise its upgrade fee to $20. Worse: Verizon won’t impose the fee if you purchase your own phone elsewhere, but AT&T will.

Verizon’s policy can be confusing, but works out so that if you buy a phone from Verizon, you have to pay the fee on the spot. If you get your phone from a third-party retailer (like an Apple Store) that activates it for you, the $20 fee gets added to your bill. If you buy your phone elsewhere and take it to a Verizon store to be activated, you don’t have to pay the fee.

AT&T decided to dispense with all of this nonsense, and just charge everyone the fee, no matter where they got their phones. If you buy a device that has two-year contracts available, the activation fee for that contract is $45. Otherwise, whether you buy a pricey phone using AT&T’s installment plans or you find an ancient feature phone lying on the sidewalk, you have to pay $20 to activate it.

About wireless activation and upgrade fees [AT&T]
AT&T charging $20 upgrade fee even when you bring your own phone [Ars Technica]