AT&T is making some price hikes on its services and will be applying the changes beginning Aug. 1.
The new pricing scheme came to light as a result of an internal memo being leaked to Crackberry. The leaked memo, which shows an outline of the changes, confirms that the carrier is indeed increasing its prices, which will affect not only the new customers of Next and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) but also those who are seeking to get an upgrade.
According to the memo, new subscribers of AT&T Next will be charged with an additional $15 fee for activating a purchased smartphone from the carrier. The same fee also applies to BYOD subscribers who seek to add a new line of service.
AT&T is also increasing its upgrade fee from $40 to $45, which will apply to customers who seek to upgrade to a new subsidized phone on contract. Likewise, prepaid customers who want to change their account into postpaid will also have to pay the same service price of $45.
Current AT&T Next subscribers who have an active installment plan will not be affected by the price hike and will remain eligible to get their next upgrade at $0. AT&T, however, indicates that the "waiver" is subject to change in the future.
When all of these changes take effect on Aug. 1, it will mean that AT&T will have the highest charge for its upgrade service compared to rival carriers. Currently, Verizon charges customers with an upgrade fee of $40 while Sprint charges a fee of $36. T-Mobile customers on a Simple Choice plan do not need to pay an upgrade fee if they pay through the carrier's Equipment Installment Plan.
"AT&T Next offers well-qualified buyers the choice to purchase your smartphone for $0 down, dividing the regular price of your smartphone into low monthly installment payments," AT&T posted on its site. "Another option allows qualified buyers the choice to pay a down payment up front, dividing the remaining cost into monthly installment payments. With AT&T Next, tax is due at the time of sale, but there are no finance fees required."
The new BYOD Activation fee of $15 applies to customers who own voice and tablet devices. This means that those who own non-voice and non-tablet devices such as IoT, wearables and wireless home phones will not be obliged to pay the fee.
Photo: Mike Mozart I Flickr
