AT&T Raising Early Termination Fee For iPhone From $175 To $325
AT&T has issued a word of warning to its subscribers, who might want to switch carriers maybe when the company's iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple comes to an end.
Is that a desperate attempt to retain its subscribers in view of a possible Verizon iPhone announcement? Does that indicate that we are going to a hear a Verizon iPhone 4G release date soon? Only time will tell.
The cost of leaving AT&T will soon rise as AT&T is likely to increase the contract-busting penalty to $325 from $175 for smartphones and mobile broadband-enabled netbooks fron June 1, 2010.
However, the users of less-advanced "feature phones," including messaging and flip phones will have to pay anything between $25 to $150. The new fees will become effective from June 1 and it will affect only new and renewing customers. Current AT&T subscribers will not be charged under this new plan.
Explaining the reason behind the introduction of the new fees, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel says as reported by PCWorld, "We thought it was fair to have people who have less expensive phones, like feature phones and quick-messaging devices, to pay a lower early-termination fee. We also felt it was fair that people who have more expensive devices like smartphones should have a higher fee."
Experts maintained that AT&T is hiking the fee in order to prevent the smartphone users from switching to Verizon Wireless. Is that an indication of a Verizon iPhone release date announcement soon? Well, it is still unclear whether Verizon will sell the iPhone this summer or not.
On his part, Seigel stressed that fee increase is not part of an anti-defection plan for the iPhone. "This has nothing to do with any device," Siegel said.
Apple is likely to launch a new iPhone 4G model in June and if the Cupertino-based company will launch the new device then AT&T would benefit from millions of new and current subscribers willing to sign two-year deals to acquire the latest device.
