......their administrative fees......from 76 cents to $1.99 [ this fee is per line ].....may not seem like a lot but probably the start of a trend of raising prices.......


AT&T More Than Doubles Administrative Fee for Wireless Customers

.....AT&T has raised the amount of the "administrative fee" that it charges many of its 64.5 million wireless customers, a move that will earn the company an additional $800 million in annual revenue.

The fee hike was first noticed by BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk (via CNBC), who pointed out that AT&T has increased its monthly fees by approximately $1.23 in 2018 with two price hikes in April and June. Customers are now paying $1.99 in administrative fees, up from 76 cents last year.

Approximately 85 percent of AT&T's customers have seen the fee hike, as it applies to all postpaid accounts. Prepaid customers are not required to pay the administrative fee.

Prior to the doubling of the fee, it hadn't changed much since AT&T introduced it in 2013, going from 61 cents to 76 cents over a period of several years.

Piecyk speculates that AT&T has increased the fee to offset the debt incurred by its recent $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner. "Presumably the Administrative Fee is another way to help AT&T fund its network build and Time Warner acquisition going forward," he wrote.

In a statement to CNBC, however, AT&T said that the fee is standard across the wireless industry: "This is a standard administrative fee across the wireless industry, which helps cover costs we incur for items like cell site maintenance and interconnection between carriers."

Earlier in June, AT&T also raised the price of its grandfathered unlimited data plans by $5 per month. That plan, which was originally priced at $30, is now $45.


it may not seem like a lot but it is double........?!

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2018 09:16PM by NewtonMP2100.

Ugh.

I dumped ATT last November after 10+ years as a customer (actually started with Cingular in 2005). During the two year contract (which somehow ONLY applied to me), I got shafted with FOUR rate increases! Two were from ATT; two were from the insurance they sold (it was the first time I didn't buy an iPhone/AppleCare from Apple). As soon as my contract was over, I jumped back to Verizon (who had gouged me in 2013 on data for a tablet). So far (almost eight months), Verizon has abided by the agreement. I would NOT recommend ATT to anybody.

Notably, this will probably get you out of an ATT contract. You'll have 30 days after the change is announced to inform them you want out, and they SHOULD release you without an early cancelation fee.

I have been an AT&T>Cingular>AT&T customer since 1995 and have recently been considering leaving them. Very tempted by the 4 lines for $100 deal that Cricket has. The increases in the grandfathered plan really suck and now this additional charge. Why do cell phone plans have to such a PITA?

---

Two wrongs don't make a right, but, three rights make a left.