Most phones, however, are sold at discounted rates. The $30 upgrade fee applies no matter at what point within the contract the customer upgrades, Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney told PCWorld. Verizon joins national competitors AT&T and Sprint, which already charge $36 in upgrade fees.
There’s nothing cell phone users hate more than new fees. They reacted strongly when most carriers eliminated unlimited data (which prompted “overuse” warnings), and Verizon Wireless is no stranger to criticism over hidden fees. In any industry, a measure of the number of customers who leave or switch to another service provider
The Verizon release notes that the charge is necessary to maintain “the level of service and support … on devices that are more sophisticated than ever.” But it’s also interesting to note that–according to a Portfolio.com article last year–Verizon outspent AT&T on infrastructure costs by some $5 billion.
Just as airlines are applying charges on services previously offered for free –such as food and luggage–to bolster their bottom line, carriers’ infrastructure costs are going to have to be recouped somewhere. Like upgrade fees.
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