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AT&T Raises Smartphone Upgrade Pricing From $15 to $20 to Match Verizon's New Fee
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We had that with Ma Bell. We really don't want go there again, trust me. As for overlapping towers, many are not owned by the cell providers but by tower companies that lease space so one tower may have antenna from all providers on it. Crown Castle bought ATT and T Mobile towers and Verizon sold theres to American Tower.
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Certainly, but you must ask, and be wiling to walk away if they say no. ART regularly waived fees of provided credits to cover them when I was a customer as well.
You're missing the context of my point:
- Someone first said TMo also charged fees (which they do)
- Someone then responded by saying "Yeah, but they're easily waived."
- I then responded to that by saying "Yeah, but they're easily waived with VZW & ATT also."
Gotcha. Yeah I've never run into that issue as I've always lived in an urban environment.
YMMV but I swap my sims several times a year and never got any fees. When I go to Europe I just put my At&t sim in a feature phone and put my European sim card in my iPhone and the other way around when I come back to the US and never had any fee.
Hope it stays that way though
Good for you but not everyone is on a corporate account. It's called a personal phone.
This might tip me to T-Mobile. We're moving to southern NH in July and the T-Mobile coverage map indicate full coverage.
Today, with my corporate discount, I get 2 lines from ATT with 12GB shared data for $105. Just clicking around on the T-Mobile site and I got a pop up offering 2 lines with 6GB/line for $80 and they have a code to get new SIMs for free rather than the $20 full price.
That seems like it could be a winner!!
Today, with my corporate discount, I get 2 lines from ATT with 12GB shared data for $105. Just clicking around on the T-Mobile site and I got a pop up offering 2 lines with 6GB/line for $80 and they have a code to get new SIMs for free rather than the $20 full price.
That seems like it could be a winner!!
Depends, sometimes if you buy devices online, they won't charge an activation fee. For example; when I bought my Note 4 a few months ago, there was a no activation fee; but it was only for a limited time.
The problem is this; when you buy the phone, you do spend hundreds of dollars but its one time. You choose to pay it off or buy it outright and its yours after the payment is completed. This fee is just to literally switch your old phone to a new phone under the same cell provider. It literally takes them nothing to do that. Look, I upgraded recently and paid $50 JUST TO UPGRADE and PLUS the $30 activation fee. I didn't raise a fuss. Companies have a right to make money. The problem is they already make a KILLING with what they charge for the plans alone, this is just extra money in their pocket. I guess while I'm not happy about it, I know how it all works. I am fine with paying for a service I am provided and mine works quite well. But to charge a fee EVERY SINGLE TIME you upgrade as opposed to a one-time fee when you first sign up for service is pretty insane; not to mention the fact that they also already charge extra fees on top of the taxes for your monthly bill. I can understand why people are upset. I just tell myself, "hey, at least we only pay for this phone service and not have to spend even more money on a landline" which most people really don't have anymore....
I told them it was stupid and to use my old SIM card if they were going to try and charge me, so they just waived it and apologized. They said they were phasing it out. This was like September 2014.
New catch phrases:
Verizon: No one charges you more!
AT&T: We want to charge the most for the least!
Sprint: We know our network is spotty but we're working on it now here is half off for switching!
T-Mobile: The Un-network!
Cricket: **chirp** **chirp** Here's this years ad that we play 5 times a month on low rated channels!
Verizon: No one charges you more!
AT&T: We want to charge the most for the least!
Sprint: We know our network is spotty but we're working on it now here is half off for switching!
T-Mobile: The Un-network!
Cricket: **chirp** **chirp** Here's this years ad that we play 5 times a month on low rated channels!
Same as Apple. Because they can.
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Screw all US Carriers. Where is "Apple Cellular?"
Yea, Apple would definitely lower your bill.
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That's the way it seems to be. I wonder if anyone will be bragging about AT&T's profits?
That's how you and I think, but by and large, only 'hungry' underdogs who want to gain marketshare act in that fashion.
Sadly for us, many if not most of the big, well-established corporations only care about one thing: how much can we get away with charging for this or that without customers leaving us in large numbers. Quality of service or value for money take a back seat to profits with too many (mostly large) businesses; shareholders demand it.
At the moment, AT&T and Verizon feel very secure about their marketshare, and aren't about to be 'nice guys'.
Well, the receipt I have says "Activation Fee" on it. Besides, who cares if AT&T charges for the activation and not the SIM, and T-Mobile charges for the SIM and not the activation? Isnt that just parsing of words?
$5 is hardly anything for people to cry about. Look at what's happened to college costs over the last 38 years, 1120% more since 1978. THAT is what's hurting people. Not this puny $5/mo issue.
Besides, AT&T is just keeping up with the Joneses. Competition is a good thing. Right? Everybody wants something so the value goes up. Just like with college, but only for more than $5 per credit.
Those viewers are their prime market. They aren't looking to take subscribers away form ATT, Sprint or Verizon, they want to get the subscribers from those carriers' and Tracfone's MVNO. It's the same reason you generally do not see a MetroPCS store in an upscale mall but in areas with less affluent customers.
I suppose if people posted arguments that AT&T's decision to charge the extra $5 is evidence that they are doomed to go out of business, then perhaps so.
The commentary about Apple's profitability usually follows statements that Steve Jobs came out with innovative new products on a weekly basis while Tim Cook is driving Apple into ground, or that a smaller increase in quarterly profits (while still topping past quarters' record profits) is evidence that Apple is doomed to close their doors before your AppleCare extended warranty runs out.
I find it somewhat funny that some people are threatening to go to T-Mobile. Their coverage is nowhere near that of the big two and they also charge their own version of the activation fee (SIM kit) of $20. To those who say that this fee can be waived, the same can be said about Verizon's and AT&T's fees. Much like everything else, you get what you pay for. Personally, I'm just not willing to chance it with T-Mobile to save a couple of bucks.