AT&T on Friday made some significant changes to its former termination fee ( ETF ) policies that affect all of its contractual customers . The new prices — bring up for some phones , lour for others — go into effect for new and upgrading customer on June 1 , 2010 .
Ina note to customers , AT&T aver that anyone who bribe “ more advanced , higher ending devices , include netbooks and smartphones ” must now concord to an ETF of $ 325 , nigh double the current $ 175 fee . With the iPhone count among the smartphones that AT&T services , it ’s in business for this ETF increment . remark , however , that AT&T does not specify just smartphones or netbooks — it leaves some compartmentalisation wiggle elbow room , presumably for future gimmick types that may range the fence . Per a recent insurance variety , the new $ 325 ETF will keep up current rule and be lowered by $ 10 every month for the remainder of the contact ; it disappears entirely after the two - class term is quenched .
It is worth noting that AT&T wo n’t be the only immune carrier with high smartphone ETFs . Last November , Verizon raised its “ innovative devices ” ETF to $ 350 . The ETF for a Nexus One phone on T - Mobile was originally $ 550 — more than the monetary value of the equipment — until Google unload its portion of the fee from $ 350 to $ 150 .
number June 1 , raw and kick upstairs customers who buy “ introductory and prompt message phones ” on AT&T will be greet with a $ 150 exchange traded fund , down $ 25 from the $ 175 fee that used to extend smartphones , netbooks , and canonical phones alike . Like its big pal , the fee for “ feature telephone ” will fall by $ 4 every month and disappear once the two - yr dedication is over .
Naturally , AT&T ’s move to raise its smartphone ETF by a walloping $ 150 is trip speculation about Apple ’s plans for the next iPhone , carry to be bring out at next month ’s Worldwide Developer Conference . Current and potential iPhone possessor have been spoil for the Clarence Day that Apple ends its single arrangement with AT&T , given the letter carrier ’s repute for poor service . While Apple and AT&T did indeed hit a five - class exclusivity raft in 2007,no one knows if that contract bridge has changed since then , as Apple vagabond out subsequent iPhone updates . see in that luminosity , one could argue that this ETF hike from AT&T might be a pre - emptive hit to keep current customers from jump to other carriers — assuming other carriers are in the iPhone ’s future .
