AT&T More Than Doubled This Wireless Customer Fee

AT&T has quietly increased a certain fee it charges its wireless customers, it has been revealed. Called an "admin fee," the wireless carrier is now charging more than double its original rate, though no big announcements about it were made and many customers are unlikely to notice the increase on their billing invoices.

Until now, AT&T charged an admin fee of $0.76, something that has increased to $1.99. That's more than double the original rate, though the cost is tucked in wireless customers' bills as one of multiple charges. This rate doesn't apply to prepaid customers, however.

It's unlikely many customers would notice this particular small fee and its sudden jump in price. The change was noted recently by Walter Piecyk, a BTIG Research analyst. He estimates the increase could, given AT&T's 64.5 million regular wireless customers, rake in around $800 million per year for the carrier.

Speaking to Fortune, which first reported on the fee change, AT&T said it hadn't increased the charge in several years, and that doing so was necessary to help "cover costs we incur for items like cell site maintenance and interconnection between carriers." The company pointed out that other wireless carriers charge similar fees.

Many service providers have been criticized for small, vague fees that often appear on bills, though not all companies utilize them. T-Mobile notoriously made a big deal about eliminating such line items from its bills, and its CEO John Legere didn't pass up the chance to rub that in AT&T's face on Twitter.

SOURCE: Fortune