AT&T is planning on doubling its ETF fee for smartphones?

Joy and happiness can start to set in for anyone who recently purchased a brand spanking new smartphone, but those feelings can easily subside once you find that you're not completely satisfied with it months after you've signed a contract. Customers aren't tied down to a carrier because they can simply leave and just pay the customary ETF fee noted on their contract, but it looks like AT&T might be changing things up very shortly to make it extremely painful in ditching that smartphone. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the number two wireless carrier in the country is somewhat following Verizon's lead in raising its ETF fee on smartphones. Currently, customers who break their smartphone contract will have to pay a $175 ETF fee, but the increase is speculated to raise to $325 with it dropping by $10 for each month the customers stays put. Conversely, the ETF for non-smartphone devices will go down from $175 to $150. That provides little solace as the trends point to smartphones being the future – which also means it'll hurt more to break your smartphone contract. It's rumored for this new ETF change to go into effect starting on June 1st.

source: The Wall Street Journal via MobileCrunch