AT&T to double upgrade fee

Effective February 12, 2012 AT&T will be increasing its upgrade fee from $18 to $36. The reason? According to the memo outlining the increase the 100% bump is because of the overall costs associated with upgrading to a new device has increased.  This latest increase comes on the heels of AT&T modifying their data plans.

Talking points suggest the upgrade fee is for costs associated with selecting and activating your new equipment. But what if you buy online and activate the phone yourself? Kinda doubt AT&T will have a discounted fee for such occassions.  To ease the pain of the sticker shock, AT&T does note that there is no change to your equipment exchange option. Isn't that nice.  

source: AndroidCentral