Verizon Raises Smartphone Upgrade Fee to $30

Less than a year after introducing a fee for customers upgrading their smartphones, Verizon has raised the the price of said fee from $20 to $30, reports The Verge.

The fee change was quietly implemented last week alongside the discontinuation of two-year contracts for existing customers. Those customers previously had to pay a $40 fee when activating a new contract and purchasing a new device, while the fee has been $20 for device payment plans and outright purchases from Verizon.

With two-year contracts no longer available, all customers will now pay $30 when upgrading their smartphones on the Verizon network. A separate activation fee when purchasing a new line also applies.

According to Verizon, its upgrade fees help to cover "increasing support costs" from customers switching their devices.

Verizon also recently clarified its data usage policies for unlimited customers, notifying employees that customers who use over 200GB per month will be forced to move to a tiered data plan.