AT&T to charge $175 as cancellation fee for Apple iPhone

Apple is due to launch their Apple iPhone later this month. The phone would be shipped with a 2 year long contract powered by AT&T services.

The telecom giant AT&T has said that the customers would be required to pay a cancellation fee of USD 175 in case they do not want to continue with the 2 year long usage period.

It is common knowledge that all contract based packages has a early cancellation fee. But most mobile phones offered through contracts are highly subsidized. Some of the phones are even offered at no cost as long as the customer continues to pay during the entire period.

Apple iPhone however is different. Customers would be required to pay the complete price of the mobile device and the cancellation fee is high.

AT&T says that they are spending a lot of money on the Apple iPhone promotion and getting customers for the device. And this means that they cannot subsidize the cancellation fee for the device in case customer does not like the phone and the package they are getting.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president of JupiterResearch however admitted that: “I don’t think for most consumers it’s an issue.”