VERIZON ADDING $30 FEE FOR CELL PHONE CHANGES

(04/13/2012)
Verizon Wireless, the country's largest cellphone company, will start charging $30 every time a subscriber wants to upgrade to a new phone.

Several other cell phone companies have introduced similar fees.

Verizon will start charging the fee on April 22.

The company says the money will help fund online educational tools and customer support.

Verizon is seeing their profits cut by the cost of subsidizing smartphones, especially iPhones.

Smartphones generally cost hundreds of dollars more than they sell for in stores.

Wireless carriers count on making the money back through service fees over time, but those fees aren't growing as fast as smartphone sales.