AT&T is once again raising its fees, despite facing elevated customer losses in its wireless business.
The carrier’s postpaid phone churn, the percentage of customers who discontinued their wireless service, climbed to 0.89% in the first quarter of 2026, up from the 0.83% churn it reported for the same quarter in 2025, according to AT&T’s latest earnings report.
As customers increasingly pull the plug on wireless service, AT&T began making it clear earlier this year that it isn’t afraid to keep hiking prices.
For example, the carrier began raising prices on its “retired unlimited plans” in April, which sparked backlash from customers. Those with a single phone line on one of these plans saw their monthly bill increase by $10, while those with multiple lines saw it increase by $20.
AT&T hikes 2 administrative billing fees for customers
Now, customers should prepare for another round of price increases, this time affecting two billing fees, a change that will take effect in August.
On Aug. 5, AT&T’s “Administrative & Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee,” which helps the company recover government costs and expenses from interconnecting with other providers, is increasing from $3.99 per line per month to $4.99, according to a recent report from DroidLife.
The last time AT&T raised this fee was in December, when it increased from $3.49 to $3.99 per line.
Related: AT&T rolls out new phone plan to keep customers from leaving
The second billing fee going up is AT&T’s “Administrative Fee,” which is similar to the previous fee that was mentioned, but it’s for business and government customers. This fee is climbing from $2.49 to $3.49 per line per month.
RTMNexus CEO Dominick Miserandino said in a statement to TheStreet that AT&T is taking a major risk by raising fees, especially after hiking one of them only six months ago.
“It’s an incredibly risky gamble because it might not be a ton for each fee, but for the consumer, all these fees add up and feel like they’re getting snuck in the end,” said Miserandino.
“So the risk is getting hit with raising fees, six months after the last one, is starting to probably erode the consumer confidence, especially when churn is a big deal in the wireless business,” he continued.
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Why AT&T’s fee hike adds pressure to customer retention
AT&T’s latest fee increase is indeed a risk for the company as high wireless prices have recently been pushing more Americans to consider cutting ties with their phone carrier and explore cheaper options, according to a survey from WhistleOut in December.
How rising wireless bills are affecting Americans:
- About 42% of Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T (Big 3) customers have seen their phone bills increase over the past year, which is 7% higher than average.
- Roughly 32% of Big 3 customers believe they’re paying more than they should for their current wireless plan.
- As prices climb, 58% of Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T customers are leaning towards switching carriers.
- AT&T could potentially lose 69.4 million customers due to rising mobile plan costs.
Source: WhistleOut
In the survey release, Max McCaskill, senior staff writer at WhistleOut said that many wireless customers are considering switching to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) “in the wake of economic uncertainty and rising prices.” This is because MVNOs usually offer wireless service at lower costs, compared to the Big 3 carriers.
He emphasized that millions of wireless customers have already ditched major carriers and the risk of them losing more could grow if pricing pressures persist.
“If prices continue to increase, that number will only grow,” he said. “Based on our survey, the Big 3 carriers are at risk of losing 230 million customers combined because of high mobile plan pricing.”
Amid this growing trend, AT&T has been rolling out lower-priced phone plans with added value to win back and retain frugal customers.
More AT&T News:
- AT&T customers threaten to leave after latest warning
- AT&T rolls out major upgrade for customers, challenging T-Mobile
- AT&T drops 3 new phone plans to keep customers from switching
For instance, in March, AT&T dropped three new phone plans: AT&T Value 2.0, AT&T Extra 2.0 and AT&T Premium 2.0. Each plan offers customers a single wireless line for a starting monthly price of $50, $70, or $90, respectively.
Later that month, the company also launched its OneConnect subscription, priced at $90 per month, which offers customers combined wireless and fiber internet service.
In addition, in May, AT&T introduced Build-A-Plan, a customizable phone plan aimed at customers on a budget, with a monthly base price of $15.
Related: AT&T launches 4 new internet plans amid fight for customers
