Cingular To Charge People Who Have Old Phones

Aug 1 2006, 5:00am CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

If you've got Cingular and are still talking on that fancy brick-style 1980's cell phone, you may end up paying an extra fee each month. It's all part of a move for Cingular to try to get their customers to upgrade their phones so that they're all on GSM service. Older phones use either an analog signal or the antiquated TDMA technology.

At $5 per month, with millions of customers affected, Cingular's going to be pocketing $23.5 million a month just from this fee. Obviously people with phones old enough to be impacted probably can't afford to upgrade. It's kind of like taxing the poor, isn't it?Because of recent legislation, all carriers in the U.S. are required to continue to provide analog service until the end of 2008. 2009 will mark the year that all over-the-air technology must be switched completely to digital.

Cingular, which already has a ton of angry customers, mounting to lawsuits from all angles, is sure to spark even more controversy with this move. It'll be interesting to see if any of the other carriers follow suit.

Full story

Report Published by: Mark Raby

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Luigi Lugmayr
Luigi is the founding chief Editor of I4U News and brings over 15 years experience in the technology field to the ever evolving and exciting world of gadgets. He started I4U News back in 2000 and evolved it into vibrant technology magazine.
Luigi can be contacted directly at ml@i4u.com. Luigi posts regularly on LuigiMe.com about his experience running I4U.