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.

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Report Published by: Mark Raby