Effective immediately, T-Mobile is eliminating the $18 fee it charges customers to upgrade to a new phone. I'm glad to see that T-Mo came to their senses here—penalizing a customer for upgrading is ridiculous.
From the press release:
T-Mobile is pleased to announce that beginning yesterday, the company has ditched the handset upgrade fee for customers. The elimination of the $18 upgrade fee applies across-the-board to all handsets (including the T-Mobile G1) and in all channels (e.g., retail, online, etc.).
With consumers watching every dollar this holiday season, the savings come at a perfect time. Note however this is NOT a holiday promotion, as there is no specified end date; it's just another way T-Mobile is thanking its loyal customers.
We can only hope other carriers that continue to charge these fees will follow suit.