AT&T makes a harsh change customers will see on their bills

AT&T makes a harsh change customers will see on their bills

Patricia Battle

Thu, December 4, 2025 at 9:03 PM EST

4 min read

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AT&T has recently implemented several crucial changes that have impacted and frustrated customers.

For example, in April, AT&T decreased its autopay discount from $10 to $5 for customers who pay their bill with a debit card. It also completely removed that discount for customers who pay their bills with a credit card.

That same month, AT&T CEO John Stankey said that AT&T will most likely hike prices for its devices due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, further frustrating customers.

Additionally, in October, AT&T notified its internet customers that their monthly bills would increase by $5, a change that took effect on Dec. 1.

Now, AT&T customers should prepare for another major change implemented at the beginning of this month, one that will impact their bills.

<em>AT&T is starting to face a fleeing customer problem.</em>Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock — *AT&T is starting to face a fleeing customer problem.*Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

AT&T raises a monthly fee customers pay

AT&T’s monthly Administrative & Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee, which the company claims on its website helps it recover certain expenses to interconnect with other providers and payments of government fees and costs, increased from $3.49 to $3.99 per line.

"Like others in the industry, we regularly evaluate and adjust fees to help cover the costs associated with delivering and maintaining our wireless network,” said an AT&T spokesperson in a statement to PhoneArena. “This adjustment allows us to continue investing in our network and technology in order to provide the high-quality service that our customers expect.”

The fee increase comes after Stankey said during an earnings call in October that AT&T is cautious when it comes to raising prices for its services.

“We don’t just raise prices to raise prices,” said Stankey. “We raise prices when we think we’ve given the customer greater value.”

AT&T may suffer the consequences of its latest billing change

During the third quarter of this year, AT&T generated an operating income of $6.1 billion, which is higher than the $2.1 billion it earned during the same quarter in 2024, according to its latest earnings report.

While the phone carrier welcomed almost 1 million new phone and internet customers during the quarter, its postpaid phone churn (the number of customers who disconnected their phone service) increased by 14 basis points year over year.

The recent fee increase threatens to exacerbate AT&T’s recent customer losses, as many Americans nationwide are sick of seeing their phone bills rise as they battle inflation and higher costs of living.

How higher phone bills are impacting Americans:

About 42% of Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T customers have seen their phone bills spike in the past year, which is 7% higher than average.
Also, 58% of Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T customers are considering switching to a different phone carrier as prices go up.
AT&T risks losing a combined 69.4 million customers due to high mobile plan pricing. Source: WhistleOut

Story Continues

AT&T is also facing heightened competition from rival phone carriers. T-Mobile has been attracting customers with free phone lines offers and deals through its T-Mobile Tuesdays program. It recently even launched an “Easy Switch” tool in its T-Life app that matches AT&T and Verizon customers with a competitive T-Mobile offer.

Also, Verizon has allegedly been using artificial intelligence to scan bills from rival phone carriers to offer customized deals to customers. Additionally, both T-Mobile and Verizon have been offering generous promotions for the latest Samsung and iPhone devices.

“It’s been competitive,” said Stankey during the earnings call last month. “It continues to be competitive. There are shifts in tactics all the time that occur in this market, and we’re in a cycle right now that, because of the maturity level, tactics have shifted.”

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AT&T and other rival phone carriers are also battling tougher competition from cable TV companies, which have been offering consumers bundled phone, internet and TV services for discounted prices.

According to recent data from MoffettNathanson shared by Light Reading, Spectrum, Comcast, and Altice USA collectively added 886,000 new phone customers during the first quarter of 2025, up from the 804,000 they added during the same quarter last year.

Amid increased competition, AT&T’s postpaid plans currently lag behind those of its competitors in terms of consumer satisfaction, according to a recent survey from J.D. Power.

Phone carrier consumer satisfaction rates for postpaid plans:

The average consumer satisfaction score for postpaid plans under mobile network operators is 593 (on a 1,000-point scale).
T-Mobile ranks the highest with a satisfaction score of 636.
Verizon takes second place with a 583 score.
AT&T falls last with a satisfaction score of 573. Source: J.D. Power

“The findings show that value is the most important driver of the overall experience, followed closely by service quality,” said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecom at J.D. Power, in a press release.

“These two dimensions are central to our new model — and for good reason," he said. "As the market expands with a wide variety of brands designed to meet diverse customer needs, expectations are rising — not just for strong network performance, but also for service plans that reflect individual preferences.”

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Dec 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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