Verizon Is Raising Fees on Connected Hotspots, Laptops and Tablets in December
Another price increase is coming for Verizon users.
Verizon is planning another rate increase, though this time it will be for data-only devices like mobile hotspots, tablets, connected cars, security cameras and laptops. Similar to the rate hike it announced earlier this year for voice lines, the nation's largest carrier is raising its administrative fees for these devices from the 6 cents per line, per month, it charges now to $1.40 per line, per month.
Users will begin to be alerted about the change on Tuesday, with the increase going into effect a month later on Dec. 1. The bump amounts to just over $16 per year for each line.
"From time to time, we review and make adjustments to the wireless administrative and telco recovery charge that helps recover some of Verizon's administrative and telco expenses, and costs of complying with regulatory requirements," the company said in a statement.
The company argues that the charge is "comparable and generally lower than aggregate fees across the industry" and notes that it is not raising the prices for the actual connected data plans, but just one of the fees it associates with it.
Verizon is not raising its fees on voice lines with this increase, so phone lines won't be affected, and it similarly is not raising fees on those with its Home Internet service or a connected smartwatch or those who have connected devices on a business account. If tablets were on voice lines and got a fee increase earlier this year, they won't be getting a hike now.
Read more: Best Unlimited Data Plans in 2022
News of the increase was first reported over the weekend by the YouTube page Tech Life Channel.
The fee change is the latest pricing bump by Verizon this year and comes after another quarter that saw consumers flee the carrier. In May it announced that it would be increasing the fees for devices with voice lines by $1.35 per line to $3.30 per line, per month. In June the carrier raised rates for users who were still on its older, shared data plans.