Im surprised verizon took a while to do this... att charges 36, sprint 36 and tmobile 18. Altought verizon waives activation fees in holidays I know they did it on memorial day weekend. Buy your phones at wal mart cosco and so on. They are cheaper. Lets say the phone at the store is 100 dllrs after a 50 dllr rebate, wal mart will have it for free with a 30 dllr upgrade fee and its still cheaper. Theres ways around it. Shop around and enjoy the great service.