AT&T customers woke up to higher bills this month, with multiple price increases taking effect December 1st. The carrier raised its Administrative & Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee from $3.49 to $3.99 per line: a 50-cent monthly bump that adds up to $6 more per year for each line. Internet customers are also feeling the pinch, with AT&T Fiber and AT&T Internet plans going up by $5 per month.
According to PhoneArena, the fee helps AT&T cover expenses like connecting with other carriers and renting cell towers, as well as government-related costs. The company says it's reinvesting the money into network improvements, though customers simply see it as another price hike.
Meanwhile, the company's head of business operations is revealing what kind of people AT&T wants leading those network improvements. Jennifer Van Buskirk, who oversees about 20,000 employees and built Cricket Wireless into a $6 billion business, looks for candidates willing to take major risks, like people who've gone skydiving or completely changed careers.
In another PhoneArena report, Van Buskirk uses two key interview questions focused on risk-taking and big-picture thinking that she's refined over a decade.
Van Buskirk, who describes herself as an adrenaline junkie, believes people who avoid meaningful risks struggle in jobs that need bold decision-making and quick adaptation. She wants employees who can propose sweeping changes, even if that means reimagining their entire job description.
Customers can offset some of the fee increase by signing up for AutoPay and Paperless Billing, which saves $10 monthly with a bank account or $5 with a debit card. But for many AT&T subscribers, the savings barely cover the new charges—and the company's appetite for bold risk-takers doesn't seem to extend to keeping prices stable for customers.
Source: PhoneArena, PhoneArena
