Starting Aug. 1, activating a device on AT&T is going to get more expensive. The Death Star, perhaps power mad from its triumphant acquisition of DirecTV, has decided to not only raise activation fees for contract customers, but also to make its AT&T Next and Bring-Your-Own-Device plans less affordable by adding an activation fee for new customers.

Droid Life was the first to report on this change, saying that the activation fee for contract customers will increase to $45, making it the most expensive in the nation.

AT&T Next, which gives you a discount on your monthly data costs but requires you to pay the full price for your phone (in monthly installments) had long touted its lack of an activation fee.

But Droid Life reports that new Next customers will face a $15 activation fee after Aug. 1. The same goes for customers who come to AT&T with their own phones that they already own outright; activating AT&T service will cost them $15.

A screengrab obtained by Android Central seemed to confirm the Droid Life report.

Current AT&T Next customers (i.e., those who signed up for the program before Aug. 1) will not face the $15 fee for activating new devices, however, both reports note that this fee waiver is “subject to change,” meaning AT&T can continue to do whatever the heck it wants when it wants.

When contacted by Consumerist, AT&T didn’t address the specifics of these reports but effectively confirmed that fee hikes are a-coming.

“We are making a few adjustments to our activation and upgrade fee structures,” a rep for AT&T tells us. “Any lines already on a Next plan before August 1 are not affected at this time.”

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