In an open letter to customers, AT&T has announced that they will be raising their early termination fee (ETF) from $175 to $325 for smartphone and netbook buyers.

From the open letter:

For customers who enter into new two-year service agreements in connection with the purchase of our more advanced, higher end devices, including netbooks and smartphones, the ETF will increase to $325, and be reduced by $10 for each month that you remain with us as a customer during the balance of your two-year service agreement. After that, the ETF will no longer apply.

High-end devices are getting more and more expensive and AT&T is eating higher costs up-front when selling these devices to customers. It’s well known that AT&T is paying over $300 to Apple for each iPhone that’s sold. I’m actually surprised that it’s taken this long for early termination fees to be raised.

On the upside, the early termination fee for lower-end devices is being reduced to $150.