AT&T needs more of your money, so the wireless carrier is bumping up the activation fee it charges customers who sign a two-year contract. The fee, which formerly sat at $36, has risen $4 to reach a round as of June 8th. The minor price hike applies to upgrades as well.

The change comes as a result of consumers increasingly choosing to pass on traditional contracts in favor of the AT&T Next upgrade program. That's right, in response to customers increasingly viewing contracts as less than desirable, the company is choosing to make them look even less so. Part of this is because, well, the carrier wants you to sign up for Next.

$40 puts AT&T's fee above that of Sprint ($36) and Verizon ($35). Meanwhile, T-Mobile has done away with such shenanigans for people who sign up for its new Simple Choice plans. And with the increasing number of MVNO and prepaid options there are out there, $40 can pay for a good chunk of a monthly bill.

But at the end of the day, if you're signing a two-year contract, what's an extra $4? AT&T is already milking you for far more than that anyway.

Sources: AT&T support page, Fierce Wireless