On Wednesday, T-Mobile USA kicked off the process of dropping the $18 upgrade fee they used to charge for any change of mobile handsets, the removal being said to apply to cellphones bought via any channel, such as retail stores, online or over the phone orders.

Moreover, it also covers all types of devices, including the Android-powered T-Mobile G1 that was released this year, the carrier having stated that although the decision was aimed at the holiday season in terms of time-frame, there was no end-point to the promotion. Or at least it has yet to be established.

T-Mobile’s upgrade fee gave rise to some debates the time Google’s Android phone was launched on the markets, when the carrier’s existing customers learned that the new ones were actually buying the gadget for less than themselves.

The G1 was priced at a beginning amount of $179.99, but users who wanted to switch their old contract with the carrier to one for an Android handset had to pay approximately $200.

Google’s Android smartphone, the first one to use the search giant’s open-source Android operating system, a platform that allows handset makers and wireless operators to develop innovative applications, was introduced on September 23 this year.

Fitted with a physical keyboard that slides from underneath the touchscreen, the smartphone enables users to run various apps simultaneously, allowing the latter to both view each other’s data and share information between them.

G1 began being shipped this October by Taiwanese manufacturer High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC).