Okay, so after talking to 3 people who all told me that the activation fee was for real - the last 2 people even told me that there would be a $15 suspension fee - I asked the last woman I was talking to to please look it up on her computer and tell me exactly what it said. As it turns out, if you sign up for 3G directly from your IPad and pre-pay with a credit or debit card, there is no activation fee. The bottom line is that the people on the phones have not been informed of what's going on. Frustrating, indeed, but I am so happy to hear that there will not be a fee. Verizon is my choice simply because the coverage through AT&T is so spotty.