But it's a time bomb when you do that, your app'll expire and stop working after a short while. My dev friends who've never used an iPhone think I joke when I tell them that.
Why isn't it free, or a nominal one-time $20 fee like the Microsoft Xbox developer program? Very good question.
(Accounts that were inactive from publishing apps/games to the store. The accounts may have well been “active” for side loading/dev work)