Will at&t ever provide official iphone tethering services in 2010?

[leomac08]

Well almost a year ago....I saw the apple website and saw that tethering is coming soon to the iphone 3GS but it is NOW 2010! and at&t still does not provide official tethering services...... I wonder if they forgot....or the iPad is the big buzz in at&t right now that they put the tethering aside and concentrate in keeping the iphone and iPad w/ at&t "3G" services.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/595933/

this thread is from November 2008. a LONG time ago.

 

[Looon]

No. There will never be tethering now stop asking. Also the iphone will never go to Verizon so stop asking about that too.

 

[killerrobot]

They have the $60 plan for laptops and the $30 for the iPhone/iPad - why would they let you connect another device for free?

 

[leomac08]

No. There will never be tethering now stop asking. Also the iphone will never go to Verizon so stop asking about that too.

I never said about iphone going to verizon....In fact I hate those threads..

 

[leomac08]

They have the $60 plan for laptops and the $30 for the iPhone/iPad - why would they let you connect another device for free?

For Free?!!! What are you talking about? lol.

I never said I wanted free tethering.

Can you be specific?

 

[killerrobot]

If you're tethering that means you're only paying for one device to connect to the internet. As I stated above, ATT already has plans laid out for each separate device connected. So they would in fact be giving data away "for free" because you're not paying the data fee for the other device.

Are you saying you would pay another data fee in order to tether?

 

[leomac08]

If you're tethering that means you're only paying for one device to connect to the internet. As I stated above, ATT already has plans laid out for each separate device connected. So they would in fact be giving data away "for free" because you're not paying the data fee for the other device.

Are you saying you would pay another data fee in order to tether?

Well I really never thought about that. Since I noticed at&t has BlackBerry® Personal with tethering plans for $60.00.

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...=6883010584&skuId=sku2940231&catId=cat1510007

Not that i'm saying that I would want to pay $60 for tethering. Just that I'm surprised the iPhone doesn't have a plan set up, unlike the BlackBerry.

 

[killerrobot]

Not that i'm saying that I would want to pay $60 for tethering. Just that I'm surprised the iPhone doesn't have a plan set up, unlike the BlackBerry.

It would be simple enough to setup one would think - I'm not sure what the marketing scheme is to not allow it. Maybe they feel they don't have a powerful enough wireless backbone for it just yet.

 

[sfditty]

I think the main reason there is no tethering for the iPhone through At&t is because it holds a market monopoly on the iPhone in the US. They don't want to do it, and there's no competition forcing them to. So consumers "suffer", if you could call it that. That's where antitrust laws come from (not that they would necessarily apply here).

I always assumed tethering, if AT&T implemented it, would cost extra- not that it should, but that it would. I wouldn't mind seeing a fixed hourly fee for tethering, but I doubt that would happen.

 

[Resist]

I never said I wanted free tethering.

Well I want free tethering! We already pay to much for the iPhone plan with AT&T and an outrageous text plan as it is, so free tethering should be included.

 

[Cynicalone]

I have a feeling you will get tethering soon. But it will be an add on to the iPhone plan for an additional fee, probably in the neighborhood of 30/month.

So something like iPhone Data Plan With Tethering for 60.00/month, and iPhone Data Plan Without Tethering for 30.00/month.

 

[Shenaniganz08]

read the fine print OP

since when does "not currently available" = coming soon

they never promised tethering in the US

if you want tethering hack your phone or keep it at OS 3.0

 

[leomac08]

read the fine print OP

since when does "not currently available" = coming soon

they never promised tethering in the US

if you want tethering hack your phone or keep it at OS 3.0

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/595933/

this thread is from November 2008. A thread which said the CEO of at&t said "coming soon" it's been 1 year 2 months already... that's why I said "coming soon"

and next time read the signature....

I don't have an iphone.

I was just interested in these topic.

 

[leomac08]

It would be simple enough to setup one would think - I'm not sure what the marketing scheme is to not allow it. Maybe they feel they don't have a powerful enough wireless backbone for it just yet.

Thats what i'm thinking.

I think the main reason there is no tethering for the iPhone through At&t is because it holds a market monopoly on the iPhone in the US. They don't want to do it, and there's no competition forcing them to. So consumers "suffer", if you could call it that. That's where antitrust laws come from (not that they would necessarily apply here).

I always assumed tethering, if AT&T implemented it, would cost extra- not that it should, but that it would. I wouldn't mind seeing a fixed hourly fee for tethering, but I doubt that would happen.

True, but why did in a past thread from November 2008 the CEO of at&t said tethering for the iphone is coming soon.

Well I want free tethering! We already pay to much for the iPhone plan with AT&T and an outrageous text plan as it is, so free tethering should be included.

oh...don't think I would love tethering for free. I got to a point that I wanted to get the Black Berry tethering plan for $60, but i got a app called tetherberry.

I have a feeling you will get tethering soon. But it will be an add on to the iPhone plan for an additional fee, probably in the neighborhood of 30/month.

So something like iPhone Data Plan With Tethering for 60.00/month, and iPhone Data Plan Without Tethering for 30.00/month.

Again, that's what I think. For an additional fee.

 

[jbg95]

Well I want free tethering! We already pay to much for the iPhone plan with AT&T and an outrageous text plan as it is, so free tethering should be included.

Market pressure has to cave the AT&T tethering restriction at some point. Verizon doesn't prohibit nor seem to mind that our household uses two iPhones, two Mac laptops, a Mac Pro and an iMac over our FIOS internet service. We're only two users and pretty much use one device at a time anyhow.

Besides which, with my iPhone tethered, I'd probably just switch to using my Macbook Pro while on the road to read e-mail/surf instead of the iPhone, so bandwidth consumption would be about the same as just using the iPhone. I can only type on one device at a time anyhow, so what's the practical/real world issue with providing tethering? Are they worried about iPhone-tethered home/business networks serving households and offices of computers? Doesn't seem like a realistic issue. And if it is, AT&T could get back into the wired business and compete with Verizon, Comcast and the like and offer bundled wired/wireless service.

Bandwidth business is such a game, I'd hate to be in any of their shoes.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

So they would in fact be giving data away "for free" because you're not paying the data fee for the other device.

Your logic does not make any sense.

An iPhone is like your old 1995 desktop with a 56k card. It has both, the modem card and the rest of the computer. While tethering is like a brand new cable modem + pc.

So when you set the iPhone to tether you stop all the pc functionality on it/transfer that to a pc and just keep the modem part working. Even under the current data usage payment scheme, it should not cost any extra.

The reason I assume AT&T does not want to enable tethering is because then a lot of users would cut their landline internet service and just use their 3G exclusively. The usage for a lot of people would go up and that would slow down the service.

 

[jbg95]

Your logic does not make any sense.

An iPhone is like your old 1995 desktop with a 56k card. It has both, the modem card and the rest of the computer. While tethering is like a brand new cable modem + pc.

So when you set the iPhone to tether you stop all the pc functionality on it/transfer that to a pc and just keep the modem part working. Even under the current data usage payment scheme, it should not cost any extra.

The reason I assume AT&T does not want to enable tethering is because then a lot of users would cut their landline internet service and just use their 3G exclusively. The usage for a lot of people would go up and that would slow down the service.

If they're disallowing tethering to throttle bandwidth, that make sense. Otherwise, bandwidth is a commodity and should be sold as such.

 

[killerrobot]

Your logic does not make any sense.

An iPhone is like your old 1995 desktop with a 56k card. It has both, the modem card and the rest of the computer. While tethering is like a brand new cable modem + pc.

So when you set the iPhone to tether you stop all the pc functionality on it/transfer that to a pc and just keep the modem part working. Even under the current data usage payment scheme, it should not cost any extra.

The reason I assume AT&T does not want to enable tethering is because then a lot of users would cut their landline internet service and just use their 3G exclusively. The usage for a lot of people would go up and that would slow down the service.

No my reasoning makes perfect sense, especially if you're ATT. You even gave the perfect reason why at the bottom -> you pay for one cheap mobile data plan and can bypass their wireless for laptops ($60) and their ADSL plans ($19-$35) all for $30, plus you put a bigger burden on their wireless network. Why would they allow you to do that for free when they can charge you separately for each one?

I understand your argument just fine, and agree that it shouldn't count as another "data fee" since only one device is in use at a time, but obviously ATT doesn't see it that way at all.

 

[jbg95]

No my reasoning makes perfect sense, especially if you're ATT. You even gave the perfect reason why at the bottom -> you pay for one cheap mobile data plan and can bypass their wireless for laptops ($60) and their ADSL plans ($19-$35) all for $30, plus you put a bigger burden on their wireless network. Why would they allow you to do that for free when they can charge you separately for each one?

And equally important: Why do that when you have no competition for the service and thus no incentive to bundle tethering? If a tether-enabled Verizon-provided iPhone comes out, AT&T will then have to respond in kind. I would like to see that, so I could consolidate all bandwidth to one provider and get some economy of scale on the bundled services.

 

[jbg95]

And equally important: Why do that when you have no competition for the service and thus no incentive to bundle tethering? If a tether-enabled Verizon-provided iPhone comes out, AT&T will then have to respond in kind. I would like to see that, so I could consolidate all bandwidth to one provider and get some economy of scale on the bundled services.

I just did a quick look to see if the competition (Android/Verizon) might help speed things up and I found this:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29255

I just skimmed it, but the gist sounds like the same issue as iPhone/AT&T.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

especially if you're ATT

a) you are not att
b) worse yet you are advocating a policy screwing over the consumer aka screwing over you.
c) your logic does not make sense i.e. it is double-booking people.

you pay for one cheap mobile data plan and can bypass their wireless for laptops ($60) and their ADSL plans ($19-$35) all for $30,

Under the current system (which I am NOT a fan off) you pay for 30 dollars for unlimited/5gb average a month usage per line. It does not matter if you take your sim card out of your iPhone, put it an another iPhone and use the data service; they still charge you the same amount. Think of tethering the same way.

plus you put a bigger burden on their wireless network. Why would they allow you to do that for free?

The reason why the data usage would go up is because people would start using their service more, a service they are already paying for aka not free. Furthermore the exact same usage can be achieved by everyone today using their iPhones, at no extra cost.

 

[Zyniker]

It would appear that AT&T's present plan is simply not to address tethering and hope that, through user apathy and continued exclusivity, no one will notice.

 

[killerrobot]

a) you are not att
b) worse yet you are advocating a policy screwing over the consumer aka screwing over you.
c) your logic does not make sense i.e. it is double-booking people.

Under the current system (which I am NOT a fan off) you pay for 30 dollars for unlimited/5gb average a month usage per line. It does not matter if you take your sim card out of your iPhone, put it an another iPhone and use the data service; they still charge you the same amount. Think of tethering the same way.

The reason why the data usage would go up is because people would start using their service more, a service they are already paying for aka not free.

Wow, are you being this terse on purpose or are you just arguing for argument's sake? You're arguing against yourself at the moment. Go back and read all my posts before you post again please.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

Wow, are you being this terse on purpose or are you just arguing for argument's sake? You're arguing against yourself at the moment. Go back and read all my posts before you post again please.

No actually I am arguing against you and your no reason, at&t should charge people more, so they make money money argument.

Fact is when you tether the iPhone simply goes into pass-through mode. Your service, speed, cap, etc. is exactly the same as what you are paying for.

 

[Small White Car]

2 weeks ago I would have said no.

Then AT&T introduced their iPad plans and said they'd allow singplayer over 3G.

So based on those 2 things I'm guessing they suddenly became more confident in their network upgrade plans.

So now I'm gonna say yes, I think iPhone tethering will come in 2010. I've changed my mind this last week.