AT&T CEO Confirms iPhone Tethering Coming "Soon"

MacRumors · Nov 6, 2008, 02:24 PM

MobileCrunch reveals that during an interview at the Web 2.0 Summit, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega confirmed that AT&T would be offering an official tethering option for the iPhone "soon".

Tethering is the process by which you allow the iPhone to act as a 3G modem for your laptop. This would allow you to share the iPhone's cellular connection with your laptop.

A 3rd party tethering option called NetShare briefly appeared in the App Store before it was removed by Apple. AT&T traditionally charges an additional $30/month for this tethering option on their other smartphones. MacRumors has separately heard that this tethering capability is expected to be built into the 2.2 firmware.

Article Link: AT&T CEO Confirms iPhone Tethering Coming "Soon"

JG271 · Nov 6, 2008, 02:25 PM

Good news! Tethering is great, a friend of mine has a 3g phone that acts as a wireless access point.

However, I hope the tethering option will be free...

cbrain · Nov 6, 2008, 02:25 PM

Interesting. Hope we get this in the UK (and at a low cost

).

SkippyThorson · Nov 6, 2008, 02:29 PM

PRAISE THE SWEET LAWD!

When I go over to my friends house on the outskirts of town where no one has wifi and they don't either, it would be great to have a 2 minute session to look at a picture or to download a file or something. I've been waiting for this for I don't know how long. Amen. They listen!

Le Big Mac · Nov 6, 2008, 02:29 PM

Of course, tomorrow there will be an announcement that they didn't really mean it, and maybe one day there will be tethering. And then a website that says "tethering is here" but gets pulled within 6 hours. And so on.

happydude · Nov 6, 2008, 02:29 PM

yeah, but how much will they charge?! $30/mo is way too expensive for me when i'm already paying that for the iphone's data plan. i think it should be included as is - will just help drive sales of the iphone and bring new customers to at&t. everyone wins!

dukebound85 · Nov 6, 2008, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happydude

yeah, but how much will they charge?! $30/mo is way too expensive for me when i'm already paying that for the iphone's data plan. i think it should be included as is - will just help drive sales of the iphone and bring new customers to at&t. everyone wins!

i agree. i dont need it thaaaaaat bad for 30 a month

plumbingandtech · Nov 6, 2008, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happydude

yeah, but how much will they charge?! $30/mo is way too expensive for me when i'm already paying that for the iphone's data plan. i think it should be included as is - will just help drive sales of the iphone and bring new customers to at&t. everyone wins!

I bet it will be priced for business customers, but i would LOVE if ATT tried and dropped the price for more of a consumer audience.

maybe tiers?

notintheleast · Nov 6, 2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happydude

yeah, but how much will they charge?! $30/mo is way too expensive for me when i'm already paying that for the iphone's data plan. i think it should be included as is - will just help drive sales of the iphone and bring new customers to at&t. everyone wins!

I agree. If it's going to cost me another $30 a month, then I'll just keep using PDAnet for free.

pcguru83 · Nov 6, 2008, 02:34 PM

I'll stick with PDANet, thanks.

Luke1robb · 02:57 PM

Quote:

MacRumors has separately heard that this tethering capability is expected to be built into the 2.2 firmware.

Now when you say built into the 2.2 firmware, wouldn't that imply free or simply there as an option that has to be turned on?

Rojo · Nov 6, 2008, 02:35 PM

Sounds like this will be for 3G iPhones only?
(I'm guessing 2G speeds would be too slow for tethering?)

sonicwind · Nov 6, 2008, 02:36 PM

that's funny, I've been tethering for months. What else is coming soon? Running water? Electricity? Truth in advertising?

DaveTheGrey · Nov 6, 2008, 02:37 PM

Luckily I was fast enough and bought netshare when it became available on the appstore for the second time.

SkippyThorson · Nov 6, 2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke1robb

Now when you say built into the 2.2 firmware, wouldn't that imply free or simply there as an option that has to be turned on?

That's what I thought. If it's not free then I'm just gonna forget it. Not worth the extra money, but it would be an amazing feature for me. I'm too cheap.

plumbingandtech · Nov 6, 2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonicwind

that's funny, I've been tethering for months. What else is coming soon? Running water? Electricity? Truth in advertising?

This is for the iphone, and legally, without a fear of ATT catching you and ending your service.

I hope you can see the difference.

sonicwind · Nov 6, 2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rojo

Sounds like this will be for 3G iPhones only?
(I'm guessing 2G speeds would be too slow for tethering?)

Actually, the tethering on the v1 phones wasn't too bad. You won't be watching video, but you can do email and surf acceptably on the road.

Luke1robb · Nov 6, 2008, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveTheGrey

Luckily I was fast enough and bought netshare when it became available on the appstore for the second time.

Is it possible to get a netshare-like application on an iphone now. I mean I know Apple has AdHoc, so couldn't someone create a copy of netshare and distribute it to 100 people or so?

dstrauss · Nov 6, 2008, 02:43 PM

No way will they release this WITHOUT an additional $30 per month for tethering. $60 for what is not rally unlimited data sucks.

memco · Nov 6, 2008, 02:47 PM

I used to do tethering on a Treo 650 on Verizon. May have been a good day, but the speed was enough for me to play WOW (least run around).

It'll be nice if this is included because I'm sure not gonna pay more than I am now.

Trajectory · Nov 6, 2008, 02:47 PM

Why does tethering require an additional charge? It seems to me that if you don't go over your bandwidth limit, it shouldn't matter whether you use Safari on your phone or your laptop to access the Internet.

jamesarm97 · Nov 6, 2008, 02:52 PM

I agree that the $30 is a lot for something that I would only use maybe a few weekends a year while I am out of town or maybe stuck somewhere without internet. It is not like I would be downloading stuff, just VNC or SSH to work server to manage it.

- James

born4sky · Nov 6, 2008, 02:55 PM

Extra $30 will be ridiculous.

pj rage · Nov 6, 2008, 02:56 PM

Maybe a limited data version for less than $30/month? I'd love the option to tether, but realistically I'll do it pretty rarely. I'd pay maybe $10/month for a gigabyte a month of tethering data, or something like that.

I wonder how it will affect AT&T's ability to detect/track and/or crack down of illegal tethering? Will they begin to actively pursue illegal tethering?

azentropy · Nov 6, 2008, 02:58 PM

I guess somewhat good news...

I've used PDANet on my jailbroken iPhone and it works great. Unlike NetShare it allows all IP activity to work, not just a http proxy. The last update (1.40) allows my laptop to work over VPN.

If ATT is going to charge $30 a month I'll pass... It is something I only use every few weeks. Certainly not worth the $30 a month for me.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:24 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	AT&T CEO Confirms iPhone Tethering Coming "Soon" MobileCrunch reveals that during an interview at the Web 2.0 Summit, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega confirmed that AT&T would be offering an official tethering option for the iPhone "soon". Tethering is the process by which you allow the iPhone to act as a 3G modem for your laptop. This would allow you to share the iPhone's cellular connection with your laptop. A 3rd party tethering option called NetShare briefly appeared in the App Store before it was removed by Apple. AT&T traditionally charges an additional $30/month for this tethering option on their other smartphones. MacRumors has separately heard that this tethering capability is expected to be built into the 2.2 firmware. Article Link: AT&T CEO Confirms iPhone Tethering Coming "Soon"

Nov 6, 2008, 02:25 PM	#3
cbrain macrumors 65816 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: North-East, UK	Interesting. Hope we get this in the UK (and at a low cost ). __________________ "Bring on the trumpets!" Late 2006 iMac 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo i are MRoogle cat. please you step into MRoogle now. ToDo: Subscribe again.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:29 PM	#4
SkippyThorson macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2007	PRAISE THE SWEET LAWD! When I go over to my friends house on the outskirts of town where no one has wifi and they don't either, it would be great to have a 2 minute session to look at a picture or to download a file or something. I've been waiting for this for I don't know how long. Amen. They listen! __________________ http://skippythorson.blogspot.com/ v1 iPhone ~ v5.5 iPod ~ v3 Nano ~ v1 Shuffle ~ 1.25ghz iMac G4 ~ 1.33ghz iBook G4 ~ Airport Extreme

Nov 6, 2008, 02:29 PM	#6
happydude macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: a country with a new sense of hope	yeah, but how much will they charge?! $30/mo is way too expensive for me when i'm already paying that for the iphone's data plan. i think it should be included as is - will just help drive sales of the iphone and bring new customers to at&t. everyone wins! __________________ hi

Nov 6, 2008, 02:34 PM	#10
pcguru83 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Suburb	I'll stick with PDANet, thanks. __________________ Mac Mini 1.83GHz Core 2, 4GB RAM PowerMac G3 350MHz, 512MB RAM Bondi Blue iMac G3 250MHz, 96MB RAM Macintosh SE FDHD, 8Mhz Motorola 68000, 4MB RAM

Nov 6, 2008, 02:25 PM	#2
JG271 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Surrey/Kent UK	Good news! Tethering is great, a friend of mine has a 3g phone that acts as a wireless access point. However, I hope the tethering option will be free...

Nov 6, 2008, 02:29 PM	#5
Le Big Mac macrumors 68010 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Washington, DC	Of course, tomorrow there will be an announcement that they didn't really mean it, and maybe one day there will be tethering. And then a website that says "tethering is here" but gets pulled within 6 hours. And so on.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:35 PM	#12
Rojo macrumors 65816 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New York City	Sounds like this will be for 3G iPhones only? (I'm guessing 2G speeds would be too slow for tethering?)

Nov 6, 2008, 02:36 PM	#13
sonicwind macrumors member Join Date: May 2008	that's funny, I've been tethering for months. What else is coming soon? Running water? Electricity? Truth in advertising?

Nov 6, 2008, 02:37 PM	#14
DaveTheGrey macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2003	Luckily I was fast enough and bought netshare when it became available on the appstore for the second time. __________________ M$ you're coming to a sad realisation, cancel or allow? flickr twitter

Nov 6, 2008, 02:43 PM	#19
dstrauss macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2008	No way will they release this WITHOUT an additional $30 per month for tethering. $60 for what is not rally unlimited data sucks.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:47 PM	#20
memco macrumors regular Join Date: May 2008	I used to do tethering on a Treo 650 on Verizon. May have been a good day, but the speed was enough for me to play WOW (least run around). It'll be nice if this is included because I'm sure not gonna pay more than I am now.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:47 PM	#21
Trajectory Banned Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Earth	Why does tethering require an additional charge? It seems to me that if you don't go over your bandwidth limit, it shouldn't matter whether you use Safari on your phone or your laptop to access the Internet.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:52 PM	#22
jamesarm97 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2006	I agree that the $30 is a lot for something that I would only use maybe a few weekends a year while I am out of town or maybe stuck somewhere without internet. It is not like I would be downloading stuff, just VNC or SSH to work server to manage it. - James

Nov 6, 2008, 02:55 PM	#23
born4sky macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2008	Extra $30 will be ridiculous.

Nov 6, 2008, 02:56 PM	#24
pj rage macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2008	Maybe a limited data version for less than $30/month? I'd love the option to tether, but realistically I'll do it pretty rarely. I'd pay maybe $10/month for a gigabyte a month of tethering data, or something like that. I wonder how it will affect AT&T's ability to detect/track and/or crack down of illegal tethering? Will they begin to actively pursue illegal tethering?

Nov 6, 2008, 02:58 PM	#25
azentropy macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2002	I guess somewhat good news... I've used PDANet on my jailbroken iPhone and it works great. Unlike NetShare it allows all IP activity to work, not just a http proxy. The last update (1.40) allows my laptop to work over VPN. If ATT is going to charge $30 a month I'll pass... It is something I only use every few weeks. Certainly not worth the $30 a month for me.

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