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AT&T iPhone Tethering Details Emerge

jlake02

jlake02

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 2, 2008
2,259
1
L.A.
After the uproar caused by the yanking of NetShare from the AppStore, AT&T promised an official tethering solution.

Details are now out, but I gotta say... if you're willing to pay an extra $30 (on top of the $30 you're already paying for data) then you sure must want tethering.. and the limit isn't that good either. I blow through that in a day.

Anyone here going to get it?
 
Of course not. There is always that guy that argues productivity though. I can't see how it is worth it. I can get most things done on my iPhone anyway.
 
It's what I've been saying all week. AT&T's network is already getting tight with all the new 3G phones out there. The LAST thing they want is a bunch of laptops jumping on and making things more crowded. They're obviously going to put it at a price most people won't want to pay.

Because of that fact I knew this would be somewhere between $20-$30 a month extra.

No surprises here.
 
I'll probably get it if I start working on site for a client again. Not all clients provide and Internet connection and I don't like being monitored or restricted. I use MySpace for instance to get local band showtimes for my website.

As long as I can turn it off when I'm done. I would have gotten a wireless card which would probably be faster except then you're locked into $60+ a month for years.
 
rdowty said:
I'll probably get it if I start working on site for a client again. Not all clients provide and Internet connection and I don't like being monitored or restricted. I use MySpace for instance to get local band showtimes for my website.

As long as I can turn it off when I'm done. I would have gotten a wireless card which would probably be faster except then you're locked into $60+ a month for years.
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you're only going to use it a bit, I'd just jailbreak and use one of those tethering options. If you don't overdo it, you'll be fine.
 
I can't imagine that you really blow through 5GB of data in a day. Unless you're constantly torrenting or buying films on iTunes there is no way you can do that with email and web browsing. That sounds like a pretty good plan to me.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
I can't imagine that you really blow through 5GB of data in a day. Unless you're constantly torrenting or buying films on iTunes there is no way you can do that with email and web browsing. That sounds like a pretty good plan to me.
Click to expand...

It's most likely 5GB per billing cycle (month).
 
I do a lot of video work on websites, so 300mb files are constantly going up and down. Don't really torrent much, but 5gb a day is pretty easy for me.

And, yes, this is 5gb a month.. that'd go pretty darn fast unless you're just checking emails, etc.
 
Small White Car said:
It's what I've been saying all week. AT&T's network is already getting tight with all the new 3G phones out there. The LAST thing they want is a bunch of laptops jumping on and making things more crowded. They're obviously going to put it at a price most people won't want to pay.

Because of that fact I knew this would be somewhere between $20-$30 a month extra.

No surprises here.
Click to expand...

Actually +30 on your monthly bill is what ATT usually charges for tethering. It looks like they are not giving any special treatment to the iPhone plans anymore, and just bringing the pricing in line with the rest of their phones.
 
question fear said:
Actually +30 on your monthly bill is what ATT usually charges for tethering. It looks like they are not giving any special treatment to the iPhone plans anymore, and just bringing the pricing in line with the rest of their phones.
Click to expand...

Right, but the point for ALL of the tethering plans (for any phone) is that they don't want laptops on their network. So if anyone says "that's too expensive" well, yeah, that's the point.
 
It's meant for people that need to do light browsing and email, it's not made for everyday heavy use.
 
jlake02 said:
Honestly, if you're only going to use it a bit, I'd just jailbreak and use one of those tethering options. If you don't overdo it, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

I'll certainly check into it when the time comes. My biggest fear is that AT&T just won't have the capacity and the service will be crap. That or my location will have a terrible signal like the last place I worked where I had to leave my desk just to take a phone call.
 
jlake02 said:
I do a lot of video work on websites, so 300mb files are constantly going up and down. Don't really torrent much, but 5gb a day is pretty easy for me.

And, yes, this is 5gb a month.. that'd go pretty darn fast unless you're just checking emails, etc.
Click to expand...

And how often are you doing that work out in the middle of nowhere or some place that doesn't have wifi?
 
Almost never, but if its meant to be an internet replacement while you're mobile, it's not a very viable option for heavy net users. :eek:
 
jlake02 said:
Almost never, but if its meant to be an internet replacement while you're mobile, it's not a very viable option for heavy net users. :eek:
Click to expand...

But in fact it is. There's a difference between heavy net users and people constantly uploading and downloading files.

And by the way, when you say it's not a very viable option what are you suggesting would be a better option?
 
It's not worth an extra $30 dollars imo. Save money and Jailbreak your phone and use PDAnet
 
$30.00 bucks extra to tether? Why, when you can do it for free on JB iPhones? If you dont live on teh tether, you'll be fine.

Fricken AT&T :mad:
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
But in fact it is. There's a difference between heavy net users and people constantly uploading and downloading files.

And by the way, when you say it's not a very viable option what are you suggesting would be a better option?
Click to expand...

A better option? Try unlimited bandwidth for the absurd $60/mo you'd be paying for mobile internet. 5GB doesn't cut it bro.
 
Knock yourself out, pal. I'll keep my $30 and use JB to tether if/when I need it. Have fun.
 
jlake02 said:
Knock yourself out, pal. I'll keep my $30 and use JB to tether if/when I need it. Have fun.
Click to expand...

have fun with that. If you go over your 5GB limit (yes you already have this limit) they'll shut off your data service. And they'll be able to charge you a lot extra on account of you tethering, which is unauthorized under your wireless contract.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
have fun with that. If you go over your 5GB limit (yes you already have this limit) they'll shut off your data service. And they'll be able to charge you a lot extra on account of you tethering, which is unauthorized under your wireless contract.
Click to expand...

Has this actually happened to an iPhone user yet? I have only done it twice to check emails when away from wireless and have had no issues obviously. But those who surf graphically intense sites while tethering...:eek:
 
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