Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AT&T Confirms Personal Hotspot Support Alongside March 11th iOS 4.3 Launch
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Your argument has no standing.
There are other carriers in the US that offer MUCH CHEAPER data plans. (T-Mobile and Sprint)
So you DO have a choice. This is why the FCC will not get involved.
Don't like the data prices on AT&T or Verizon, switch to T-Mobile or Sprint.
Hell, T-Mobile has $10 per month unlimited data plan.
The real issue here that has MR people b!tching is the iPhone doesn't work with Sprint and barely works with T-Mobile, so you have no choice but to pick AT&T or Verizon.
It's a non-issue in the real world. Either buy another phone or deal with your available options.
But if anyone insists on complaining, complain to Apple for not making the phone available on Sprint or T-Mobile.
If that happens, maybe you will see some movement in prices from AT&T and Verizon.
That's incorrect the 10 dollar plan is not unlimited it's only 200 MB's and you can only tether with T-Mobile for 14.99 a month and your speed is Throttled at 5GB. So if you add tethering on to your account you don't get a seperate data alotment at t-mobile.
Wow, that was a very long post just to describe Compounding and sustainability, not to mention condescending, biased, and limited in perspective. Somebody must be one little hell bent economist
One of the main purposes of The study of Economics/Political science is to prevent the consumer from being conned by shady economic theory, greedy and manipulative business persons/politicians etc. "There are many ways to skin a cat" and I think you are defending the wrong side. I don't think anyone expects ATT to give unlimited data for free!! or for that matter unlimited tethering or capped tethering for just a few buck a month more.
The problem here is "price discrimination" that is a little too aggressive. I think most people are just seeking fair service for a fair price.
Tethering Plans = Ripp Off
Paying for Tethering is such a rip off. It's like paying Ford a fee every time you have an extra passenger ride in your Mustang. You've already paid for the car and you've already paid for the gas...now they want you to pay if you have an extra passenger.
That's the best analogy I can think of for the "Tethering" Plans...WHAT A RIP OFF!
Paying for Tethering is such a rip off. It's like paying Ford a fee every time you have an extra passenger ride in your Mustang. You've already paid for the car and you've already paid for the gas...now they want you to pay if you have an extra passenger.
That's the best analogy I can think of for the "Tethering" Plans...WHAT A RIP OFF!
I stand corrected... they start at $10 per month.
Still cheaper than AT&T or Verizon's starting prices.
Pay to tether? Outrageous!
You pay for data. Whether you use up that data on one device or another is irrelevant.
You pay for data. Whether you use up that data on one device or another is irrelevant.
Time to jailbreak. In the words of the epic Mr. Sheen:
JB and tethering = Winning
JB w/ unlimited data and tethering = bi-winning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JB and tethering = Winning
JB w/ unlimited data and tethering = bi-winning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He and I and everyone else have every right to use ever damn bit of data we pay for, and AT&T is obligated to provide it.
Other users do not factor into one's business relationship with AT&T, nor should they.
He's not "using it." He's letting it run solely as a punishment.
It's the same as running his hose all day when he has no grass to water.
Public roads are "there to be used" too. My taxes pay for them, but if I were to intentionally wreck my car on the freeway with the sole purpose of causing a traffic jam...well I would deserve no sympathy for that. I'm frankly shocked that you would defend such behavior.
You may think that's too harsh, but that's exactly what he's doing:
In other words, rather than use wifi that he has right there, he's chosen to slow down other iPhone users in his neighborhood. He's decided to punish his neighbors out of spite because he dislikes at&t.
Inexcusable.
Not Really. Because the difference is that you own the Car but you don't own the network. With your analogy that would be like owning 2 cars and paying for gas for one and expecting the Gas station to give you free gas for the other car.
To the contrary, I believe my situation is typical. What is atypical is the user who would tether two laptops to their iPhone and watch Netflix videos while downloading torrents via 3G for hours at a time.
While automobile <> computer analogies almost always fail, the correct analogy here would be you've bought a barrel of gas but the gas station wants to charge you an additional fee for every vehicle you're going to use that gas in.
Last edited:
It's far cheaper to go the 3G iPad 2 route because you control when you "flip the switch". If you commit to the additional $45/month - "the switch" is always on for the next 24 months.
To put it in perspective quick math shows you would spend roughly an additional $730 ($600 for the data and $130 for 3G radio - excluding taxes) in the same 24 months on an iPad 3G with data activated monthly as compared to an additional $1,080 in the same period with hotspot/tethering. Difference being that the $350 premium for an "always on" connection allows you to hotspot for five devices at any given moment. Is that something you will do often? It seems highly unlikely, but you know your needs better than I do.
Yeah its sinking in that those of us who would like to pay a little less for lets say 500MB or 1GB are subsidizing those who use more data.
The carriers need more data plan options. It is not fair that someone who needs slightly more than 200MB needs to pay for an entire 2GB.
And I do not subscribe to the idea that the only solution is continuous range of bytes per month with the fee charged as $/byte used. The plans can remain quantized but we need more quantum numbers.
If I use data with my cable connection, I reduce data capacity on that network. If I use my Ipad to download the update, likewise I reduce data capacity there. Either way, I will reduce data capacity in some degree.
The reason I do it, and suggest that others do it is simple - TO ENCOURAGE AT&T TO ADD CAPACITY AND TO NOT TREAT US LIKE GARBAGE Have you ever heard the term "the squeaky wheels gets the oil"? Well, I'm making the wheels squeak in a very small way, and encouraging others to do it as well. I'm not doing it to annoy, I'm doing it so oil will be added (e.g. capacity increased). hopefully, this will lead to them also offering a tethering package (e.g. 4 GB) to us unlimited users as an add-on feature without making us leave our current plans.
If 5% of ATT users in the US used 4 - 5 GB of data per month...ATT would have to listen to us.
Still incorrect.
The key here is that with gas you buy x amount of gas and you have x amount of gas.
With data you buy x amount of data and they expect you to use x-something amount of data. I know you feel that everyone just uses it all anyway, but I've seen far too much evidence that shows the over-1.5-GB people are in the top 5% of users.
The best analogy is an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet. They charge a certain price for one person but even though you paid for "all you can eat" you can't bring in a friend and share with him for free even if you claim to only eat half of what you can eat.
The expectation is that you will, in fact, eat less than 'all you can eat' and that's what they charge based off of. It's another case where you pay for more than they expect you to use.
That's not the case with gas. They expect you to use all the gas you buy.
Bad analogies to go on. For example - you don't pay for unlimited power. And the more power you use, the more you're charged.
And the reason you pay for more data on a cell plan is because of consumption potential. A laptop can consume far more data, far more quickly than a cell phone.
The fact that people still don't get why cell companies charge more for tethering (for an unlimited data plan) is mind boggling.
That being said - if you are already on a metered system - then it shouldn't matter how you use the data.
Hang in there the more Verizon & AT&T battle it out the better the deal will get for all of us iphone & ipad users. I can see 1 of them caving in a giving an extra GB or two.
Do you really not understand that wired bandwidth can be increased with more wires but that wireless bandwidth is a finite spectrum?
We're all spoiled because such a small percentage of users use that bandwidth today. We think it's like air and we'll never run out.
But to use a car analogy, it's kind of like 1920 out there. A lot of folks have cars, but far more folks don't have cars. But the 1950's are coming and soon everyone will be a 2-car family. You're stuck in the mindset that this frontier world will stay wide open and empty forever. It won't. There's no going back.
This is simple math. Neither at&t or Verizon or anyone can change the laws of physics or cut the number of people in this country. The Wild West is coming to an end and you can't just wish that away, no matter how hard you try.
Time to jailbreak. In the words of the epic Mr. Sheen:
JB and tethering = Winning
JB w/ unlimited data and tethering = bi-winning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bingo!
Having been double-grandfathered into the priceless international unlimited data, I'm never changing my plan with AT&T.
Hang in there the more Verizon & AT&T battle it out the better the deal will get for all of us iphone & ipad users. I can see 1 of them caving in a giving an extra GB or two.
I'm you mentioned verizon because at least your not biased.
People have made this tethering issue personal about their hate for AT&T. Not one person on this board has complained about the Verizon tethering options.
No, it's correct. You buy 2 GB of data, you have 2 GB of data. It's silly to argue that you only pay $X for 2 GB of data because AT&T is counting on you to use only 500 MB of data.
And the typical user is not going to triple his/her data usage just because he/she is now viewing that data on a 10" screen instead of a 4" screen.
I imagine you feel Comcast should charge me an extra $20 for every computer on my wireless network? Because in that case those multiple computers are certainly increasing my bandwidth usage (as multiple users are using them), as opposed to the iPhone/iPad situation where I am using only one device at a time.
Correct. You also don't pay for unlimited data, at least not with the plans that allow tethering. You are paying for a fixed amount. How you distribute that allocation data should be up to you, with no additional costs.
Rippppppppppppp Offffffffffffffffffff!
HIGHWAY ROBBERY!
$20 extra / month just so I can utilize on another device what I already pay $25 / month for?!! WHAT A FLIPPING RIP OFF! AT&T needs to DIE!
PURE EXTORTION! AND APPLE IS AN ACCOMPLICE!
HIGHWAY ROBBERY!
$20 extra / month just so I can utilize on another device what I already pay $25 / month for?!! WHAT A FLIPPING RIP OFF! AT&T needs to DIE!
PURE EXTORTION! AND APPLE IS AN ACCOMPLICE!
Last edited:
An extra $20 to tether/hotspot? F-you. It's none of your business how or when I use my device. You're providing a dummy pipe connection to the internet. It's almost an invasion of privacy trying to tell us how we can use our internet that we're already paying for. Next thing you're gonna tell me is I have to pay an extra fee to use it when in bed.
Having to JB to get full control of your own device that you're already paying for is quite sad.
Having to JB to get full control of your own device that you're already paying for is quite sad.