Sure some people will do that but most people are already paying for minutes and data usage that they do not use and most will not be trying to use both at the same time.
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 Continues to Delay U.S. iPhone Tethering Due to Concerns About Network Performance
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Sure some people will do that but most people are already paying for minutes and data usage that they do not use and most will not be trying to use both at the same time.
I WILL tell you it's your phone. I live in NC as well, and I have NOT experienced your problems. Perhaps you live way out in the country, or in the mountains. If so, then duh! I live on the border of what is considered out in the country, and I have 3G just fine, and everywhere I travel from home to work to play, no problems. If I travel to far out in the country where there is NOTHING but farms, homes and ponds, then I do just have edge or sometimes nothing, but that's what I would expect being out in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
So AT&T should provide a service for free? That every other provider charges for? This makes no sense. AT&T is a For profit company. Not a Not for profit. And your saying that this is a service the hardware provides? That makes no sense. If it was only the hardware that provided the service. Then you wouldn't need any network behind it.
AT&T's network provides the service and therefore they should be able to benefit from people using it.
I agree with your sentiment that AT&T should be able to charge whatever they like for their services... BUT if you already have a data plan, there is no additional service provided by AT&T to enable tethering, its just them controlling what device connects to their network.
I have a bold 9700 with the tethering plan and when it broke and I had to switch to a backup (dumb) phone, I would often take my sim and stick it in a 3G usb stick and connect my laptop up on the road. The decision by AT&T to limit tethering (altogether) on the iphone is only enabled by their exclusivity in carrying the iphone.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
That's the (consumer) ignorance of the contract model. By accepting phone service by contractual commitment, they agree to a certain level of service, and agree to pay monthly for that level of service for a long time. In turn, there is practically NO incentive to AT&T to enhance the network, as the ONLY driver is a periodic contract renewal.
Enhancing the network involves hard costs, which cuts into short-term margins, which makes shareholders unhappy.
While AT&T has a lock on the iPhone, they get to sell them anyway- in spite of the limitations in service. Sure user's complain, but not enough to do something about it that would force the issue (such as quit the contract and dump AT&T). So AT&T gets paid anyway, sees sales growth anyway, makes shareholders happy anyway, etc.
On the other hand, sell new toys and make new revenues. Enhance service for existing toys and make the same revenues. Which will they choose every time?
I was in Vegas last September and on the strip my iPhone reception was the absolute WORST. In Ohio though it's not too bad.
Interesting question. Why would you guess that I do (know)? I never claimed to know precisely how many. The exact number is irrelevant. I'll play with you though. Is it unreasonable to suggest that maybe there are thousands of active PC card subscribers? How about the number of hacked iPhones (jailbroken)? Hundreds? Thousands?
My point is that considerable bandwidth is already being used on the network by PC cards and jailbroken iPhones ... with no discernible degradation of service. I'm suggesting that enabling the feature on the iPhone won't significantly impact resources on their 3G network. To this end ... I'm also tired of listening to the apologists and the corporate excuses waiting for an upgrade to a network that will probably never come.
What's funny here is that I can pop my SIM out of my iPhone 3G, and put it into my old Motorola RAZR, and *presto* I can tether that to my iBook.
Meanwhile, Apple will probably sell 3G iPads by the millions, and AT&T is *drooling* at the prospect of all those $14.99/$29.99 data plans. And yet, they expect us to believe that the network can't handle the traffic from a tethered iPhone? Seriously?
Look, it's not like everyone and Bob are going to use their tethered iPhone as their sole access to the internet - and if they do, they're idiots and deserve to pay through the nose for it. All I want is the ability to get online when I'm at a meeting where I don't have (or want) access to the client's wireless network. For me, that's probably a couple of hours worth of bandwidth a month, and probably well under the cap that's on the $14.99 iPad plan. I'm already forking over $30.00 a month for unlimited data on my iPhone. I'd gladly pay the extra $14.99 to get 250 MB (or whatever it is) of tethered transfer.
Are you listening, AT&T? Can you hear me now? Hello? Anyone? Bueller?
Meanwhile, Apple will probably sell 3G iPads by the millions, and AT&T is *drooling* at the prospect of all those $14.99/$29.99 data plans. And yet, they expect us to believe that the network can't handle the traffic from a tethered iPhone? Seriously?
Look, it's not like everyone and Bob are going to use their tethered iPhone as their sole access to the internet - and if they do, they're idiots and deserve to pay through the nose for it. All I want is the ability to get online when I'm at a meeting where I don't have (or want) access to the client's wireless network. For me, that's probably a couple of hours worth of bandwidth a month, and probably well under the cap that's on the $14.99 iPad plan. I'm already forking over $30.00 a month for unlimited data on my iPhone. I'd gladly pay the extra $14.99 to get 250 MB (or whatever it is) of tethered transfer.
Are you listening, AT&T? Can you hear me now? Hello? Anyone? Bueller?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
It is not "crippling" their product when they sell in record numbers quarter after quarter. Apple wants to sell lots of iPhones. They are. AT&T wants to sell lots of iPhone long-term contracts. They are. Those focused on making money off of the iPhone are making lots of money. Users tolerating disappointments with service by signing up for AT&T contracts anyway are not sending the message that would drive real change. Vote with your wallet, and if enough join you, things will change.
Been tethering since my i Phone was 2 month old via NETSHARE
Been doing it for free. The money these bast**ds charge me for 2 phones, for the service I get, I don't care.
Been doing it for free. The money these bast**ds charge me for 2 phones, for the service I get, I don't care.
And your saying that this is a service the hardware provides? That makes no sense. If it was only the hardware that provided the service. Then you wouldn't need any network behind it.
AT&T's network provides the service and therefore they should be able to benefit from people using it.
Let me clarify. If you read the rest of my post, you'll see that I was already talking about having a network (AT&T) connection via the iPhone. You're already paying for that network connection.
Beyond this point, yes, it is the phone that provides tethering, not the network. How do you think people with jailbroken iPhones on AT&T's network are doing it? I repeat: THIS IS A PHONE FEATURE, NOT A SERVICE FEATURE.
Well, we've are still waiting after more than 3 years in most Europe for TV shows and movies (not even talking about HD), it's somewhat righteous that something ought to be waited in the US as well.
No hard feelings, tethering is pretty cool, I hope you people will get it soon, just as I hope we'll get TV shows and movies here.
I have one word for you (well, actually two words jammed together): BitTorrent.
Only problem is coverage. Check here: http://shop.sprint.com/en/stores/popups/4G_coverage_popup.shtml
Their 4G coverage tool has a drop down menu to select your state, all 11 of them: Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington. Live in one of the other 39? Sorry.
Their 4G area is marked in blue on this map:
You can't actually see it unless you zoom way in. There are a few specks visible in Hawaii, just because of the vastly different scale.
This is why the 'verizon would want to cripple the iphone' statement always cracks me up. It is crippled.
Tethering is a service that should be provided with our iphone's data plan on the at&t network. It's a native feature of the phone and at&t should allow full usage it. We already pay a premium for the associated iphone data plan. At&t (and apple) have made huge profits in the last 3 years (give or take a few months) almost solely due to iphone sales. Hell, it could be argued that at&t wireless is only still around because the iphone saved them! The infrastructure should be upgraded to support the data usage we are all paying for, contractually. At a minimum, set a data cap and a reasonable pricepoint associated with using more data than say 3gb or so.
Up here in Canada, the iPhone works beautifully. Teathering is free on Rogers on data plans over 1gb. My phone has never dropped a call. Unfortunatly, we only have 3 wireless carriers, so they jack up the prices. You can't get an iPhone on any of them without a 3 year contract at $70 a month. The grass is always greener I guess.
AT&T doesn't have to do anything additional for tethering to work. The feature is provided by the hardware/software. Data to and from the WAN (AT&T's network) is still only being sent to and from the initial contracted device. Tethering operates on a LAN, or locally.
AT&T charging for tethering would be like your ISP charging you for using switches and routers on your home network.
Does posting a sentence with an embiggened font size somehow make it more relevant or factual?
So i suppose Texting should be free to? Because if by your defintion since there is nothing additional for it to then should be free to?
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man. And when people are arguing against/misunderstanding the way something technically works, yes, embiggening the font makes it more relevant.
So i suppose Texting should be free to? Because if by your defintion since there is nothing additional for it to then should be free to?
I've honestly never thought of it that way and I admit that you have a valid point. However, I suppose that texting should be free, assuming that you're already paying for an unlimited data plan. Messages are data, not voice.
As our devices turn more and more into full-fledged computers, it's time that our service providers start treating their pricing of their features as such instead of nickel and diming us for individual features. How would you like it if your ISP put a limit on the number of chat messages that you could send per month, or charge you per message sent? These pricing practices seem ridiculous when you know the technology behind the services.
Don't blame it on 3G, blame it on AT&T! The rest of the world tethers just fine on 3G with pretty nice speeds, (on my friends iPhone he usually get speeds around 5-5.5 Mbit/s, which is not bad considering the practical limit is around 6, could get a lot higher if iPhone would support the 14,4 or 21 Mbit/s standards, but you usually have to buy a USB modem for that).
It is possible with current technology, but the problem is that AT&T sucks