No, no it is not. Be careful with that word "included".
Say you want to buy some transportation from me.
- You want a motorcycle. I charge you a $100 monthly "freeway fee".
- Your significant other wants a Suburban. I charge you a $400 monthly "freeway fee".
- I give you a gas charge card.
I then proceed to tell you in big red bold letters on flyers plastered all over the lot:
Did I give you free gas? No. I simply hid the charge you'd normally pay the gas station in the "freeway fee" that I charged you. If you end up using less than $500 worth of gas, well guess what? I pocket that cash. Both AT&T and Verizon are doing the same basic thing.
A better way to say this is that under the Share plan, you're forced to have hotspot whether you want it or not, forced to pay for it whether you use it or not, but instead of saying they're charging for Mobile Hotspot, they simply created an "access fee" fundamentally equal to the old Hotspot charge. That helps them avoid lawsuits in case a court says they can't charge for hotspots.