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For those that think Tethering shouldn't incur an additional fee....
- Thread starter samcraig
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Exactly how it is, which is why the OP's conclusion is flawed. The only device connecting to the network is the phone (whether it's being used to tether or not).
His argument isn't flawed -- he's saying you paid for unlimited data on the iPhone. Not on your computer.
His argument is logical, although I don't agree with it.
I think we should be allowed to tether up to the allotted 5GB. If they are giving us "unlimited" but really saying it's only 5 GB, then I really don't see a problem with using 5 GB of data regardless of how you use it.
His argument is logical, although I don't agree with it.
I think we should be allowed to tether up to the allotted 5GB. If they are giving us "unlimited" but really saying it's only 5 GB, then I really don't see a problem with using 5 GB of data regardless of how you use it.
that's reasonable but then the phones should be paying the same data rates as the broadband cards.
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Why? Isn't 5 GB on a computer the same as 5 GB on a phone? It seems more than reasonable if they are 1) being very misleading (if not lying) by claiming it's unlimited when it really isn't and 2) the user is accepting this false claim of unlimited and still adhering to this 'soft cap'
I see no problem with AT&T coming out and saying "Listen, you don't really have unlimited -- look in the fine print. If you tether, and go over your 5 GB without a tethering plan, you are going to get charged a lot."
dagomike said:
Why? Isn't 5 GB on a computer the same as 5 GB on a phone? It seems more than reasonable if they are 1) being very misleading (if not lying) by claiming it's unlimited when it really isn't and 2) the user is accepting this false claim of unlimited and still adhering to this 'soft cap'
I see no problem with AT&T coming out and saying "Listen, you don't really have unlimited -- look in the fine print. If you tether, and go over your 5 GB without a tethering plan, you are going to get charged a lot."
ATT charge $60 the broadband cards. They charge $30 for phone. I'm guessing the differences is first they're bundling you with voice, but also on average phone customers are going to use use way less bandwidth as the cards.
So, if the logic is we should be treated like the broadband cards, then it seems perfectly reasonable that we're charged the same.
When I lived in Poland my ISP actually charged for more than two devices on one network. As insane as it sounds some companies tried to do this. I of course just got a router and cloned all my MAC addresses.
So yeah, such crazy ideas are in play at some businesses. Obviously I wasn't paying for my bandwidth but the amount of devices I chose to use (they also had a hard monthly cap).
That was the dumbest company policy I ever heard of. I didn't have an iPhone at the time but if I had I would have had to pay for an extra device on my home network.
Of course it was in the contract that I never read. When did writing something into a contract give a company the moral high ground?
Sure when you tether you piggyback devices but it is the ultimate amount of data that is a carrier's concern. If I choose to use my iPhone as a wifi router it isn't even tethering anyway. I am not sure of the fine print but even Apple wasn't sure of this as Netshare was approved for a short while.
It seems to me the OP just wanted to be self righteous and start a fight.
Wow this is a little ridiculous. I understand AT&T wanting to charge for tethering because I'm sure ppl would use more data if they could use it on their computer. BUT... We are paying for UNLIMITED data. If I wanted to I could use my phone 24/7 for an entire month and use a ridiculous amount of data for only $30. That is the plan we are paying for. Using your computer for that same data does not use more, its just a little easier. If they can tell us not to tether, then should they be allowed to tell us not to use headphones or attach a projector, or your friend can't look up something on google on your phone??? Where does it stop? Tethering should be allowed no question
This argument doesn't work either. With an Air Card you're paying for a second independent data stream in addition to the cost of the card and the technical support overhead. These rate plans are priced rather high by today's standards, and I suspect AT&T will not lower prices for as long as they can get away with it.
With iPhone you're required to buy a voice plan first. The minimum cost is $40. Then add the iPhone data plan. That's another $30. Then let's assume AT&T charges us another $60 for tethering. Now we're paying $130 per month. Even if tethering is priced at $30, we're still paying $100 per month.
If the basic Air Card rate plan is $60 per month, it's cheaper than the basic iPhone tethering plan.
I agree though I'd like to see a minimum of 10 GB per month. I checked my data usage on the new iPhone 3GS, and found that my phone has already downloaded 3GB. That's 3GB in just a matter of 1 week without tethering and without any video downloads!
Also, I would say that the OP's argument isn't "logical" as much as it is artificial. A tethered data plan is no different from a standard data plan. The only valid justification for putting a price on tethering is to guard against bandwidth abusers, and therefore it makes sense to allow up to X gigabytes of tethered data exchange.
However, bandwidth can easily be abused on the iPhone itself. We already have a large number of iPhone videos being uploaded to YouTube, and as I indicated, my phone has already received 3GB of data in 1 week without any abusive surfing on my part.
5GB is a hard cap now, tethering or not. You hit 5GB of data with the iPhone and a temp data block will be put on your account. Try it if you don't believe me
Sounds like a fantasy to me. I have a dataconnect card for $60. If your scenario was offered I'd ditch the card -- which only comes with a 5 gig cap. (btw, when I get to about 3.5 gigs AT&T sends me an email saying I'm approaching my limits. Whenever I go over the limit they charge me.)
Tethering could be some people's worst nightmare if they abuse it. Because, trust me, AT&T will monitor accounts. People will get one warning and then they'll get charged.
And then we'll have a whole new category of posts: "WTF? My AT&T bill is DOUBLE!!!"
Lol.
If both 1 and 2 are true I do not in fact have to accept tethering your conclusion. First of all, number 2 isn't even a logical step in the argument. When you tether you can not use both devices which refutes your second assumption and thus invalidates your argument.
How does tethering increase bandwidth? You can get 3.2 Mbps with your iPhone but suddenly when you tether they service you with 7.2 Mbps? No. Bandwidth is the rate at which you recieve data and it's independant of whether or not you are tethering. We pay for 5 GB per month. If they are concerned that tethering surpases the limit, it is well within their power to shut off a user's data when they exceed the cap (of the "unlimited" plan, no less). He'll, they can't even provide the 3.2 Mbps they have been advertising for over a year!
Yes, Tethering is in terms of service. It is time for the terms of service to change. You can be assured that it won't change until enough users are doing it anyways. Look at what P-2-P file sharing did to the music industry. The model of music distribution didn't change until file sharing was already mainstream.
My iPhone has already downloaded 3GB in 1 week. Capping the tethering plan at 5GB is rather worthless so it should not incur any additional fee!
If you ditched your Air Card, AT&T would still make money, perhaps even more so because the iPhone is a much greater source of revenue than the Air Card. As I've already mentioned, AT&T could forfeit their Air Card business and still increase their revenues and profits.
Not if no further data flows once the limit is reached. That's my preference by a mile. When the tethering cap is reached, allow the user an option to cut off the feature automatically.
Not if simple data cutoffs are applied.
How? I already have an iPhone. You think offering free tethering will attract more customers?
My preference too. But they don't allow it on a data card. If they do on the iPhone my bet is the limit will be 5 gigs.
Mind you, then all we'd have are ignorant threads saying: "WTF? Why can't I surf the friggin' web!!!"
I'm sorry, I'm not contributing to this thread at all. What is the point of this reply? It made me laugh a bit.
All networks speeds and coverage vary depending on where you are. If anyone doesn't understand that, then they are either:
A. dense
or
B. kidding themselves.
As far as tethering is concerned, with a bandwidth cap I think it should be free. Otherwise, they'll do what they do.
Of course...imagine advertising the ability to tether your iPhone for up to X GB/month at no extra cost. Those who would be going to Sprint for the Palm Pre or to Verizon for the LG du jour or for the Samsung du jour might go to AT&T instead.
AT&T's Air Card business might not suffer too much either if there are Air Card users whose costs are paid directly by their employers. I would think that a significant portion of Air Card users are mobile professionals who don't pay for the card themselves. That's certainly the case at the Fortune 500 company I work for.
Actually, the point is not whether AT&T could attract more iPhone buyers, but that the iPhone represents a more significant revenue stream than the Air Card. AT&T could forfeit the Air Card business (i.e. exit that business altogether) and still see their quarterly revenues and profits rise. Therefore, it is okay to introduce a zero-cost iPhone tethering plan (up to X GB/month) because it won't really impact the bottom line (it won't really cannibalize revenue), but could, instead, improve the bottom line as more customers flock to the iPhone. Feed the revenue-giant at the expense of the revenue-dwarf.
How is that relevant? Do broadband cards have a 5GB limit? No, that is truly unlimited. So what's your point?