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Internet Tethering for AT&T Customers to Finally Arrive with iPhone OS 4.0?

If it does come, it is going to be the same amount as the Blackberry plan which is $30.

Please don't fool yourselves wishing that it will be free.

AT&T are late to the party on this one.
 
Not likely....

Not to be a Debbie Downer but it will most likely get blocked when it goes live like many times before.

But then maybe it will be available (for large somes of money - nothing is free) and AT&T's network will experience network failures.

It will be interesting.
 
Michael73 said:
I don't want to hi-jack this thread but I do have a question.

I'm traveling overseas from the US to England next month for 8 days. AT&T suggested I get the World Traveller package for $5.99 that lowers the voice rate from $1.29/min to $0.99/min and the Data Global Add-on which starts at $24.99 for 20MB of data.

But, since I'm outside the US can I tether my iphone with my MBP? If so, I may need a lot more than 20MB of data for the time I'm away! :eek:
Click to expand...

Best to buy a prepaid sim with a data plan in England. I've done this in Japan with my iPhone.
 
Had enough of AT&T

Why would OS 4.0 matter to AT&T? OS 3.0 supported tethering and we've been without tethering for a year now when most other carriers around the world have provided it.

I for one have had enough of AT&T's inconsistent, unreliable, generally poor quality service in the areas I frequent and my next phone will not be with AT&T even if that means dropping the iPhone when its time to upgrade.

If Verizon does not have the iPhone when its time to upgrade I will be leaving the iPhone, likely in favor of some flavor of Android phone.

I got a WiFi iPad (and Verizon MiFi card) for the same reason and won't be making any 3G iPad purchase thats tied to AT&T. Again depending on what an Andriod tablet looks like, it may replace my iPad when the time comes for improved connectivity.
 
alent1234 said:
How much $$$$$ will it cost?
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Rothgarr said:
Anyone happen to know what other carriers offer tethering and how much they charge for it?
Click to expand...

That is the $1m question. While it's great in theory that tethering might now be an option, will it be an affordable one.

Both Sprint and Verizon charge $30/mo which is steep in my mind b/c unlike using 3G on the iPad or a MiFi you are draining your phone's battery pretty quickly and not gaining additional bandwidth for the $, just the right to use it in a different way.

Apple/ATT could really start stave off Android if they charged something more reasonable like $10 but that won't happen because ATT couldn't support the extra use and it also would undermine its main $60 3G data plan.

So expect it to cost $30/mo.
 
OK... so please don't kill me here.... I actually LIKE the sound of AT&T taking control over tethering to their network, and yes, even putting in controls to stop tools such as mywi. So before you get steamed, let me explain:

I am a MyWi user on two phones, I am also a USB modem customer at $60/month for 5GB. When AT&T services are absconded with tools such as MyWi, they have no revenue generated but still incur a higher than normal bandwidth utilization.

So my theory is, if everyone who is using their iPhone as a modem today started paying for it, AT&T may actually get enough revenue to keep the network updated to support the load.

I would be more than happy with an iPad like plan for iPhone tethering.
 
Rothgarr said:
Anyone happen to know what other carriers offer tethering and how much they charge for it?
Click to expand...
For comparison:
T-Mobile Germany: +5 EUR (additional 100MB) or +20EUR (additional 1GB)
T-Mobile Austria: free
Orange Austria: +2 EUR
 
I've never used tethering because I haven't needed it.

Is this like making your iPod Touch / iPhone (WiFi mode) into an Airport Express? Same idea?

Why would you need it if the iPad already has WiFi? I'm not sure I get it :eek:
 
From what I remember it was last year or so that a update came out and it had a carrier update that if you went into settings it had the option to "tether" of course ATT didn't turn it on or offer it..

So, I'll take this with a grain of salt.

Next, obvious question which I'm sure has been speculated through out this thread is: PRICE

I'm going on record and saying if/when they do offer tethering it's going to basically be a prison gangbang with duck tape starting at $30 similar to the iPad 3g plan.

$30 for the iPhone data plan should include tethering in some capacity whether it be a monthly allowance of data! And if you want to opt in for more data usage then come up with a monthly plan.
 
mac8867 said:
So my theory is, if everyone who is using their iPhone as a modem today started paying for it, AT&T may actually get enough revenue to keep the network updated to support the load.

I would be more than happy with an iPad like plan for iPhone tethering.
Click to expand...

Yes, get rid if the "one size fits all" data plan. Charge people for what they use, not what they conceivably could use. That would be the equitable way to solve the issue both for consumers and ATT.

Month after month I use about 250MB of data on my iPhone. On an iPad that would cost me $15. On an iPhone it costs me twice that. Basically I'm paying for data I do not use & will not use based on my usage history over 3 years.

So what ATT should do is have data plans just like they have voice plans. 250MB would be $15. 5GB would be $30. Unlimited plus tethering $60. Then people are paying for what they are using and I'm not subsiding people using data in the GBs.
 
Anonymous Freak said:
I'm jailbroken, and just use the benm mobileconfig. No reason to even run any jailapps.
Click to expand...

But the BenM mobileconfig doesn't allow you to tether the iphone to ipad via bluetooth. Correct me if i'm wrong!

I thought iPad wifi only doesnt support tethering i.e using the 3G from your iphone to connect the ipad when there's no wifi available in an area!

Is anyone using the BenM config on their iphone to tether to the ipad wifi? It works with my laptop but i dont know for the ipad since i dont have one yet.

If i can tether the ipad wifi, i'll go get one tomorrow. The only reason i didnt get the ipad is because i thought we cant tether the ipad!

Cheers
 
mac8867 said:
OK... so please don't kill me here.... I actually LIKE the sound of AT&T taking control over tethering to their network, and yes, even putting in controls to stop tools such as mywi. So before you get steamed, let me explain:
I am a MyWi user on two phones, I am also a USB modem customer at $60/month for 5GB. When AT&T services are absconded with tools such as MyWi, they have no revenue generated but still incur a higher than normal bandwidth utilization.
So my theory is, if everyone who is using their iPhone as a modem today started paying for it, AT&T may actually get enough revenue to keep the network updated to support the load.
I would be more than happy with an iPad like plan for iPhone tethering.
Click to expand...

Yeah because that is what big business does.... they take their monster profits and put it right back into their network..... no big executive bonuses or payouts to stock holders.

Ok, sarcasm aside...... I will not pay to tether because I already pay a premium just so I can use an iPhone, which is of course is my choice and I do so gladly. I pay for unlimited internet for my phone. Now I know others will say if you tether you're not using your phone blah blah blah. Of course I'm using my phone it's to tether my laptop. Now I know this breaks at&t's rules r/t use but you know what? I don't give a hooties cow. They have a pretty good profit margin and should of been building up their network at a monster rate the day they signed a contract with Apple to service iPhone. If they would of just put the time and money into it already they would have more people joining at&t, which means more money coming in, which means they can continue to improve their network AND give out those huge bonuses and dividends. Tether forever!! Nuff said.
 
army91c said:
Wow, major fail! Sorry to burst YOUR virtual bubble but you don't know what you're talking about. Now, if you said there is no way to tether iPad to iPhone without a jailbreak you would be getting a shiny star...... sense you didn't type that no star for you.


Don't do it folks, you will be greeted with fail! It's called miwi. It CAN tether wifi iPad to iPhone.

Been tethering my i's for a while now and won't be giving att any more of my $$ for their blessings. I will continue to tether rogue.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming MyWi is a glorified Internet Connection Sharing app for JAILBROKEN devices only. I answered a question, that did not concern jailbroken devices. Go rogue if you want...that's your deal, not mine. I'm just speaking the truth to the question that was asked...not implied!
 
all of this means nothing if you cannot achieve the maximum download and upload speeds of 3G. I'll pay up to $30 a month but only if ATT can deliver on speed and if there is someway to share the connection with an ipad. I have been waiting for tethering since the introduction of the iphone back in 07. I guess its better late than never, but the final deciding factor is how much will they charge? Also the performance and level of restrictions will be determining factors if ATT hopes to hold on to the iphone market.
 
Rothgarr said:
Anyone happen to know what other carriers offer tethering and how much they charge for it?
Click to expand...

Chupa Chupa said:
Both Sprint and Verizon charge $30/mo
Click to expand...



It is free on Verizon not $30 as Chupa Chupa said.
I just got the Palm Pre with FREE tethering.
I still have like 25 days to decide if I'm gonna keep it. I hope we hear about AT&T pricing before then or it's bye bye iPhone..
 
eastercat said:
Because AT&T is a corporation, not a non-profit group. Corporations are here to make money. They're not here to make you happy. If they do, it's just incidental.
Anyway, don't you think the data usage of tetherers is going to increase, to the point where it puts a strain on AT&T's network? Don't you think dealing with that strain is going to cost money? Well, AT&T is going to make sure they charge you for that. The question is, how much?
Since I don't take my notebook with me everywhere I go, I don't need to make sure that I always have a connection for my computer. That being said, it'd be nice if they offered something similar to the iPad's plan. One would be a limited amount of data for a relatively low price and an all you can eat plan. If I don't have to sign up for a separate contract, I'd be willing to go official whenever I do need the tethering.
Click to expand...

I have to say this. We already pay for so called unlimited data. Cell phones have been able to connect to laptops for a few years now to use as a modem. It has never cost anything. I do understand they need to make a profit, but when is enough, enough?
They need to stop calling it unlimited if its not.

ATT has made so many mistakes. I wonder if they ever will fix them all.
 
shady825 said:
It is free on Verizon not $30 as Chupa Chupa said.
I just got the Palm Pre with FREE tethering.
I still have like 25 days to decide if I'm gonna keep it. I hope we hear about AT&T pricing before then or it's bye bye iPhone..
Click to expand...

Sorry dude. That is not the case. Verizon tethering is $30 w/ BB or Android phone. OK, OK, it's free if you have a Palm WebOS phone, but c'mon who has one of those?

Update: Seems Verizon is giving a price break to Droid Incredible users too: $10 or $25/mo depending on your voice plan.
 
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