iPhone 4/iOS 4 Tethering Email AT&T CEO

[GilsMethod]

I just had someone post a comment on my blog saying that they emailed Stephenson, the AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson about enabling tethering and loosing the unlimited data plan and he says the CEO's assistant called him up,

I send an email to ATT CEO, Mr. Stephenson complaining about giving up unlimited data on the iPhone4 in order to get tethering. I got a call from his assistant and she told me that mine was the first complain they receive from customers regarding this issue.

I did tell her that there were several websites discussing this issue and many ATT customers were upset about giving up their unlimited data plan in exchange for tethering.

My recommendation is start writing to the CEO and complain. Perhaps if many customer do so, they will reverse their policiy.

If anyone wants ATT CEO email address here they are:
rs2982@att.com
randall.stephenson@att.com

After reading this I went ahead and emailed the CEO as well and maybe we should all do the same...It sucks that existing 3GS customers have to give up unlimited data plans in order to enable tethering. If we are forced to honor a contract with ATT for two years maybe they should too.

Added the following section:

Here's the email I sent to him...

Mr. Stephenson,

I've been a happy AT&T customer since September of 2009, I recently signed up for U-Verse and I'm loving it. I even moved my wife from Sprint to AT&T so that she could enjoy the iPhone and the great service we experience here in Miami, FL, so you could say that I am a happy AT&T customer and I value your services. In a recent software update for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, Apple enabled the feature which allows users to tether their iPhone to another device that can use the iPhone's data connection. The problem with this feature is that AT&T requires that users like myself with an Unlimited Data plan give up our plans for the new tiered data plans that AT&T is offering. I understand that the data plans changed so that customers who don't use a large amount data aren't saddled for the price of an unlimited data plan....I understand your motive for tiered pricing, however this does not justify forcing existing customers who simply want to add the tethering feature and still have a contract to change their plans to the new tiered pricing structure while forfeiting the unlimited data plan.

I believe it is a poor business decision to penalize existing customers who want to use tethering by forcing them into the tiered data plan when they already have an unlimited data plan. I know others feel the same way, it is an actively discussed topic on my blog and in popular forums.
http://www.gilsmethod.com/enable-tethering-ios4-give-unlimited-plan/
http://www.losttv-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69429
http://theappleblog.com/2010/06/02/...thering-cuts-price-and-quality-of-3g-service/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/926544/
I hope that you consider my concern and that of others regarding this issue. Thank you for your time.

 

[UngratefulNinja]

Well...you did start a new contract with the iphone 4. ATT allowed you to keep your unlimited data, even though they didn't have to. So it's not accurate to say that you upheld your agreement of a 2 year contract and they're not. They're not changing your plan in the middle of the contract.

 

[jgomez65]

Well...you did start a new contract with the iphone 4. ATT allowed you to keep your unlimited data, even though they didn't have to. So it's not accurate to say that you upheld your agreement of a 2 year contract and they're not. They're not changing your plan in the middle of the contract.

What if you just upgraded your old iPhone 3G or 3GS to the iOS 4?, you are still using the same current contract, but ATT is still forcing you to downgrade the data plan if you want tethering.

 

[UngratefulNinja]

What if you just upgraded your old iPhone 3G or 3GS to the iOS 4?, you are still using the same current contract, but ATT is still forcing you to downgrade the data plan if you want tethering.

You're right! In that instance, I stand corrected

 

[GilsMethod]

What if you just upgraded your old iPhone 3G or 3GS to the iOS 4?, you are still using the same current contract, but ATT is still forcing you to downgrade the data plan if you want tethering.

That is exactly what happened to me. I have a 3gs from original contract and a new iPhone 4 contract that I got for my wife. The 3GS contract is the one I'm complaining about...thanks for the feedback though.