But I have a real moral dilemma with AT&T. Like the above posters pointed out, how is it moral for them to charge me (exorbitantly) to access my already-paid-for data on a second device? Can you imagine if Comcast charged you for every computer in your house that shared the Internet via wi-fi or hardwired connections? A riot would ensue. Yet AT&T is able to do exactly the same thing without major protest?
There should be a class-action lawsuit over the tethering issue. One, I can't tether an iPad even if I paid for a tethering plan. I have to buy a separate data plan for the iPad. And even if I could tether the iPad, AT&T wants almost as much as for a standalone data plan for the iPad anyway just for the privilege of accessing my already-paid-for data on a second device.
Criminal.
Before I begin, let me say that I agree with most of what you have said.
HOWEVER...
...the issue is that AT&T's data pricing structures are built around assumptions of a certain level of data use, and the fact that you can only reasonably use so much from a smartphone.
A tablet allows just a bit more...
A laptop or "full" computer allows even more...
If AT&T gave a price for all-you-can-eat wireless data that you could use via your smartphone on
any device, I can guarantee you it would NOT cost $30/mo (or even the monthly rates of the current tiered structure).
It would more likely be at least double that, because it would be supporting hundreds of millions of dollars in network upgrades to handle the increased traffic.
Sure, there's a "because they can" and profit-motivation aspect to why AT&T charges more for tethering, or for each device. So let's just say regulators ordered AT&T to provide data for any/all devices, and "free" tethering to tablets and laptops. That won't happen, but let's just say it did -- the data plan would promptly jump to about $50/month or more.
There are very real backend costs to allowing more sophisticated devices to share the connection; that's because those more sophisticated devices are going to likely be using a lot more data.
Android 2.2 will begin allowing carriers to selectively disable the hotspot functionality on phones, and every US carrier is going to charging extra for hotspot/tethering functionality. (Yes, I know there are a handful of regional carriers and various historical plans/handsets/etc. that run counter to this, but generally speaking, official tethering/hotspot functionality, even if there are "other ways" you can do it, is generally $30/month more.)
Home broadband providers give you one pipe for many devices because they've build out infrastructure that supports it, and you're paying for it. They only worry about the 1-2% of their customers that are very massive data users. Well, that bar is MUCH lower for wireless carriers, and thus it's easy to restrict it by making tethering/hotspot functionality an additional cost, or recouping data fees from each device.
I know this isn't the answer people want to hear, but it's the truth.
