Tethering

[NannyJordyn]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I am looking into iPhone tethering for both myself and my employer, a we are both planning on getting the iPhone 5 when it is released.
Just have a few question, as my employer will likely cancel the Internet plan she currently has.
Edit: Ping 44ms, DL speed 0.24mbps, UL speed 0.26mbps
I'm sure the iPhone tethering can't be any worse than that, right?

Here are the plans that we can select from.
I will almost definitely be getting the Unlimited Plus plan. I think my employer would like to go for one of the cheaper of the two plans, if possible.

1. How far will 250mb of tethering get someone?
2. What are the tethering speeds like? I know this depends on the 3G in the area, but was just looking for a general idea.
3. How does tethering two computers at once affect the speeds? I'll let my employer tether from my Unlimited Plus iPhone if it doesn't slow down my own tethering too much.

 

[Fleon85]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I am looking into iPhone tethering for both myself and my employer, a we are both planning on getting the iPhone 5 when it is released.
Just have a few question, as my employer will likely cancel the Internet plan she currently has. It's terrible. Takes 8+ hours to download a 45 minute SD video on iTunes.

1. How far will 250mb of tethering get someone? I will most likely get the unlimited plus plan, with unlimited tethering, but my employer does not wish to spend this much on a phone, so it would be nice to know how far the basic 250mb of tethering will get her.
I've told her she can do all of her iTunes downloads on the iPhone itself, and that she probably won't need the computer to have a connection as much as she does now.
2. What are the tethering speeds like? I'm pretty sure they'll be at least triple the speeds we are currently experiencing.
3. How does tethering two computers at once affect the speeds? If it's not too slow, I might let her tether from my iPhone when I'm here (which is most of the time as I'm a live-in nanny). If it'll slow things down too much I probably wont mention it, though.

That's all I can think of at the moment, thanks in advance!

if you want unlimited data you have only one day less with Verizon

 

[NannyJordyn]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

if you want unlimited data you have only one day less with Verizon

I'm not going through Verizon. MTS Allstream is a Manitoba (Canada) carrier that allows for the things I mentioned above.

Been doing my research in here for quite some time, just had a dew questions that I couldn't find clear answers to.

 

[macingman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I am looking into iPhone tethering for both myself and my employer, a we are both planning on getting the iPhone 5 when it is released.
Just have a few question, as my employer will likely cancel the Internet plan she currently has. It's terrible. Takes 8+ hours to download a 45 minute SD video on iTunes.

1. How far will 250mb of tethering get someone? I will most likely get the unlimited plus plan, with unlimited tethering, but my employer does not wish to spend this much on a phone, so it would be nice to know how far the basic 250mb of tethering will get her.
I've told her she can do all of her iTunes downloads on the iPhone itself, and that she probably won't need the computer to have a connection as much as she does now.
2. What are the tethering speeds like? I'm pretty sure they'll be at least triple the speeds we are currently experiencing.
3. How does tethering two computers at once affect the speeds? If it's not too slow, I might let her tether from my iPhone when I'm here (which is most of the time as I'm a live-in nanny). If it'll slow things down too much I probably wont mention it, though.

That's all I can think of at the moment, thanks in advance!

For tethering you need way way more than 250mb. I highly recommend unlimited for tethering. Tethering speeds will be whatever your 3G speeds are so you can test the speed using speed test on your iPhone.

 

[NannyJordyn]

For tethering you need way way more than 250mb. I highly recommend unlimited for tethering. Tethering speeds will be whatever your 3G speeds are so you can test the speed using speed test on your iPhone.

Thank you very much.

Will the 250mb not be okay for just (very) casual tethering? It'll be on an unlimited data plan (most likely), but the tethering will be limited to 250mb. If tethering two computers at a time doesn't slow things down too much, she'll only need to use it on weekends, and even then won't need to use it too often, as most things can be done on the iPhone.

Can't test the 3G at the moment as I don't have an iPhone. Was just looking for a general speed. Figured it would depend on the 3G speeds, but thought I might be able to get an idea of what the speeds might be like.

 

[blueroom]

250MB plans usually don't offer a tethering option.

Ahh just read your iPhone options from MTS, they're crap for tethering.

MTS iPhone data plan

3G isn't all that fast but useable for tethering. You don't want fast with 250MB

 

[NannyJordyn]

250MB plans usually don't offer a tethering option. 1GB is normally the starting point here in Ontario. Who's your phone provider?

3G isn't all that fast but useable for tethering. You don't want fast with 250MB

The 250MB is solely for tethering. I can get a 1GB data plan, unlimited data plan, or unlimited plus data plan. The 1GB and unlimited data plans both come with 250MB of tethering, the unlimited plus data plan comes with unlimited tethering.

MTS Allstream, in Manitoba.

Just edited the results from speedtest.net I got with my current Internet connection into the first post, I'm sure tethering can't be any worse that that. I've seen people posting of getting speeds of 2mbps and more, which is 10x faster than what I'm dealing with right now. Just wanted to see if that sounded about right.

 

[blueroom]

I'd shop around, look for at least a 1GB tethering plan. Unlimited on the iPhone is nearly* useless since it's restricted to non tethered use.

*Might be handy for AYCE Netflix on the wee screen.

 

[Applejuiced]

If you're tethering you will blow thru that 250MB quick.
Up to you though, try it out but if like you said you will disconnect your home internet and use your wireless carriers then that amount of data is very small.

 

[NannyJordyn]

I'd shop around, look for at least a 1GB tethering plan. Unlimited on the iPhone is nearly* useless since it's restricted to non tethered use.

*Might be handy for AYCE Netflix on the wee screen.

Thanks a lot. I'll be sticking with MTS because my mom and step-dad both work for the company. Just thought I'd see if my employer getting one of the cheaper plans would be an option.

 

[hcho3]

250MB is nothing. Watch few youtube videos and it's gone. I highly recommend somewhere around 5GB.

 

[RafaelT]

Gotta agree with everyone else here, 250 is not nearly enough, especially if you are talking about tethering more then one computer.

To give you a better idea of what 250 MB will get you... Let's say the average song you download is 5 MB, that means in a whole month you can only download 50 of them. While mp3's may not be your thing, that is not a lot of data.

 

[NannyJordyn]

I'm not sure if I simply wasn't clear enough, or if people just aren't reading through my post...
I've edited the first post to hopefully be a bit clearer.

Gotta agree with everyone else here, 250 is not nearly enough, especially if you are talking about tethering more then one computer.

To give you a better idea of what 250 MB will get you... Let's say the average song you download is 5 MB, that means in a whole month you can only download 50 of them. While mp3's may not be your thing, that is not a lot of data.

I will be getting an unlimited plan. So tethering from two computers will be done on an unlimited plan.
My employer might not get the unlimited tethering plan, and so when I'm gone for the weekend, she might have to tether occasionally.

How much web browsing does 250mb allow for? Let's say Facebook and the occasional Google search?

250MB is nothing. Watch few youtube videos and it's gone. I highly recommend somewhere around 5GB.

Unfortunately the plans through my carrier are 1GB, Unlimited, and Unlimited Plus. 1GB and Unlimited allow only for 250mb tethering, unlimited plus allows for unlimited tethering. My employer doesn't want to spend $75/month on her phone, though.

If you're tethering you will blow thru that 250MB quick.
Up to you though, try it out but if like you said you will disconnect your home internet and use your wireless carriers then that amount of data is very small.

What I'm wondering is how quickly the 250mb will be gone? I just want to know if this is an option for my employer for the weekends I'm not here

 

[Applejuiced]

What I'm wondering is how quickly the 250mb will be gone? I just want to know if this is an option for my employer for the weekends I'm not here

It all depends how you use it and what you do online.
If you watch a few youtube videos or stream any music, videos or other stuff you can use that up easy in 1 day.
Give it a shot and see what your everage use is.

 

[NannyJordyn]

It all depends how you use it and what you do online.
If you watch a few youtube videos or stream any music, videos or other stuff you can use that up easy in 1 day.
Give it a shot and see what your everage use is.

Lets say for some basic web browsing. Facebook, the occasional Google search?
She can do any of the other things on the iPhone with either the 1GB data plan or unlimited data plan she'll have. Only the tethering is limited to 250mb.

I'm looking into this for my employer, not myself. I don't want to tell her to try to go with the 250mb tethering, and just want to get an idea. Don't want to tell her to get one of the cheaper plans and have her go over.

 

[wordoflife]

Lets say for some basic web browsing. Facebook, the occasional Google search?
She can do any of the other things on the iPhone with either the 1GB data plan or unlimited data plan she'll have. Only the tethering is limited to 250mb.

I'm looking into this for my employer, not myself. I don't want to tell her to try to go with the 250mb tethering, and just want to get an idea. Don't want to tell her to get one of the cheaper plans and have her go over.

Do you have a Mac? Download istat pro and restart your computer. the internet ticker will reset once you restart.

When you are up and running, just simulate the usage that you expect and then go and see how much data you use.

I think 250 MB might be on the low side, but it really depends how you browse the web.

 

[NannyJordyn]

Do you have a Mac? Download istat pro and restart your computer. the internet ticker will reset once you restart.

When you are up and running, just simulate the usage that you expect and then go and see how much data you use.

I think 250 MB might be on the low side, but it really depends how you browse the web.

Thanks for the tip. I might try this myself.
Is there a Windows application that does the same thing?
I have an iMac, but she has a Dell (I think) laptop.

 

[wordoflife]

Thanks for the tip. I might try this myself.
Is there a Windows application that does the same thing?
I have an iMac, but she has a Dell (I think) laptop.

Not that I know of.
I would test this out for you right now, but I have some projects running right now so I can't really restart at the moment, haha.

It'll look like this when you install it, and as I said, resets to 0MB when restarting the computer. When it resets, don't do any unnecessary internet usage or file transfers over the network because it will skew your results.

 

[NannyJordyn]

Not that I know of.
I would test this out for you right now, but I have some projects running right now so I can't really restart at the moment, haha.

It'll look like this when you install it, and as I said, resets to 0MB when restarting the computer. When it resets, don't do any unnecessary internet usage or file transfers over the network because it will skew your results.
Image

Thanks a lot!