U.S. Carriers Cracking Down on Android Hotspot Tethering Apps

[pdjudd]

lol at those "u signed the contract" blablabla, its not like u have a choice, it should be left out from the damn contract u sign from begin with just like here in germany

Yes you do. It's called "don't sign the contract" Take it or leave it approaches are quite common in the world of contracts.

Cell phones are not considered a human right that carriers must provide to everybody.

 

[sdugoten]

There is a big difference between paying more for service that costs the carriers more and paying for a service/feature that doesn't cost the carriers anything.

America is HUGE compared to Hong Kong to Europe so it costs the carriers far more to get coverage.

Perhaps you might want to compare ..say San Fran or Newyork city to Hong Kong. City to City comparison seems reasonable, right? America is huge, However I don't see a reason why they can't invest enough money to get San Fran with better connection speed at a lower cost given the population is dense enough to cover the cost. Japan is big enough? Their land line speed and 3G network is pretty damn fast and cheap.

My whole point is...getting 50 states all cover with uber 3G speed at low cost is tough, but getting a city such as San Fran or Newyork city should't be hard. They are not doing it because it's just no incentive to do so. Competition is the key.

 

[D4F]

US is really going backwards. Here in Europe I have a HTC desire and iP4 both natively having tethering option... and it works

 

[bushido]

Yes you do. It's called "don't sign the contract" Take it or leave it approaches are quite common in the world of contracts.

Cell phones are not considered a human right that carriers must provide to everybody.

thx god not every one has this attitude ... people were bitching about paying extra for tethering here and NO ONE even argued "but its in the contract BS" and boom, few months later it got changed. just bc something is in a obvs greedy network contract doesnt mean it shouldnt be changed or makes it right.

this "i won't complain cuz i as one can't do anything about it anyway" approach makes me sick

 

[mstrze]

thx god not every one has this attitude ... people were bitching about paying extra for tethering here and NO ONE even argued "but its in the contract BS" and boom, few months later it got changed. just bc something is in a obvs greedy network contract doesnt mean it shouldnt be changed or makes it right.

this "i won't complain cuz i as one can't do anything about it anyway" approach makes me sick

But by not signing you ARE doing something about it: Hitting the provider's bottom line and that, possibly more than anything else, will lead them to make changes.

 

[steadysignal]

I don't really get this... You already pay fees for the data - why do they care for how you use it?

+1 - correct. it should not matter but since the fear is there will be no bandwidth left after the geeks have their way, they support moves like this.

 

[morespce54]

...One of the main promotional points of Android as its popularity has soared has been the unregulated nature of the app marketplaces for the platform. As opposed to Apple's belief that customers are better served by a marketplace in which Apple serves as the gatekeeper to ensure that apps meet certain standards, Android has been much more of a free-for-all with developers free to release nearly any type of application for use on compatible devices....
Users can of course work around carrier restrictions with methods known as "sideloading" that allow users to install apps through unapproved sources, but most casual users are undoubtedly sticking to mainstream, authorized marketplaces such as the Android Market for their needs.

That's funny...

 

[cmwade77]

You know, you can always manually install the App on Android or use the Amazon App Store, Easy Tether (it's only USB though) is still there. Competition is always a good thing, as the Amazon App Store shows.

 

[Young Spade]

+1 - correct. it should not matter but since the fear is there will be no bandwidth left after the geeks have their way, they support moves like this.

Well yea... I mean but they ultimately want the money from users. What is it, 20-25 bucks? I'm assuming there are at least 100,000 tetherers. I mean... that's lowballing it by a huge margin, but that's already 2-2.5 million right there on TOP of the data bill we HAVE to have for owning a smartphone. They know what they're doing.

 

[rjohnstone]

In my opinion, and that of Websters dictionary, I have an unlimited data plan, therefor I already do pay for it.

Oh if only I had the dough, I would sue AT&T into the ground. A decent lawyer and fair judge would find against AT&T for the use of the word unlimited and their unfair anti-consumer practices that have followed.

AT&T can do whatever it wants, but it NEVER should have used the word unlimited, because theyve opened themselves up for failure in a future lawsuit. Someone will do it.

Wrong... and this is why no "good" lawyer would take your case.
You have unlimited access to data using the approved device and methods agreed to in the contract.
Discussion over, case dismissed.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

And why is this on mac rumors.

Does it really matter what the competition does.

Well seeing how in 6 pages I have yet to see the logical answer to this I will give it.

It is because it shows the US carries are cracking down on tethering and going after them.
Now there is still an easy way to get said apps threw market with out sideload.
Put your phone in airplane mode. Then turn on wifi and boom full market access while in airplane mode.

 

[Erwin-Br]

But by not signing you ARE doing something about it: Hitting the provider's bottom line and that, possibly more than anything else, will lead them to make changes.

And they will know exactly what to change by reading your mind?

You have to open your mouth to be heard, sir.