Ignorance must be bliss, eh?
Of course they know what you're doing. You HONESTLY believe AT&T doesn't track what you're doing if you're using that much data?
That's naive to think that way.
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Why is AT&T charging me to tether?
- Thread starter CosmoPilot
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Ignorance must be bliss, eh?
Of course they know what you're doing. You HONESTLY believe AT&T doesn't track what you're doing if you're using that much data?
That's naive to think that way.
wow, you guys are really all a bunch of hall-monitors! hahaha
you get so offended like you are at&t. they want to rape you as much as possible, and youre ok with that?
check this out.
i hope to take full advantage, just like that. i am paying $160/mo for cell service, im damn sure going to use it. this is the perk of being "grandfathered". if they want to do anything about it, ill politely give them the finger, walk across the street to t-mobile... with my unlocked iphone, which ill be sure to tell at&t.
if they didnt want to give customers unlimited access, then they shouldnt have offered it. it was a gamble they took, and they lost.
you get so offended like you are at&t. they want to rape you as much as possible, and youre ok with that?
check this out.
i hope to take full advantage, just like that. i am paying $160/mo for cell service, im damn sure going to use it. this is the perk of being "grandfathered". if they want to do anything about it, ill politely give them the finger, walk across the street to t-mobile... with my unlocked iphone, which ill be sure to tell at&t.
if they didnt want to give customers unlimited access, then they shouldnt have offered it. it was a gamble they took, and they lost.
I'm going to have to chime in on this one.
Legal Response: First of, the Data package you bought for your mobile phone is licensed for use only on your mobile phone devise. If you want to also provide the data service to your other devices, such as laptops, ATT wants additional device licensing fee.
Moral Response I think ATT is being greedy on this, I know they are trying to whack their customers over the head and get every penny they can get. The truth is, there truly isn't a additional cost to activate this service, since the mobile device has it already on. On another note, given their average traffic per phone, by enabling free teether, there is a cost implication on their network.
Bottom line, what ATT is doing may be greedy, but isn't illegal what-so-ever. They are selling you data for your mobile phone, not your laptop. They have other plans you can buy for laptop data plans if you want that. In time, this issue will be mute as competition increase among the carriers and before we know it, they will be giving teethers away without fee.
Legal Response: First of, the Data package you bought for your mobile phone is licensed for use only on your mobile phone devise. If you want to also provide the data service to your other devices, such as laptops, ATT wants additional device licensing fee.
Moral Response I think ATT is being greedy on this, I know they are trying to whack their customers over the head and get every penny they can get. The truth is, there truly isn't a additional cost to activate this service, since the mobile device has it already on. On another note, given their average traffic per phone, by enabling free teether, there is a cost implication on their network.
Bottom line, what ATT is doing may be greedy, but isn't illegal what-so-ever. They are selling you data for your mobile phone, not your laptop. They have other plans you can buy for laptop data plans if you want that. In time, this issue will be mute as competition increase among the carriers and before we know it, they will be giving teethers away without fee.
wow, you guys are really all a bunch of hall-monitors! hahaha
you get so offended like you are at&t. they want to rape you as much as possible, and youre ok with that?
check this out.
i hope to take full advantage, just like that. i am paying $160/mo for cell service, im damn sure going to use it. this is the perk of being "grandfathered". if they want to do anything about it, ill politely give them the finger, walk across the street to t-mobile... with my unlocked iphone, which ill be sure to tell at&t.
if they didnt want to give customers unlimited access, then they shouldnt have offered it. it was a gamble they took, and they lost.
And this is why people who have unlimited plans shouldn't tether for free, imagine half a dozen individuals like you in your neighborhood, you'd bring the local cell tower to it's knees.
I have to agree with this
dude 94 gb is a bit freaking excessive, I hope your ass gets caught for clogging up the network
if your going to speed and not get caught you don't drive 160mph
btw I tether for free using miwi but usually average 3-6gbs a month
the guy that uses 1-3 gig a month fee-less tethering is just as guilty as the guy who uses 90 gig. both are going against the policy. so please no holier than thou posts.
i really dont use much data on my phone because of the simple fact coverage sucks beyond reason and when i am home, im on wifi. HOWEVER i was more or less forced into a data package. thus i feel no sympathy for at&t.
when they went over to the tier plans, i started trying to use my data more. all i want to do is get my moneys worth out of it.
in semi related news, this discussion sounds similar to what is going on with the fcc and net neutrality.
i really dont use much data on my phone because of the simple fact coverage sucks beyond reason and when i am home, im on wifi. HOWEVER i was more or less forced into a data package. thus i feel no sympathy for at&t.
when they went over to the tier plans, i started trying to use my data more. all i want to do is get my moneys worth out of it.
in semi related news, this discussion sounds similar to what is going on with the fcc and net neutrality.
right. neither is illegal or against any law, it's just against our contract TOS, where ATT has the right to end our contract, and assess any early termination fees they see put
I can't believe you don't see the difference between 3gbs of tethering data and 94Gbs.
this is why anything good doesn't last long, there are always greedy jerks that abuse the system instead of only taking what they need
I said this in another post but if apple offered an unlimited tethered plan I would pay for it.
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I will tell you right now. AT&T will gladly say bye bye to you. You are costing them a lot of money. They are not making any profit off you.
That 95gig month cost AT&T $570 alone just for you data usage ($30 is about what it cost the carrier for 5 gigs of data)
T-Mobile will throttle your bandwidth heavily after you cross 5 gigs or something like that down to edge speeds. You get unlimited but a very reduced rate.
I see AT&T cracking down on the grandfather abusers like you and will be glad to see you leave the network. It would mean 100's in extra profit for them every month that you are gone.
whats your source for these numbers?
never said anyone was committing any crimes. i doubt at&t would separate policy breakers by varying degrees but i dont work for them so i cant say for sure.
They do it because they can and they can get away with it. They are not alone. Now that Verizon is setting up to get into the Apple mobile market they are setting up the same program. Prices may very but they all want every penny they can squeeze out.
This is not germane to this post but Verizon even charges I believe $10.00 per month to people who have their 4G phones even if you don't have 4G service in your area. Any way that any of them can get an extra buck they will.
If you look closely at Sprint or T-Mobile you will find places where they do the same thing.
To the OP, you may talk to AT&T until you're blue in the face and you won't get any better answer than has been given on here. Your foreign friend was right that you should talk to your representative. However, even this will do no good because Congress has taxed your phone bill and when you pay that extra 20 or so dollars on your phone bill they get to tax it. For them to force AT&T or anyone else to lower their prices or rates in any way means less tax for the government. Now with the present thinking in congress do you think they are going give anyone a tax cut no matter how small?
In the end we have three choices.
1. Don't tether so you don't have to pay.
2. Jail break and tether for free as noted above.
3. Tether and pay the money.
Don't you love the freedom of choice?
This is not germane to this post but Verizon even charges I believe $10.00 per month to people who have their 4G phones even if you don't have 4G service in your area. Any way that any of them can get an extra buck they will.
If you look closely at Sprint or T-Mobile you will find places where they do the same thing.
To the OP, you may talk to AT&T until you're blue in the face and you won't get any better answer than has been given on here. Your foreign friend was right that you should talk to your representative. However, even this will do no good because Congress has taxed your phone bill and when you pay that extra 20 or so dollars on your phone bill they get to tax it. For them to force AT&T or anyone else to lower their prices or rates in any way means less tax for the government. Now with the present thinking in congress do you think they are going give anyone a tax cut no matter how small?
In the end we have three choices.
1. Don't tether so you don't have to pay.
2. Jail break and tether for free as noted above.
3. Tether and pay the money.
Don't you love the freedom of choice?
multiple things read and look at the all you can keep plans. Wireless data is not free. They figured out it cost the carries about 30 bucks is about the break even point for 5 gigs of data.
Not that hard to figure out what 95 gig of data cost from that point on.
to actually send a text message costs near nothing however we all know how much texting packages go for.
all im saying is, there is a difference between the actual cost of something versus what they say it costs them.
Verizon doesn't offer any 4G phones nor do they offer 4G service. You're confused with Sprint who does charge an additional $10 for having a 4G phone even if you don't have access to their WiMax service.
you still havent given any proof to anything you say.
and i dont really give a damn if what im doing is against what att wants.
read this...
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10814196/att-sees-wireless-profit-boost.html
theyre making $30 billion, and im supposed to trip about 50gb of tethered data? **** at&t and their overpriced ********. ive had unlimited data/mms for years... when i got an iphone, my plan stayed the same, yet my cost went up $30.
and for those of you that think any amount of tethering is bad when not payed for... what about the mass amount of people in this forum that use mywi, tetherme or pdanet??? those are all used to get around paying for tethering from att. yet you dont cry about that.
If someone sells you 2GB of data to use within a month, why do you have to pay more because you access the data with a different device? If I use the 2GB on my iPhone or my laptop, it makes absolutely no difference to AT&T. They sold me the plan knowing that I could very well use 2GB of data. This is equivalent to the amusement park ticket model. You pay for 10 tickets for your kid (device) to ride on rides (network). It shouldn't matter which kid goes on the ride, you paid for 10 tickets. The way AT&T is doing things, they want only one specific kid person to access those 10 tickets. In reality, it doesn't really matter to AT&T who has access to those 10 tickets, as they will be used eventually anyways. It doesn't clog the rides more, because there are only 10 tickets to use. AT&T is just looking for a nice way to profit, and anyone defending them is ridiculous.
However, I can understand if they sold me an unlimited plan with a tethering option. That is the amusement park admission part of things. You pay for the number of people (devices) that access the park (network). It makes sense, the more users, the more the park in congested, the more AT&T needs to pay for more workers and attractions to keep everyone happy and flowing.
However, I can understand if they sold me an unlimited plan with a tethering option. That is the amusement park admission part of things. You pay for the number of people (devices) that access the park (network). It makes sense, the more users, the more the park in congested, the more AT&T needs to pay for more workers and attractions to keep everyone happy and flowing.
Let me state a few things here:
1. This is not a congressional issue, but rather a legal issue. I'm not saying the courts will side with me or not. What I am saying, is that consumers have protections and rights. Also, the courts CAN legislate from the bench. Just because it's AT&T's policy doesn't make it legit.
2. The 94GB user. If you'll read my OP. I'm talking about Tiered users!!! NOT unlimited users. Let's break the numbers down using 94GB using UNLIMITED versus TEIRED:
--Unlimed uses 94GB, pays $30 + $20 tethering = $50
--Tiered uses 94GB, pays $25 first 2GB + (92GB remaining @ $10 a pop) $920 + $20 Tethering = $965 !!!! EXPLAIN AGAIN WHY I NEED TO PAY A TETHERING FEE ON A TEIRED PLAN!!!
3. Ahh, the licensing argument. Think for a minute people. Is AT&T really providing a SEPERATE license for my laptop to use data? Do they provide me an external data stick so my phone AND laptop can use data simultaneously? Are you serious? This is not like a copy of Microsoft Office where seperate computers can use the same product at the same time (INDEPENDANT OF EACH OTHER). No...in fact, in order for my laptop to use this data...my iPhone HAS to be connected to the computer. Bottom line, for those with the licensing argument...it's just not accurate.
4. The courts have recently decided that Apple cannot force iPhone uses to be "locked" down. Now remember, this was Apple's policy for a long time. Why did the courts do this? Well, because the consumer bought the phone, and should be able to do whatever the hell they want to with it! Does this sound familiar? I would argue the same logic applies to the 2GB of data I bought. Remember, to tether....I HAVE TO USE MY PHONE!!!! There is no magic trick to get the data onto my laptop in the house while my phone is in my office! THINK!!!
5. Recently, laws were past to protect consumer's from Credit Card companies because they were putting too much critical information in the "fine print!" In my opinion, this is what's going on with cell companies. You take the average person. When they think of UNLIMITED, what do you think they believe that means? Well, in the "fine print" it says, "5GB limit!" So the consumer is screwed....I say, not so fast. Consumer's have a right to recieve what they were led to believe would be provided to them once they signed up for service. Fine print stuff can get tossed out on this basis in a court of law...which has happened!!! This is the basis of false advertising.
Again, I'm not talking about Unlimited Plans...but hopefully you get my point.
6. Let's use the argument that 5GB is about the max limiit cell companies "break even." Using a tiered plan (assuming NO tethering fee). $25 first 2GB + $30 for remaining 3GB ($10 for each additional GB of data) = $55! Explain how the "unlimited" guy and the teired guy support this 5GB theory? The "unlimited plan" only pays $30 for 5GB.
The Teired plans pay almost DOUBLE. Well then, using that logic the cell company "breaks even" if the teired guy uses double the data. So let's look at those numbers: $25 + $80 (8 additional GBs of data for 10GB total). Now the teired guy is paying $105 for 10GB of data.
The math is not accurate, because the break even point (whatever that might be) is not linear for a tiered plan consumer.
Bottom line is, and it was said earlier...when AT&T switched from unlimited to teired they switched from providing me a SERVICE to providing me a GOOD! It is now MY good to consume however I choose. There is no additional licensing fee to move the data consumed by my phone to a computer!
Finally, for all you network doom and gloom types! This is where AT&T can set prices to coinside with Supply & Demand. Again, they can charge whatever they want for the data...and I, as the consumer, can choose whether or not to buy it. If AT&T were worried about tethering bringing down the systems...then why is it even an option? I've already demonstrated that the teired guy would pay AT&T $945 dollars to tether 94GBs of data (with no tethering fee). I believe AT&T would be happy to take $1,000/month from that guy...don't you agree? SUPPLY AND DEMAND. If the consumer demands 94GB of data and is willing to pay $1,000 for it...it should be provided to them.
Don't mix Apples and Oranges...try to use both sides of your brain on this issue. Teired data plans are different than unlimited plans! So my question remains valid..."Why is AT&T charging me to tether?"
Cosmo
1. This is not a congressional issue, but rather a legal issue. I'm not saying the courts will side with me or not. What I am saying, is that consumers have protections and rights. Also, the courts CAN legislate from the bench. Just because it's AT&T's policy doesn't make it legit.
2. The 94GB user. If you'll read my OP. I'm talking about Tiered users!!! NOT unlimited users. Let's break the numbers down using 94GB using UNLIMITED versus TEIRED:
--Unlimed uses 94GB, pays $30 + $20 tethering = $50
--Tiered uses 94GB, pays $25 first 2GB + (92GB remaining @ $10 a pop) $920 + $20 Tethering = $965 !!!! EXPLAIN AGAIN WHY I NEED TO PAY A TETHERING FEE ON A TEIRED PLAN!!!
3. Ahh, the licensing argument. Think for a minute people. Is AT&T really providing a SEPERATE license for my laptop to use data? Do they provide me an external data stick so my phone AND laptop can use data simultaneously? Are you serious? This is not like a copy of Microsoft Office where seperate computers can use the same product at the same time (INDEPENDANT OF EACH OTHER). No...in fact, in order for my laptop to use this data...my iPhone HAS to be connected to the computer. Bottom line, for those with the licensing argument...it's just not accurate.
4. The courts have recently decided that Apple cannot force iPhone uses to be "locked" down. Now remember, this was Apple's policy for a long time. Why did the courts do this? Well, because the consumer bought the phone, and should be able to do whatever the hell they want to with it! Does this sound familiar? I would argue the same logic applies to the 2GB of data I bought. Remember, to tether....I HAVE TO USE MY PHONE!!!! There is no magic trick to get the data onto my laptop in the house while my phone is in my office! THINK!!!
5. Recently, laws were past to protect consumer's from Credit Card companies because they were putting too much critical information in the "fine print!" In my opinion, this is what's going on with cell companies. You take the average person. When they think of UNLIMITED, what do you think they believe that means? Well, in the "fine print" it says, "5GB limit!" So the consumer is screwed....I say, not so fast. Consumer's have a right to recieve what they were led to believe would be provided to them once they signed up for service. Fine print stuff can get tossed out on this basis in a court of law...which has happened!!! This is the basis of false advertising.
Again, I'm not talking about Unlimited Plans...but hopefully you get my point.
6. Let's use the argument that 5GB is about the max limiit cell companies "break even." Using a tiered plan (assuming NO tethering fee). $25 first 2GB + $30 for remaining 3GB ($10 for each additional GB of data) = $55! Explain how the "unlimited" guy and the teired guy support this 5GB theory? The "unlimited plan" only pays $30 for 5GB.
The Teired plans pay almost DOUBLE. Well then, using that logic the cell company "breaks even" if the teired guy uses double the data. So let's look at those numbers: $25 + $80 (8 additional GBs of data for 10GB total). Now the teired guy is paying $105 for 10GB of data.
The math is not accurate, because the break even point (whatever that might be) is not linear for a tiered plan consumer.
Bottom line is, and it was said earlier...when AT&T switched from unlimited to teired they switched from providing me a SERVICE to providing me a GOOD! It is now MY good to consume however I choose. There is no additional licensing fee to move the data consumed by my phone to a computer!
Finally, for all you network doom and gloom types! This is where AT&T can set prices to coinside with Supply & Demand. Again, they can charge whatever they want for the data...and I, as the consumer, can choose whether or not to buy it. If AT&T were worried about tethering bringing down the systems...then why is it even an option? I've already demonstrated that the teired guy would pay AT&T $945 dollars to tether 94GBs of data (with no tethering fee). I believe AT&T would be happy to take $1,000/month from that guy...don't you agree? SUPPLY AND DEMAND. If the consumer demands 94GB of data and is willing to pay $1,000 for it...it should be provided to them.
Don't mix Apples and Oranges...try to use both sides of your brain on this issue. Teired data plans are different than unlimited plans! So my question remains valid..."Why is AT&T charging me to tether?"
Cosmo
Your just not getting it. ATT is not obligated to allow you to tether you phone to other devices like your laptop so you can use their network to get internet on the laptop.
Bottom line is this. When you bought ATT service, the 2GB service plan is internet access access that is allowed for ONLY your mobile device, not for your laptop! Stop being stubborn.
So let me ask you this! I have 1400min plan, I have other phones, why does ATT want to charge me extra to add other phones to my account if I already paid for those minutes? If your theory is true, than I should be able to add additional phones to my service and not get charged since I'm paying for 1400 mins and should be able to use it wherever I want, not just on the 1phone they authorized me to use it for?? right, WRONG!
If your not happy, go find another cell service who is going to give you free tethering on their dataplan, you will have hard time finding one!
Bottom line is this. When you bought ATT service, the 2GB service plan is internet access access that is allowed for ONLY your mobile device, not for your laptop! Stop being stubborn.
So let me ask you this! I have 1400min plan, I have other phones, why does ATT want to charge me extra to add other phones to my account if I already paid for those minutes? If your theory is true, than I should be able to add additional phones to my service and not get charged since I'm paying for 1400 mins and should be able to use it wherever I want, not just on the 1phone they authorized me to use it for?? right, WRONG!
If your not happy, go find another cell service who is going to give you free tethering on their dataplan, you will have hard time finding one!
Uhh...the phone consumes the data while tethering, not the computer...are you okay?
Uhh...you have seperate phone lines...with independant numbers...uhh...that can be used INDEPENDANT OF EACH OTHER, they have seperate voice mail acccounts. I use one in England while my wife uses hers in Australia (AT THE SAME TIME)! You're obviously clueless if you honestly think these two scenarios are similiar.
Dude, I don't know why you don't get the basic concept here...THE COMPUTER DOES NOT CONSUME THE DATA WHILE TETHERING...YOUR PHONE DOES...WHICH I ALREADY PAY FOR!!!!!!!
Let me break it down into kindegarten speak for you. While tethering, the laptop serves as an external monitor while the phone is still the "computer" accessing the data. (I know this is not totally accurate...but the phone is getting the data NOT the computer).
All you folks on the other side of this issue, please explain how the computer gets the data Independant of the phone?
As a tiered data plan guy...if I don't watch my usage I'll be charged an arm and a leg as outlined in my above post.
People are trying to reason and defend why the telcos are charging you more money? The answer is simple. AT&T did what they did because they can, plain and simple. iPhone is exclusive and locked to AT&T in the US, and there's virtually no competition as each carrier use different wireless tech/frequency. That's it. When you have a monopoly, you can charge whatever you want for your service.
In comparison, Singapore Singtel's cheapest iPhone plan gives you 12GB of data and INCLUDES tethering. Yeah, gotta love the US wireless market huh.
The answer is simple. AT&T did what they did because they can, plain and simple. iPhone is exclusive and locked to AT&T in the US, and there's virtually no competition as each carrier use different wireless tech/frequency. That's it. When you have a monopoly, you can charge whatever you want for your service.In comparison, Singapore Singtel's cheapest iPhone plan gives you 12GB of data and INCLUDES tethering. Yeah, gotta love the US wireless market huh.
Actually, as long as those phones are capable or running on the AT&T network, you can swap your SIM card into any phone you want and use it to access those minutes. So you can do what you've described.
The analogy you're trying to make is of adding multiple lines to the same account. That involves some administrative overhead, as well as multiple phone numbers, voicemail boxes, etc. That's why there's an extra fee to add a line.
Tethering is included as part of my data plan at no additional cost.
