Slashdot Mirror
Verizon Offers Free Tethering Because It Has To
jfruh writes "Most U.S. wireless carriers are trying to have it both ways on tethering or smartphones-as-hotspots — moving people from unlimited data plans to plans where they pay by the gigabyte, but then also charging them extra if they want to share the gigabytes they've paid for with other devices. But on Android phones on Verizon, at least, you can still tether, not because Verizon is trying to be more consumer friendly, but because, according to an FCC ruling, they agreed to allow it when they bought formerly public spectrum."
Tethering has worked from day one on Windows Phone devices.
Look how GOVERNMENT REGULATION is ruining things for the consumer again!
That prove that consumer protections in the electronics industry are badly needed. Enshrine the separation of hardware and software in all electronics, and enshrine that owners cannot be locked out of their own devices.
Tethering is a built in function of all android devices that is artificially crippled because crap like this is allowed to go on. Yea yea yea, I know you can hack YOUR OWN DEVICE and put a different OS of your own choice on it. I already do that (cyanogenmod), but you shouldn't have to hack past security that locks you out of your own electronics.
Digital is, by definition, imperfect. Analog is the way to go.
Does Verizon lease or share these frequencies with any other carriers? I know there are quite a few CDMA based carriers, and they do share a significant amount of towers.
Better known as 318230.
They still offer the built-in tethering on 4G devices for $20 / mo. I know this because I have one of these devices. You have to install a third party app from the market to get free tethering. Verizon is relying on consumer ignorance of the FCC decision to continue to grab revenue.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
You might think forced free tethering is awesome.
Here's the actual effect it has had - everyone gets to pay more for data since everyone has to be able to tether. The new mandatory shared data plans are more expensive than older piecemeal plans. WHat about people that didn't want to pay for tethering? Too bad.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Sure, there are no rich people anyway, but more people (all people) get to enjoy good life.
Yeah, I remember the bread lines in the old soviet union being the best of times. Why can't we all go back to that golden age?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Since the court, in their infinite and activist wisdom, decided it's included merely because it used to be part of a public spectrum that Verizon is obligated to allow tethering. This is just another thinly veiled move to redistribute wealth. In the end all Verizon user will have to make up the difference; end users ALWAYS do. That's precisely why whining over details is an effort in futility.
Or just the one spectrum.
They don't offer free tethering because you have to pay for what you consume.
That other companies have the temerity to charge you extra just for the privilege of tethering is a whole other problem. That would be like the water company charging you extra for the privilege of using water to wash with instead of just drinking it.
The fact is, we pay for data plans, unlimited or metered. Either way, it should be ours to do as we wish with! The telcos should not be allowed (should not have any right) to impose on us any kinds of fees or limitations on what we have purchased from them. End of story.
Asking people to think is like asking them to buy you a new car
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57485518-94/what-verizons-fcc-tethering-settlement-means-to-you-faq/
Yes I know its Cnet, but it gives a good explanation of what is going on.
What if I have an old Verizon unlimited data plan? Can I download an app and avoid the $20 tethering fee too?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. Verizon says that customers under the unlimited plan are required by the company's terms of service to pay an additional fee to tether their device.
So you either keep the unlimited data plan and pay the fee or you switch the new plan and lose my unlimited data.
Does this mean that Verizon will no longer charge for tethering?
On June 28, Verizon introduced new wireless service plans that include tethering in the base price of the plan. So for new customers, they will not be charged extra to use their phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
So again I am still being screwed,
Now everyone file FCC complaints that they are restricting google wallet from being installed.
Not that they need to improve their standing, but Apple could score a LOT of points here by allowing a tethering app into the App Store so iOS users could use this feature also...
Whenever I try to activate tethering on my Verizon Droid X2, they want me to call corporate and buy it for some $20/month.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Because the iPad has tethering built in and enabled by default, for no additional fee, on the Verizon network. It's the biggest reason I selected the VZ version over the ATT version (well, that at the VZ version can still use ATT 3G network, but not visa versa).
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Are why prepaid carriers seem to be doing better. A few months ago when I went in for an upgrade, I found out that my old plan was no longer allowed on smart phones and we were going to need to add $30 a month per line to get our upgrade with a new contract. We decided to shop around and found Straight Talk. We did some math and discovered that we would come out ahead almost $700 over the course of two years, even with buying our own phones at retail.
So we said bye bye Verizon and have been enjoying that extra $80 a month in our budget ever since.
If you have a data plan with at least 1GB/mo bandwidth, tethering is free with most carriers in Canada.
probably the bottom half since only an ass would use Windows.
They're not offering free tethering. They're just charging EVERYONE for it, and every other carrier is perfectly happy to go along and match their price.
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
I use Foxfi and it couldn't be easier. Name the SSD you want to use, put in a password and Go. http, https, ftp, skype all work fine. I can do everything I would do when I am normally working. It's the same as being on any other WAP.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
I mean come on, it has to be the U.S where people actually acept that tethering is some extra special "service" and it's justifiable to ask extra money for "providing" it. If my carrier would ask money for that, I'd leave them on the spot. I changed carriers for less than that, and the world didn't collapse. For a long time I thought the U.S. was the paradise of Internet and mobile phones and unlimited data plans. But then I actually started to go there a lot and it was farly quick to realize most cell companies just take people for fools, take subscribers as granted, rip them off with a lot of stupid stuff, and just see them and an endless money source. And the most weird thing, lots of people are so used so used to this, that they don't even think about it much anymore.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Tethering is not disabled on "Share Everything" plans.
Finally the FCC slapping Verizon down like a little kid. Hopefully all other carriers also using part of the spectrum have similiar agreements? I don't know if they all had to sign the same type of contract agreement when they purchased their parts of the spectrum or if it was only part of Verizons deal? though verizon did get by far the largest part of that spectrum so....yeah. It's good to see them not backing down to huge carriers.
They (The large carriers/telcoms) always seem to manage to convince our upstanding members of our gov....HAHAH, *snort* OUCH pop through the nose hurts. I'm sorry I can't manage to say it with a straight face, rolfma
So yeah, they either bribe someone in a position of government able to get help them get what they want or they make a generous "donation" to another company or person that has someone in government by the short and curlies.. haha. Then magically whatever government agency or group that was watching them or complaining about some breach of their contract or regulations or whatever, all of a sudden back down, drop whatever issues they have and are like it was some mistake on their part and are no longer persuing ... y ada yada .... you get the picture.
I'm frankly very suprised that the FCC actually stood up and did what it was supposed to, especially on how important something like this is. With what they were charging for tethering (ridiculous amounts really) , to all of a sudden be free.... verizon and any other carrier that has this type of clause to allow tethering is about to lose TONS of money (and even more potential money), especially with so many people with hotspot/tether capable phones and tablets.
Perhaps they already foresaw this and is the reason they, all of a sudden, started trying to cut all users with unlimited data plans and putting them onto capped / tiered data plans that are worse than we had even with 3g in some cases.(maybe not that bad... but it's def not good). It certainly makes sense though, especially since it should be cheaper to send data over their 4g network than the same data over 3g.
ahh well, I'm grandfathered into a unlimited data plan with the rest of my family and I know their little sneaky stunts they try and pull... like changing your plan against your consent if you change/upgrade phones. Now all of us know we have to pay the retail cost of the device which is soooo worth it for unlimited 4g and tethering your wifi only nexus 7 tablets and stuff to the phone =) MWHHAHAHAHAHA : perhaps it's not so valuable for users that only check their email and send a few texts but for us power users it's so awesome. I mean after you unlock and root you will never go back and downloading new rom builds and kernels can really adds up on the data counter, which I have no idea what it says since I don't care =p
Here's the actual effect it has had - everyone gets to pay more for data since everyone has to be able to tether. The new mandatory shared data plans are more expensive than older piecemeal plans. WHat about people that didn't want to pay for tethering? Too bad.
This is where markets come in to play. Rather than increase regulation, I propose simplification: make free tethering mandatory for all carriers. Then the carriers can actually compete on price.
Of course, a healthy, competitive market would require another demonic government intervention: breaking up the cell monopolies. Heaven forbid...
Palm trees and 8
Neither AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon nor any other cellular service company is really in existence to provide service. They're there to make money. So of course they charge more for each gigabyte plus an extra surcharge for tethering. You can't make more money unless you charge more money.