AT&T aims to cease unauthorized tethering, says “Stop or pay”
- l
- leo
- mia
- 22 Aug 2011
I'm an N8 user with a pre-paid SIM in mid east, for d 1st 3mos. i use to connect to the internet using pre-paid, I went for 1 mo. vac in the PH. where i use to connect my N8 in wifi, a friend configure my N8 to connect directly to wifi, when I came back in mid east I noticed that my N8 is connecting directly to internet without a credit in my SIM, for more than 5mos I enjoyed surfing the internet for free, but lately i used my N8 as modem to my laptop suddenly my free access to internet was gone. I'm not phone shavy anybody knows how to reconfigure my N8 to have a free access again to internet.
- j
- jakek
- 31{
- 06 Apr 2011
I use my phone to view Netflix movies, music and gps. I use around 16gb per month in the past 3 months, now they want me to move to a 4gb tether because the heavy data used, now I will be happy to switch to a good wireless company, ATT just sticks.
- W
- Wake up Eleven!
- q8@
- 22 Mar 2011
Eleven, 21 Mar 2011It seems the first poster has no idea how this all works. T... moreWow you are ignorant Eleven, using your phone as a modem does not magically use more data or anything of the sort. Users are only allowed the amount of data they have in their plan regardless of it being used directly on the phone or on a computer. So users who have a 3Gb or 5Gb plan can only use that amount! If they use the max amount that is their choice because they have paid for it. Users who have unlimited data plans are allowed UNLIMITED DATA regardless of it being on phone or on computer! Of course every wireless provider has a fair usage policy that is a loop hole for them to cut someone off that is going overboard with downloads. You have to remember that it is shared bandwidth on cell towers and that means everyone is slowing down the speed of other users... including yourself. The issue is not those users who currently have a contract with ATT who are breaking the rules! Those guys signed the contract and have to play ball with ATT... Its an issue that US wireless providers such as ATT are charging users extra money that they should not charge and future users should not have to sign a contracts like that as it should be illegal for them to do this. I get angry about this because I do not have a contract with any US carrier right now as I live and work overseas. I have seen how the rest of the world gets much better deals with carriers and more freedom. I want to be able to come back one day and have cell phone service, but knowing how much unethical practices are going on I will not sign a contract with any US provider. So what can people that know better and will not sign such a contract do? All I can do is hope the American people wake up and not stand for this because, NO, it is NOT NORMAL!! I also strongly disapprove of anyone buying their phones on contract and believe that wireless providers and the phones you use should have nothing to do with each other, because guess what, they have nothing to do with one another! This is how it is in many countries, you get a SIM card at a wireless provider and choose the plan you want... then you go to a PHONE STORE to buy your phone, not at the wireless provider. Subsidized phones are not the option anyone should take, save your money and buy unbranded every time! $600-700 is what high-end phones cost so get used to it! Eleven, if ATT said they are going to charge you to take a picture on your phone and for $0.10 every picture would you say "Oh thats just the way it is"? No, you know better and you would say "Hey, this is crazy... No one else in the world pays to take a picture on the phone they bought". Unless of course you were ignorant on the subject and didn't know any better. ATT does have really bad dropped calls and bad reception issues, my phone has full bars all day long in Kuwait where I spent the last two years; I went and to stay in India and the signal would drop to one or two bars all the time. Then I came home to visit the US and put a ATT SIM card in the phone and my signal was just as bad as it was in India! So yes ATT is wrong in every way. Breakdown: 1. If you have a contract with ATT, tough luck. 2. What ATT is doing is wrong on every level and should be taken to court. 3. My fellow American people should educate them selves and learn that they are being taken advantage of. 4. Data plans should be like they are around the world and be one price that includes data, using phone as modem via USB cable or Bluetooth, Wifi hotspot. These all are just a single entity at work, which is data being used through the same 3G connection and ATT has absolutely no right to check where the data goes after it hits your phone!(unless you bought your phone from ATT on their contract, then your mistake!).
- D
- AnonD-4354
- e6t
- 22 Mar 2011
I have a Nokia N8 with the unlimited data and text for $30 extra a month. At&t considers it a non smartphone and my last bill was $61 with 22gb of data usage all within the limits off my contract. I can also download 1gb in exactly 20 min over at&t's network :P
- U
- UB
- vFk
- 22 Mar 2011
asda, 21 Mar 2011they dont actually no. they can never find out if you tethe... moreYeah they can, just checking the user-agent will show tethered web-browsing.
- ?
- Anonymous
- kAB
- 22 Mar 2011
asda, 21 Mar 2011they dont actually no. they can never find out if you tethe... moresure they can, theres mac addresses and ip addresses that are included in all data and can see if one account had more than one mac address
- D
- David
- p8c
- 22 Mar 2011
Nonsense! It's my unlimited dataplan and i can o whatever i want with and surf how i want. It's like charging people for using both your laptops on one wi-fi network instead of buying a extra dataplan for your second laptop. Only in USA they can do this with capatalist money hungry corporation. Thank god i live in Sweden "the land of the free".
- ?
- Anonymous
- TSG
- 22 Mar 2011
What are the 'impressively low subsidized prices' that the article is talking about?
You mean the $199 for an iPhone? Are you joking? The rest of the world gets this stuff for $0 when you go on a 24 month contract of about the same monthly spend as an AT&T plan. The $199 is absurd and is impressively BAD.
- a
- asda
- mqM
- 21 Mar 2011
they dont actually no. they can never find out if you tether with a jail break.
- E
- Eleven
- 4EX
- 21 Mar 2011
It seems the first poster has no idea how this all works. The (unauthorized)tethering specifically of the iPhone uses nearly half of all data on the network although it is done by less than one percent of all iPhone users. The same people who are constantly complaining about signal and dropped calls are usually the same people who use their iPhone to run a server. As for how do they know,when you use hulu or limewire or go to any other site the iPhone isnt capable of using it registers. The free raping of the ATT network is over for you guys and now it will get better for those of us who have followed the rules.
- A
- Avi
- 4vx
- 21 Mar 2011
Hey people..just avoid AT&T..they're the worst company! Greedy..greedy..greedy..greedy..greedy! Make them out of business everyone!!
- M
- Mick
- Mx@
- 21 Mar 2011
They do this becuase if too many people Tether, it adversly affects the network capacity for everyone else
- f
- fullstop001
- Tr8
- 21 Mar 2011
AnonD-4287, 21 Mar 2011Ok it seems that I've seen this before. I'm from the UK an... moreMy friend, the 3UK network has always allowed free skype calls. I've been with them for about 5-6 years. I use a sim only plan now and wont upgrade my handset with them as they followed the bigger companies and want to tie people to 2 year contracts - i told them that handsets are obsolete long before the 2 year contracts end. My sim only plan includes All You Can Eat Data with the minutes and text allowances, plus loyalty discount. I tether my Galaxy S to my laptop, and now i'm a happy customer. They originally only allowed me 3gb per month, and then changed it to the All You Can Eat Data. They've never asked me why my usage is high, and i don't tell them. Last month i used 13gb. I would say that i'm gettin good value for my money.
If there are other companies that the AT&T customers can use, i would take a good look, especially if your contracts are coming to an end - they only got as big as they are because of their customers. 3UK know me very well as i won't agree to a contract if i'm not happy with it, and i won't let them bully me out of money i don't want to spend.
- D
- AnonD-4287
- pJS
- 21 Mar 2011
Ok it seems that I've seen this before. I'm from the UK and have a t-mobile dongle but tried to make a skype call but couldn't make a connection. Seems t-mobile charge extra for voip calls. I thought I was getting unlimited Internet for mobile broadband. It seems not
- D
- AnonD-4283
- nDD
- 21 Mar 2011
This doesnt sound good at all and it may led to negative press for AT&T and also for the subscribers to choose another carrier as soon as they can.As to AT&T buying T-mobile Usa , nothing good can come up for almost a monopol on the US mArket,though theu alleged intentions are to "provide better services (4G) for their customers".this is just a thught from a person who doesnt use their services
- ?
- Anonymous
- S3D
- 21 Mar 2011
Cor blimey,i am going android and just in time.stuff apple and ATT both terrible greedy companys.:-((
- P
- PHIL
- q9y
- 21 Mar 2011
dang it, i just signed up with AT&T 2 years contract. Seriously, ppl should just ditch ATT and head to Verizon..
- J
- Jazz
- qRj
- 21 Mar 2011
If that stupid company AT&T buys tmobile I am going to take my business somewhere else .... I'll be deeply sorry for the loss of tmobile ..... Of course it's 39bn dollars ... all I can say to tmobile money blinds principles if that sale happens
- M
- MyName
- Spx
- 21 Mar 2011
Well... it is clearly ridiculous. If AT&T customer is paying for unlimited data, it means that he can stream data through his device with no limit 24/7.
Just ditch AT&T, don't buy phones from them, don't sign new contracts with AT&T, and kick them out of business. Consumers have all the power needed to make AT&T a goner.
- Y
- Yet Another Android
- Rbq
- 21 Mar 2011
AT&T bought Tmobile US, Not Tmobile. I've been hit by a double whammy. First Nokia ditches Meego as it's Primary OS in the favor of WP7 and now Tmobile US has been bought by the Death Star! Only way I can go now is up!