AT&T increases tethering plan by 2 GB, still charges way too much

Until ATT seriously lowers their data rates they are never getting me back.

I worst thing about it is that the data doesn't roll over like some minute plans do. So if I just happen to use up 2 GB in 29 days, I'm charged an extra $10 for 1 day of service.

I would have a problem paying $25 per 2 GB at a time. It would probably last me only 20 days but for my girlfriends phone and many otheres it would probably be once every six months and there lies the problems for the telecoms.

Here in the UK they also charge you extra if you want to take the same data, but request it from a tethered laptop instead of directly on the phone - it's a ridiculous distinction to allow the carriers to "nickle and dime" their customers.

I can sort of understand their reluctance to open the floodgates when all iPhone tariffs here had unlimited* data, but now there is a cap, you should be free to consume that cap any way you like.



*unlimited is defined as limited ;)

Frankly, this is why some people still jailbreak their phones. The carriers are a bunch of d#(@ks.

On a midly related note, I just jumped ship altogether to Sprint; I picked up and android phone for me & a new phone for my son, and together we're cheaper than I was on AT&T or would be on Verizon.

I do miss the camera on my iPhone 4, but other than that I'm getting by. I hope by the time my contract rolls around with Sprint (or gets close enough that I'll break it) that AT&T and Verizon will have made the monthly costs around an iPhone bearable again.

Here's the problem...

My iPhone + My Laptop + My Cable + My DataPro plan == $20.00 extra for AT&T

The do nothing except hit a software switch to 'allow' all of my own equipment to talk to each other.

They are relying on the non-technical subscribers to think that some voodoo magic is going on and costs resources.

This is the same type of rip off they do for text messages.

Well, there's egg on yer face... 29.99 for unlimited on VZW + another 20 bux if you want a mobile hotspot. More expensive than ATT (though it is "unlimited"), and slower to boot.

AT&T screwing over people who only tether infrequently is one of the main reasons I jail broke my phone originally.

I refuse to pay $20/month when I only tether 2-3 times a month, and then only if I have no wi-fi and really need to get online with my lap top to do some work or check on something.

I paid a one-time fee of $15 to get the tethering app off of Cydia, and I merrily use the data that I already pay for every month to tether when I need to.

I would have been more than happy if AT&T allowed tethering for free, but limited it to 1-3GB per month, and then charged their $10/GB over that. However, tethering should be a free service.

This new change to AT&T's plan is exactly the compromise I was advocating that they make back when they first introduced the $20 tethering option. I agree with bobics: light users are subsidizing heavy users. Still, the tethering option seemed excessive, and this change rectifies that, in my view.

So now, those of us who would choose to pay for a hotspot or tethering have a choice between $45/month for 4GB AT&T or $50/month for unlimited on Verizon. Frankly, 4GB is more than most customers use, and well over what I use. So now AT&T is faster AND cheaper for most people at this data level, the only exception the tiny minority of folks who exceed 4GB/month.

You're comparing one US carrier among many against many carriers in another country.

As sad and backwards as it is, tethering costs extra *in the US.* Verizon charges for it, so does Sprint. That's how it works *in the US.*

And if you look at the details, AT&T is coming out ahead in one big way: when you add tethering on Verizon, for example, you get a 2GB bucket on top of your existing data plan. But that 2GB *is all you get for tethering*—if you go over that 2GB, you start getting charged $20/1GB.

On AT&T, if you go over the extra 2GB, you start dipping into the other 2GB available in your phone's the DataPro plan before incurring overage charges. Which, by the way, are $10/1GB on AT&T.