Verizon now cracking down on jailbreak tethering and apps

Does anyone know if the other devices can still use tethering at no extra charge? When I had an HTC with AT&T it was part of it and there was no extra charge.

why advertise unlimited when you can't get unlimited, my iPhone 4 has 3g on verizon in NYC and IT SUCKS....att sucks at voice, but data was fast like 1.6 mb, verizon i don't even reach .4 !!!! been like this since i got the phone, calls are great but can't wait for an LTE handset. also MMS don't go through a few times...

Considering that Verizon and AT&T are now throttling "Unlimited" users' speed, just as T-Mobile does, charging for additional fees to tether is essentially double-charging or double-dipping the fees. I could see how unbridled data usage, both quantity and speed, could possibly be justification for charging for tethering, but that isn't even the case anymore. "Unlimited" data may be unlimited as to the quantity of data you can consume, in the sense that the wireless ISP (that's what they are, after all) will not completely cut you off or charge you more once you reach their set limit, but it is now limited by the speed or rate at which you can consume that data.

Whether a user streams NetFlix 24/7 or tethers is irrelevant when it comes to over-using network capacity because both use heavy amounts of data. Whether a user has a data cap, or no data cap but a speed cap (throttling, after 2GB consumed), either way they're not going to be able to over-use network capacity because they have set limits. Thus, charging for tethering is essentially taking more money from the consumer without offering the consumer any new service. When tethering, the application does all the work to enable you to tether, not the wireless ISP. The wireless ISP is trying to collect money for a service that a third-party provides. The only service the wireless ISP provides is delivery of the data, and wireless ISP consumer already pay for that.

As for the argument for "Unlimited" data and against "limits," I hope everyone contributing to this debate realizes that there is no such thing as "unlimited" data. Right now with the options the wireless ISPs have given us, you can either have an unlimited amount of data at a limited rate, or a limited amount of data at an unlimited rate. On top of that, you have to share the network's bandwidth with everyone else. It's the age ol' problem of unlimited wants with limited resources. Everyone should be able to accept that as reality.

What we should not accept is the wireless ISPs attempts to gouge customers or engage in anti-competitive behavior.

What I would like to see is a combination of the data cap plans and unlimited plans we have now. That is, if you buy the $25 2GB plan, once you use that cap you can still use data, but at a lower rate that is at least acceptable for email, calendar updates, and browsing of light webpages. You can still view videos and stream audio via WiFi, or sync via WiFi and listen/watch on the go. If you want, you can buy another 2GB bucket of data to get high speeds again. This way, you can CHOOSE if you want to pay for overages, but don't completely lose important functionality like email. Most of all, I want to see all wireless ISPs competing for consumers by lowering their prices.

Shared data plans and rollover data would be welcome additions. They do this with voice minutes, there's no good reason they can't do this with data, especially if they're not going to lower prices.

I'm using TetherMe right now and have had no problems with my Verizon service.

I think data is data and if I have an unlimited data plan I should be able to use it how I so desire.

Perhaps I don't use it often enough, but I've been using TetherMe to access the native built-in hotspot capabilities on my jailbroken phone without problems as early as last night. Supposedly this policy has been going on since at least Monday, but it hasn't hit me yet.

PDAnet has an interesting feature that "hides" its usage from carriers, but all it really does is change the headers on all HTTP traffic to either show no browser info or mimic traffic to look like it's coming from Safari on an iPhone. The theory is that carriers can detect you if they see traffic from Firefox or Chrome going through a smartphone-only data plan. I have to think the carriers are smarter than that and have other methods of detecting unauthorized (NOT illegal) tethering.

Just as a side rant: I am not a criminal for hacking my phone and getting it to do things the carrier doesn't want me to do. The right to modify and unlock cell phones is protected under the DCMA exceptions past earlier this year. I have every right to jailbreak my phone to enable tethering features. Similarly, Verizon Wireless and AT&T have every right to cut my service or push me to a new data plan for doing so. It may be unauthorized tethering, but I have a big problem when publications like Forbes calls it "illegal" tethering. Just my 2 cents.

And some how the few Pixi/Pre users left are laughing at everyone with their free, official, tethering.

For the specifics, see these links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20069580-264/complaint-to-fcc-verizon-mustnt-bar-4g-tethering/
http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/07/verizon-gets-hit-with-fcc-complaint-over-4g-lte-tethering/

Supposedly, Verizon is forbidden by FCC rules to discriminate against LTE data, so they can't charge consumers separately for a tethering feature on the 4G phones they are selling (Thunderbolt, Droid Charge, etc).

I'm guessing that Verizon thinks they could loophole that provision by making it nigh impossible to install and use a hotspot program other than their own authorized version, by which they can then charge you monthly fees for the convenience of the program.

TUAW, you may want to note in this article that solutions like PDANet can tether in a way that prevents detection by the carrier.

Data is data. It doesn't matter if it's smartphone or laptop. After the digital TV debacle, you'd think the regulators would learn that device neutrality is just as important as net neutrality.

It doesn't cost telco any more for data from a smartphone or tethered laptop. This is fact. There is a finite amount of data that can be downloaded over a period of time. The pricing models should reflect this. Give me GBs and a rollover plan, and we're good. You can do it with minutes, why not data? Oh, that's right, you built your networks to optimize for phone calls, not data. Um, maybe you should fix that, or get out of the way of entrants who do get it.

It amazes me - comparing how much bandwidth does a phone call or SMS take up, and how much is that charge relative data? Even if we throw on a healthy additional cost for the voice call and SMS supporting technologies, it's very low.