Verizon's iPhone 4 Tethering Reality Check
By Ed Oswald | Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Much ado was made over the hotspot feature of Verizon’s version of the iPhone 4. However, some who may have thought the carrier was going to make this a standard feature may want to think again. A Verizon spokesperson has confirmed to Macworld that the tethering functionality would be an optional, extra-cost feature.
Verizon will charge an additional $20 per month, which will give the user 2GB of data to use (additional usage is charged at $20 per 1GB). This will be a separate data plan altogether, and follows pricing for tethering on other smart phones on the network that have the capability. While the charge may dampen the enthusiasm a bit, it’s better than AT&T’s tethering offering, which also costs $20 a month, but takes data of your iPhone data plan. That means you only have 2GB to use overall before you’re socked with overage charges.
I wonder if AT&T will respond by changing its own tethering plan, but I’m not going to hold my breath.
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January 26th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Or you can Jailbreak your At&t iPhone 4 and Tether for free…
March 15th, 2011 at 10:45 am
The tethering charge is just another rip. No other word for it as it defies logic – other than the logic of car dealers who stick a $5,000. "market adjustment" charge on to MSRP. If one has a data plan, one has paid for data. Verizon, among others, advertises "unlimited". Since data is data, it makes no difference if I transmit data from my phone keyboard or use it in an emergency with my laptop. If there is a practical limit to the "unlimited" data, that's fine, then charge for extra data. Don't double-dip on the data.
Of course Verizon isn't alone. Sprint, for example, not only charges extra for tethering, they add a $10. "premium data" charge with Android phones. What "premium data?" If one wants special services – many are offered – one has to pay for those separately. What is the $10. but an additional gouge.
September 11th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
that 10 dollar extra charge is for 4g. not all of Sprints smartphones require that.
April 30th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
That is not completely correct.
Although "data is data", realistically, we use more data on a laptop than we would on a phone or tablet. With unlimited data on a phone, companies like Verizon and AT&T know realistically we would not use more than a certain amount of data. Yet the amount we might use on a computer is endless, because of the extra capabilities of computers vs. phones and tablets.
I do not like the fact that companies charge extra to tether, but I understand why they do it.
May 9th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
I think it’s completely ridiculous for Verizon to charge $20 per GB over the 2GB limit. There should be no limit. I understand charging for the hotspot feature, but there is NO reason to be limiting the usage that you are paying for. I have Wifi at my house. It’s $40/mo. And it is unlimited. I’d spend that 40 bucks in a week at
Verizon’s rates. They get MORE than enough money from me as it is. Needless to say, I won’t be using the hotspot feature. Even if I were to lose my wifi at home.
May 12th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Then don't advertise "unlimited" when you don't mean it. That's commonly called misrepresentation. And, if the limit is 5Gb, for example, then it's 5Gb, whether from the phone or a laptop. No way around it: data is indeed data and they are the ones defining the amount, not I. It's a simple rip.
October 12th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Or, buy the new iPhone, wait the requisite 48-72 hours for a stable jailbreak to be released, install it (the more recent versions of this require only clicking on a weblink and waiting while it self-jailbreaks) and then use a Cydia app to tether on your already “unlimited” data plan.
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