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AT&T has just changed Unlimited Internet Usages terms, can I cancel without fees now?

AT&T has just changed Unlimited Internet Usages terms, can I cancel without fees now?
At&t has changed their internet usage terms to include the banning of audio/video streaming and data tethering. This means Skype, Slingbox, and other video streaming services possibly youtube...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/...s-terms-of-service-to-forbid-video-streaming/
While I do like their coverage I find all these limiting factors extremely frustrating. I did not agree to these terms when i signed up, the only thing i agreed to was 5GB cap which I was not happy with either... I use skype a lot to call my family who live in Canada and enjoy the occasional slingbox stream but if i can't do these things anymore what the point of 3G, crappy web browing on a 2.8" screen? What I do with my bandwidth is my buisness as long as I don't break that cap i agreed to right?
Since they changed the terms of usage am I allowed cancel my service without early cancelation fees? If so I will be taking my buisness to T-Mobile and getting the new Touch Pro 2 when that comes out but until then I will be using a non 3G month to month payment plan

Tekka said:
At&t has changed their internet usage terms to include the banning of audio/video streaming and data tethering. This means Skype, Slingbox, and other video streaming services possibly youtube...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/...s-terms-of-service-to-forbid-video-streaming/
While I do like their coverage I find all these limiting factors extremely frustrating. I did not agree to these terms when i signed up, the only thing i agreed to was 5GB cap which I was not happy with either... I use skype a lot to call my family who live in Canada and enjoy the occasional slingbox stream but if i can't do these things anymore what the point of 3G, crappy web browing on a 2.8" screen? What I do with my bandwidth is my buisness as long as I don't break that cap i agreed to right?
Since they changed the terms of usage am I allowed cancel my service without early cancelation fees? If so I will be taking my buisness to T-Mobile and getting the new Touch Pro 2 when that comes out but until then I will be using a non 3G month to month payment plan
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Honestly, I believe a lot of TOS agreements are like this, no matter who the carrier is.
As long as you stay under the 5gb cap you should be fine. I think the reason they put this in there is because those are the things that use the most bandwidth.
You can always call their retentions department and tell them why you want to cancel and talk to them. I believe if they changed the TOS and the TOS was a part of your contract then they're voiding the contract, but I'm not sure about that since they're not changing rates on you.

Well I realized that there isn't really a way for them to track what i'm actually doing but I think this is just rediculous, ATT should really take out Unlimited wording in their advertising.
Another reason I want to cancel is month after month I have to deal with bills that absolutely make no sense, I was happy with T-mobile for over 4 years with no problems and the only reason I went back to ATT was because of the FUZE.
My area has a lot of competition for wireless contracts and that how I scored a free ATT Fuze, I bet with a little patience I can get a free Rhodium if I look hard enough...

ok when u meant unlimted internet usages are you talking bout the "personal PDA plan?" or the "tethering plan"??? cuz i got personal PDA plan on mine and i go on youtube through my fuze alot i dont see any changes whatsoever...plz someone tell me

Just a thought..... they are NOT going to enforce that because they have 3 services that they offer that include it... Cellular Video (CV), Mobi TV, and whatever the Mobi XM radio service is...
Just don't go over 5GB and if you do, chances are you can get out of it. If you get charged, PM me and I can tell you how to get out of that one.... ALSO, for those of you who don't know, a change in your TOS is a way to get out of your contract and cancel service without paying the cancellation fee... just a thought... Google it for specifics on what to say on the phone... their TOS has a loophole for you that will allow you out if they change something....

Read the latest news: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/atandt-retracts-new-terms-of-service-apologizes/
At&T realized that this change in policy was absurd and have retracted the changes.

XERO_Racer said:
ok when u meant unlimted internet usages are you talking bout the "personal PDA plan?" or the "tethering plan"??? cuz i got personal PDA plan on mine and i go on youtube through my fuze alot i dont see any changes whatsoever...plz someone tell me
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You won't see any difference until you go over the 5 GB per month limit.
Well it doesn't really matter what plan your on since this pretty much affects all 3g wireless connections and the 5GB limit applies to everything including broadband usb connect thingy.
Nowadays it easy to stream large videos, like yesterday while i was waiting at the doctor's office i decided to watch a short 30 minute episode of "Better off Ted" and that easily went over 130mb. I never used more than 2GB a month but there are alot of people who use their phone's 3g much more than me so i imagine they get pretty close to that 5GB.
The way I see it is since they revised their TOS it will make it harder to argue your way out of a large bill.

DrzNight said:
Read the latest news: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/atandt-retracts-new-terms-of-service-apologizes/
At&T realized that this change in policy was absurd and have retracted the changes.
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LOL WOW that came in only after a couple hours of the original announcement...I bet they were getting so many calls from bandwidth hungry iphone users lol...guess i gotta wait till Dec 2010 to cancel my contract now lol

Tekka said:
You won't see any difference until you go over the 5 GB per month limit.
Well it doesn't really matter what plan your on since this pretty much affects all 3g wireless connections and the 5GB limit applies to everything including broadband usb connect thingy.
Nowadays it easy to stream large videos, like yesterday while i was waiting at the doctor's office i decided to watch a short 30 minute episode of "Better off Ted" and that easily went over 130mb. I never used more than 2GB a month but there are alot of people who use their phone's 3g much more than me so i imagine they get pretty close to that 5GB.
The way I see it is since they revised their TOS it will make it harder to argue your way out of a large bill.
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seems like at&t has a problem now...but im always on MSN messenger, and surfing on opera, myspace, here, youtube at times etc....u think i might reach pass my limit by the time my billing cycle ends? i mean i wont be surfing 24/7 on it but ill be on msn messenger constantly oh and also i listen to the internet radio like 2-3 hours a day...i need ur advice thanks
UPDATE: ok soo i called in AT&T about this and well they only said its gonna against the Tethering and USB broadband services NOT the Unlimted PDA Personal plan that u can get for $30 a month, soo i guess its all good...for now

My friend just got out of his contract because they changed the TOS and he wanted the g1 (android) phone so he called them up told them he didn't agree and if they didn't let him go without the fee he would sue. They dropped him like a hot potato lol

Last mont I went way over 5GB tethering, torrenting and watching hulu all the time. No word from att yet. already paid my bill. No extra charges.
I have unlimited PDA personal+200 txts. No tethering. I reviewed on att website and as far as I understand that lingo, 5GB limit pertains only to PDA+tethering plan and to Dataconnect (for laptop cards).
See it yourself here: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/pda-personal-plans.jsp
Here is my data usage directly from my bill page:
Internet/MEdia Net
UNLIMITED
Used 11054.71MB of Unlimited

At&the now detecting tethering by packet type value

Is it possible to change the tethering application built into most roms so that it won't deincrement the ttl value?

where did you get this info at?

http://osxdaily.com/2011/03/17/att-cracking-down-on-unofficial-iphone-tethering-mywi-users/
http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/03/18/att.clamps.down.on.unofficial.tethering.users/

If you dig through the comments on those articles, it appears that the people who receive the letters are using in excess of 5GB on their unlimited data plan.
Case in point: One of the comments was from a guy who said that his wife was sent the notice from AT&T. From what he says, she hasn't ever tethered, but she's always listening to streaming audio or watching streaming video.
This is nothing new for AT&T. They have long held that 5GB is 'effectively unlimited' for a smartphone, and that anyone who uses more must be using a computer tethered to the phone. With the phones we have now, that simply is not the case anymore. But AT&T is using that as an excuse to try and get people off of the unlimited plans and on to something where they can charge customers more money.

Krynn! said:
If you dig through the comments on those articles, it appears that the people who receive the letters are using in excess of 5GB on their unlimited data plan.
Case in point: One of the comments was from a guy who said that his wife was sent the notice from AT&T. From what he says, she hasn't ever tethered, but she's always listening to streaming audio or watching streaming video.
This is nothing new for AT&T. They have long held that 5GB is 'effectively unlimited' for a smartphone, and that anyone who uses more must be using a computer tethered to the phone. With the phones we have now, that simply is not the case anymore. But AT&T is using that as an excuse to try and get people off of the unlimited plans and on to something where they can charge customers more money.
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I hope you're right.

Also just saw this......I personally dont tether much but have used mobile AP. Might be worth looking into for those that do tether.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/03/18/att-shutting-down-unauthorized-tetherers/

cnigro1279 said:
Also just saw this......I personally dont tether much but have used mobile AP. Might be worth looking into for those that do tether.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/03/18/att-shutting-down-unauthorized-tetherers/
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If they are using ttl to detect tethering, then mobile ap would be effected. I'm not sure if usb tethering does deincrement ttl. All the reports seem to be mentioning WiFi tethering.

i think its a scare tactic.
I don't think they are detecting tethering. I think they are targeting people going beyond a certain threshold of usage as suspected tethereres (4gb or 5gb or more likely)

bames said:
i think its a scare tactic.
I don't think they are detecting tethering. I think they are targeting people going beyond a certain threshold of usage as suspected tethereres (4gb or 5gb or more likely)
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+1
Just a scare tactic. I'm on my 11th day of this months cycle, and between tethering, mobile ap, and downloads, I'm sitting at 9gb of data usage and haven't heard anything from AT&T. Yet

vunuts said:
+1
Just a scare tactic. I'm on my 11th day of this months cycle, and between tethering, mobile ap, and downloads, I'm sitting at 9gb of data usage and haven't heard anything from AT&T. Yet
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WOW what are you doing to use 9gb of data lol.
Even though i think its more of a scare tactic i think it can be done...its just not cost efficient to do it wide scale unless their is a huge red flag...like oh say 9gb of data usage . I won't be surprised if you get a letter if your usage rates continually reach anywhere near that later as i suspect that is the type of red flag that may cause them to actually take the time to audit the account and look at the ttl/packet data more closely.
if you have a 2gb or even unlimited and tether never going over 2gb i seriously doubt you would received letter or raise an eyebrow.
This goes back to my initial thought on how stupid their marketing team and management decisions are.
ALLOW FREE TETHERING
Pay for the extra data you need. It breaks down to the same cost...they are just being short sighted and greedy hoping people will think oh...2gb more data for 20bucks and then continue to not even fully use the 2gb they already had paid for on their smartphones plan (they are playing on peoples ignorance of how much data they are actually using). Part of good business and sales is fitting the client with their needs so they can afford it and continue to be a good longterm customer rather than bilking them for services they don't need or use (much like requiring all smartphones to have data plans when some smartphone users could be completely happy with a smartphone and wifi only usage).
If i have $25 2gb plan and want to tether and don't go over 2gb DON'T CHARGE EXTRA or REQUIRE TETHERING. If i go over charge me by the GB just like you would if i used all the data on my smartphones. 2gb Plan + 2gb overage =$45 for that months data (shouldn't matter whether it was used tethered or untethered). If i have a 2gb plan and tether and only use 3gb for the plan why not allow my to pay for 3gb data instead of forcing me to pay for 4gb/tethering. Let people police and pay for their usage. DATA IS DATA and it doesn't cost more for att to deliver 4gb to a tethered user than it does to someone using the 4gb downloading torrents or streaming movies on their smartphone.
Seems like it would be great customer relations, marketing, and a blow to verizon if ATT and came out with a marketing campaign that said Free Mobile AP/Tethering. Use as much data as you need....pay for the data you use. If those still grandfathered under unlimited plans are the concern you could easily audit those accounts if the usage is excessive and either throttle or require tethering for unlimited plans only which might encourage more people to give up the unlimited and take one of the tiered plans. They talk about tethers using all the data while i suspect those doing a combination of significant streaming and downloading torrent using in an untethered state.
A good question is why is one industry being allowed wipe their A** with net neutrality (with so little backlash)

bames said:
WOW what are you doing to use 9gb of data lol.
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Lol, I just opened my own auto shop, and we have yet to get internet hooked up in there, so I'm tethered to my desktop there for about 5-8 hours a day. I wouldn't be surprised if I do hear from AT&T, but they can't do anything to me. They've tried before and I fought them and won. I have unlimited text and data and I'm going to use it to my advantage. If they want to try and blow smoke up my ass, go for it. I'll blow it right back

Funny how this coincided with the new bandwidth cap for cable customers... AT&T is slowly trying to eliminate all unlimited customers. I wish they spent as much time working on increasing signal strength across the US as they do finding ways to squeeze more money from their customers.

vunuts said:
+1
Just a scare tactic. I'm on my 11th day of this months cycle, and between tethering, mobile ap, and downloads, I'm sitting at 9gb of data usage and haven't heard anything from AT&T. Yet
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I thought my 3 -4 gb / month was a lot.
Isn't a byte of data still a byte of data no matter how you view your porn.

what they are doing with tethering would be akin charging us $10 per month to use google navigation.
They could say "hey our navigation per att nav with your device is $10 per month.....if you want to use navigation on your phone you must have a navigation plan add on and if you try to use another free navigation program we can tell and will change your plan without your permission"

I don't get any letters, but I get a "friendly call" from AT&T about every other month asking why I use so much data. I've been on unlimited since it first came out and I'm taking full advantage of it. When I get the call about my usage, I start downloading on my phone, just to eat more data. I've downloaded several ISOs of Linux distros and MS ISOs from the MSDN. Is it my fault I signed up for 'unlimited data' or is it there fault they didn't look into the future? ComCast tried to complain when I pulled down over 300gb in a month and wanted to charge me for it. Sent off a copy of the original contract and there was no bandwidth cap in it. It becomes a breach of contract if you haven't physically signed anything new accepting and agreeing to the new changes.

If you don't mind switching carriers (which isn't that attractive because they all suck and use the same ploys pretty much)
but if they change your plan (for example adding a tethering plan to your account) you have 30 days to cancel your contract WITHOUT penalty no matter how many months you have remaining.

bames said:
If you don't mind switching carriers (which isn't that attractive because they all suck and use the same ploys pretty much)
but if they change your plan (for example adding a tethering plan to your account) you have 30 days to cancel your contract WITHOUT penalty no matter how many months you have remaining.
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This is true. You can avoid any early termination fees and essentially end your contract in good standing credit wise.

pbclst said:
I don't get any letters, but I get a "friendly call" from AT&T about every other month asking why I use so much data. I've been on unlimited since it first came out and I'm taking full advantage of it. When I get the call about my usage, I start downloading on my phone, just to eat more data. I've downloaded several ISOs of Linux distros and MS ISOs from the MSDN. Is it my fault I signed up for 'unlimited data' or is it there fault they didn't look into the future? ComCast tried to complain when I pulled down over 300gb in a month and wanted to charge me for it. Sent off a copy of the original contract and there was no bandwidth cap in it. It becomes a breach of contract if you haven't physically signed anything new accepting and agreeing to the new changes.
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For every time they call and ask you you should place 20 calls to their customer support line asking them why someone called you again and telling them you just wanted to make sure they knew you had an unlimited data plan because someone keeps calling.

vunuts said:
Lol, I just opened my own auto shop, and we have yet to get internet hooked up in there, so I'm tethered to my desktop there for about 5-8 hours a day. I wouldn't be surprised if I do hear from AT&T, but they can't do anything to me. They've tried before and I fought them and won. I have unlimited text and data and I'm going to use it to my advantage. If they want to try and blow smoke up my ass, go for it. I'll blow it right back
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I'm sorry, but this attitude just rubs me raw. Cell phones were never designed to be ISPs. It's abusers like you that have made it hard for the rest of us by forcing AT$T to eliminate unlimited plans and by slowing down the network with your extreme usage. Why do so many feel the need to squeeze whatever they can however they can out of a company? If you think they're screwing you then simply take your business elsewhere.

People receiving the letter today are iphone users? am i correct? Did any android user receive it?

Paying for tethering?

Is it ethical to use tethering without paying for the "tethering service plan"? If I pay for xGb/month shouldn't I be able to use that bandwidth in anyway I see fit?

Ethical? Nope. It's part of your contract you agreed to when you signed up for a service plan. If you want to tether, you've got to pay.
Now as to whether or not you care, that's up to you.

omegafiler said:
Ethical? Nope. It's part of your contract you agreed to when you signed up for a service plan. If you want to tether, you've got to pay.
Now as to whether or not you care, that's up to you.
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Just because it's part of your contract doesn't mean it's ethical. That's like saying "Because you signed a contract saying you will give me your first born child in exchange for this Evo 3D, it must be ethical".
I agree with carriers that computers use data at a faster rate than phones (as in they are more capable), but they don't give us many choices. With carrier such as AT&T, without a doubt you should be able to use your 2GB as you see fit. It's not a lot to begin with and it's capped. With unlimited data carriers, we should be given a bucket of data for tethering each month. It's stupid to pay for tethering when you have unlimited data.

Product F(RED) said:
Just because it's part of your contract doesn't mean it's ethical. That's like saying "Because you signed a contract saying you will give me your first born child in exchange for this Evo 3D, it must be ethical".
I agree with carriers that computers use data at a faster rate than phones (as in they are more capable), but they don't give us many choices. With carrier such as AT&T, without a doubt you should be able to use your 2GB as you see fit. It's not a lot to begin with and it's capped. With unlimited data carriers, we should be given a bucket of data for tethering each month. It's stupid to pay for tethering when you have unlimited data.
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Agreed. The label "unlimited" is BS in general.
If $30 buys me unlimited data, then why does my family member (same house and account) have to pay another $30? Do you pay for each device you connect to DSL? Of course not. (Heard this argument on cnet...Molly Wood, I think.)
You are definitely breaking their arbitrary rules, but I wouldn't call it unethical. Assuming you're still limited to 2GB, how is it harming the carrier? Why are they entitled to the extra revenue? Are they doing anything to allow you to tether? How did consumers lose this argument?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App

agreed.
ethics and contractual obligations are two different things in usa.

omegafiler said:
Ethical? Nope. It's part of your contract you agreed to when you signed up for a service plan. If you want to tether, you've got to pay.
Now as to whether or not you care, that's up to you.
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Just like how it's not ethical to charge people extra for the ways that they're using the data that they PAID for.
What's next? Internet service providers start charging people extra for using streaming services (ala netflix) or watching copious amount of youtube videos? I know XDA don't have the power compare to lobbyists, but don't be stupid enough to think that it's somehow illogical and unethical for using the data that you signed up for (be it on your phone or on your laptop). Bandwidth cap I can understand (because if you use more than 5gb a month on your phone, you need psychological help), but dictating HOW a user can use their data is absolutely not.

Product F(RED) said:
Just because it's part of your contract doesn't mean it's ethical. That's like saying "Because you signed a contract saying you will give me your first born child in exchange for this Evo 3D, it must be ethical".
I agree with carriers that computers use data at a faster rate than phones (as in they are more capable), but they don't give us many choices. With carrier such as AT&T, without a doubt you should be able to use your 2GB as you see fit. It's not a lot to begin with and it's capped. With unlimited data carriers, we should be given a bucket of data for tethering each month. It's stupid to pay for tethering when you have unlimited data.
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I suppose it just depends on your personal view point here. There isn't a right or wrong answer to the question. Some may feel it's wrong, some may not. Personally I think it's dumb. I'm just saying you agreed to a contract. So if you then decide some of the fine print was dumb and would rather disagree, that's up to you.
But it's pretty easy to make an argument for it being "unethical" to ignore portions of a contract you agreed to because you don't like it.

lude219 said:
Just like how it's not ethical to charge people extra for the ways that they're using the data that they PAID for.
What's next? Internet service providers start charging people extra for using streaming services (ala netflix) or watching copious amount of youtube videos? I know XDA don't have the power compare to lobbyists, but don't be stupid enough to think that it's somehow illogical and unethical for using the data that you signed up for (be it on your phone or on your laptop). Bandwidth cap I can understand (because if you use more than 5gb a month on your phone, you need psychological help), but dictating HOW a user can use their data is absolutely not.
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Net Neutrality prevents that but lately it's been losing to asshole lobbyists that are on ISP and Cell Phone network payrolls. Verizon and MetroPCS specifically voted against it. Verizon is officially going to start tiering and throttling data in the summer and MetroPCS already charges you $10 more for being able to visit YouTube and other sites.

If I am paying for unlimited data i deserve to get unlimited data and use it however I wish

Product F(RED) said:
Net Neutrality prevents that but lately it's been losing to asshole lobbyists that are on ISP and Cell Phone network payrolls. Verizon and MetroPCS specifically voted against it. Verizon is officially going to start tiering and throttling data in the summer and MetroPCS already charges you $10 more for being able to visit YouTube and other sites.
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I can't believe this is even a political issue...it's embarrassing. Just one more thing that causes the rest of the world to look at us and laugh.
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Is it ethical to use your home internet on 1 device or on a few trough a router?
I have seen a few ISPs who thought it wasn't, and can you imagine what happened to them?
Yes, they went bankrupt

It's a no-brainer...YES

All they are trying to do is preventing from using too much data and so they don't have to pay for it. And anyways the companies are out to make money and they find anyway possible to make consumers pay for things that at times doesn't cost them anything, why should you worry about your contract a lot of times they break the rules all the time. I remember I was in a two year contract and when sprint and nextel merged my unlimited text messages went from 5 dlls to 15 I went in to the store and called over the phone and they didn't do anything about it they just changed my plan without me knowing and their excuse was that "Now text messages are consider a feature and not part of the contract and my text are not part of my contract anymore" right there who cares what you do with with the amount of data usage. Don't think if it is ethical or not, they aren't always ethical either, to put it in another perspective to look at it! (sorry for the long story there)

johnston9234 said:
If I am paying for unlimited data i deserve to get unlimited data and use it however I wish
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I agree with you there, I had a problem with an ISP once that I was using too much bandwidth on an unlimited plan(Cable Internet). They felt the need to cap my dl speeds to 50kbs from 300kbs. There explanation was that they put me in the "dog house" and said I was using the network for things other than personal use to be consuming all that bandwidth. I ended up arguing with them and they disconnected my service and refused to provide me any. So in the end the ISP or the phone company can screw you over no matter what.

wow. it's ridiculous that they'd even think of charging someone for tethering a phone. it's always been about money, when a greedy moron runs a multi-billion dollar company all they want is money. money money money.

Unlimited data should mean Unlimited data. And this means texting should also be included since it is, in fact, data. It's all data! It all comes down to corporate greed, and nickle & diming the consumers. Why do you think so many people are switching to Vonage (and similar) these days.

Bandwidth cap I can understand (because if you use more than 5gb a month on your phone, you need psychological help), but dictating HOW a user can use their data is absolutely not.[/QUOTE]
How is using more than 5Gb on your phone indicative of psychological instability? I'm not talking about using 20 Gb per month (maybe not even 10). I will
say however that I like to listen to two podcasts a day. That, combined with a few emails,maybe downloading some apps and web surfing I hit the cap almost every month. Back when T-mobile had a 10 Gb cap it was much more comfortable for me and I didn't have to monitor every kilobyte. I'm definitely not talking about copious amounts of data here, and I'm not talking about using it for a replacement for my home broadband. That said, I do feel your remark is offensive.
Sent from either my Nexus S, N1 or telepathically using two tin cans and some string.

Well I'm an AT&T customer and I actually agree on them cracking down on people tethering without paying for it...if people weren't jail-breaking their iPhones to use tethering services without paying for them I think unlimited data might still have been an option for their customers today...I wish they would started doing it a couple years ago... Just because you have unlimited data the TOS that you agreed to has the fine print saying that Unlimited Data applies only to data used on the device by that device not any other connected devices

steezee said:
Well I'm an AT&T customer and I actually agree on them cracking down on people tethering without paying for it...if people weren't jail-breaking their iPhones to use tethering services without paying for them I think unlimited data might still have been an option for their customers today...I wish they would started doing it a couple years ago... Just because you have unlimited data the TOS that you agreed to has the fine print saying that Unlimited Data applies only to data used on the device by that device not any other connected devices
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Of course, that's your opinion, and your entitled to it, as everybody else is on this forum.

steezee said:
Well I'm an AT&T customer and I actually agree on them cracking down on people tethering without paying for it...if people weren't jail-breaking their iPhones to use tethering services without paying for them I think unlimited data might still have been an option for their customers today...I wish they would started doing it a couple years ago... Just because you have unlimited data the TOS that you agreed to has the fine print saying that Unlimited Data applies only to data used on the device by that device not any other connected devices
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Ugggghhhh. When was it ever truly unlimited? The iPhone data plan was 5GB when I got one in 2009. That's a set amount...people should have been allowed to use it in any way. Tethering didn't get you more data in this case (don't think anyway? Did they charge extra or throttle?)...it simply guaranteed that you'd probably use the ACTUAL AMOUNT that you paid for. 5GB is 5GB...they just didn't expect people to actually use it. And when people actually did get their money's worth, AT&T completely screwed everyone with the extra fees.
If you're going to blame anyone, blame AT&T shareholders for demanding outrageous profits.
Not trying to be a jerk, but embracing their viewpoint really doesn't help the consumer cause.
Edit: Assuming Unlimited means Unlimited, I think you're absolutely correct about tethering costing extra. But unlimited in the iPhone's case meant 5GB...they had no right to complain about people using something they already paid for. Isn't this thread addressing whether or not tethering within the cap is ethical?
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Free hotspot for another month

Well I didn't see this posted anywhere else but I just got a text message from Verizon saying I get another month of hotbot free. Here is a copy of the text.
FREE VZW MSG: The Mobile Hotspot/Mobile Broadband Connect promotion for your Smartphone has been extended to 6/15/2011. Share your internet access with up to 8 Wi-Fi capable devices or with your notebook or netbook. After the promotion expires, additional access charges will apply.
Did anyone else get this?

Yes, I got this message as well.

Got it too, made my day
Sent from my T-Bolt

The extension is probably in lieu of the Charge being released soon. Cant complain.

RossLH said:
The extension is probably in lieu of the Charge being released soon. Cant complain.
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Charge has been out for a few days now...

I never claimed to be on top of things...

this could be a case of moron-employee, but a rep I talked to today at a store in Thousand Oaks (Cali.) told me they had no plans to charge for wi-fi hotspot use provided you already had unlimited data.

I suspect it will be free until they have tiered data pricing in place. Because it's free, you can't sign up for it. After tiered data is in place, when you sign up, you're not grandfathered, so that means a contract change along with tiered pricing.
Net/net, there will be no way to grandfather unlimited data along with tethering on the TB.

my mobile hot spot has been shotty lately. Constantly cutting out but i did get the text 5/16

mike.s said:
I suspect it will be free until they have tiered data pricing in place. Because it's free, you can't sign up for it. After tiered data is in place, when you sign up, you're not grandfathered, so that means a contract change along with tiered pricing.
Net/net, there will be no way to grandfather unlimited data along with tethering on the TB.
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I called on the 15th and asked about the pricing and here's what they thought was reasonable......
$50 - 5GB
$80 - 10GB
$10 - EVERY GB Over!!!
I balked and hung up, got a callback for a customer survey 2 min later, told them I wasn't happy and they said a manager may call me back....
The next morning I get that message and it was on engadget...
I guess they had a lot of calls like that....
Sent from my AdasR6400L from the matrix->

I got the message too about charging after a certain date. I seriously doubt Verizon is going to let any money slip through their fingers by grandfathering anyone in. Which is fine with me, I like Wireless Tether better!!!

This may sound a bit on the paranoid side. But, did any one ever think that maybe VZW was letting us have free hot spot feature to see how much DATA we would actually incure on our individual lines? Verizon has a way of finding out how much DATA is being passed through there tather app. That will give them an idea of who is using the after market teather app when there hotspot feature goes to a teared price plann. They know that some will go back to the teather app. And they will be able to make a pretty good educated guess as to whoo is using what. And please, don't tell me that they wouldn't do that. This is a corporation that is out to make money. And we have all the technology that is needed to acquire any info that is desired. And there is nothing wrong with that. But, they think it is OK to charge us for data passing through our phones to any other device other than the phone. When truly, we can download anything we want to the phone and then pass it to a device of our choice either through WiFi or USB. They are merely trying to charge us for convenience. I don't ever use more DATA when teathered to an external device than I could or do when I am on my phone. This charging for DATA tunneling is ridiculous. And has to stop. These a$$ hat clowns have to stop charging for anything they like. What hell! There prices are above and beyond ok. 5 gigs for $50 and so on? Yeah, that's totally reasonable!
One other thing. I don't particularly want to hear some snub nosed douch tell me if I don't like the prices that I can go somewhere else for a cell provider. Yeah, that would be great if 1, VZW didn't purchase Alltel. Or 2, ATT didn't purchase T Mobile. Not that I would move to a GSM carrier. And I kind of need the coverage that aCDMA company can provide. Yes, I know the saying, you pay higher prices for better service. And don't get me wrong. I am grateful to have these technologies available to us. But, the prices have to come down a bit. Any way, I am done *****ing an wearing my tin foil hat. Good evening every one.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

If you don't like the data (what do you use DATA as an acrynym for?) pricing, you can cancel the service. No one is forcing it on you.

mike.s said:
If you don't like the data (what do you use DATA as an acrynym for?) pricing, you can cancel the service. No one is forcing it on you.
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That's not a solution either. While I completely agree with the poster your replying to, I'm not sure there is much we as consumers can do about it. Those of us who actually care and realize what is happening are in the minority. The rest of the consumers who simply use their phones to broadcast their location to everyone on facebook and twitter or check their e-mail will never know that they are being ripped off.

Well unfortunately if Verizon does put me on tiered pricing for data I actually would change carriers. The main reason I came to Verizon was for their service. I don't tether that often, but I like to have the option without having to worry about extra fees but I use the data on my phone A LOT. I honestly doubt they will, but if Verizon does force everyone onto tiered pricing, well, at that point I might as well be with Cricket because all I'll be using is the phone.

I would like to be honest, so given a reasonable price I would buy the tether service, but still use my wired tether app because they wont support wired teather themselves....
The CSR did however tell me that supposedly you will only be charged for what the tether app itself uses and that regular phone data would not count...
Sent from my AdasR6400L from the matrix->

I would be willing to pay $60/mo for unlimited access on top of my current plan. That would match my current ISP. Anything more and I'll just get a VPN service and tether using VPN to prevent them from seeing what traffic is from my phone and what is from another device.

meh, I went ahead and put wifi tether on my tbolt

1 two hour hd movie uses 3 gb of data. I dare Verizon to put a 5gb cap considering a lot of kids use their phone for YouTube viewing which if I remember correctly has hd viewing.
Just as a side note I was on at&T's website the other day (don't ask) and used their usage calculator. They basically told me none of their plans were big enough for what I do on my phone alone let alone tethering with other devices. LOL.
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I had a question regarding the hotspot. I verizon rep told me that we have the hotspot free until 6/15 and after that it will be $20/month for 1G. If you go over its and additional $20 for every following GB. My question is does anyone know how the free hotspot works. Do we only get 1G free and if we go over we will be charged or is it unlimted until the pricing starts and then it has the cap?

AT&T Says it will Move Unlimited Data Customers Who are Tethering to a Tiered Plan

AT&T Says it will Move Unlimited Data Customers Who are Tethering to a Tiered Plan
http://androidcommunity.com/att-say...-who-are-tethering-to-a-tiered-plan-20110804/
AT&T has said that starting as soon as August 11th, it will start moving those customers whom they’ve contacted about tethering without a specific tethering plan on to one. Those customers in question will be moved onto AT&T’s Data Pro plus Tethering, giving them 4 GB of data to use for $45 a month.
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You mean they will actually enforce their terms of service all users agreed to?
Shocking. You don't like it, don't agree to it. Simple.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Hold your horses there hotrod and lose the holier than thou facade, I could care less since I don't tether, I just despise the fact that they rape you for the use of data transferring. Data is data is data no matter how you cut it.
I personally believe the carriers should be taken to the cleaners over this issue on principle alone.
/rant

Tx Redneck said:
Hold your horses there hotrod and lose the holier than thou facade, I could care less since I don't tether, I just despise the fact that they rape you for the use of data transferring. Data is data is data no matter how you cut it.
I personally believe the carriers should be taken to the cleaners over this issue on principle alone.
/rant
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Whoah Nellie, that wasn't directed at you at all. My fault. It was directed at those who are sure to complain. I'm with you 100% on this, but I did sign an agreement so i can't complain about it.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

..........

As i've said before in a thread somewhere...I definetly use wifi tether....when i absolutely need it. IE, i'm out of town and not around a wifi hotspot. I do not use it to download, like some others do. I've been using wifi hotspot since February, and not once have i been contacted by AT&T about "illegally" using the hotspot. The difference is...when you are doing something youre not supposed to, common sense says to stay low key and keep a low profile to stay under the radar. This decreases your chances of getting caught. So as far as I am concerned, for those who abuse this feature deserve to get caught and get sent to a tiered plan.

Corporate Greed

I also tether lightly occasionally and have not been contacted ...
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ThEiiNoCeNT said:
I also tether lightly occasionally and have not been contacted ...
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Same here...

Is this the same threat they were spouting about three months ago, when those mass emails went out?

i still have my grandfathered unlimited data plan, and honestly i will fight to keep it. i dont tether. but when the highest plan is $25 for what 2gb i think, and i pay 30 for unlimited i will keep it thank you. but dont really see a reason to tether anyway... where arent you nowadays that doesnt have a free wifi hotspot? hell the grocery store has one here because there is a starbucks inside...

Data is data is data is not correct. Data cost money no matter how u want to look at it. Yes u are paying for a plan with a certain amount of data, lets say 2gb. First they are a company for profit not a non profit company, Most people dont use all there data, not even close to it, and they factor this in before pricing it. Data isnt cheap, while u feel like your paying for 2gb of data, that u should beable to use it how u want, doesnt mean you can tether and increase the amount of data u use.
if everyone who has a 2gb plan for 25 dollars uses 90% of there data or more every month, u would be paying alot more than 25 dollars for internet.
Do u really think when they created unlimited plans they also can give unlimited amounts of data away and it doesnt cost them any extra? while u feel you are being cheated, the ones actually being cheated are the ones not tethering paying high prices for data.
What you are saying is the same thing as saying a bank can give everyone all there money back, or that a insurance company can afford to pay claims for every person that has insurance, its not feasable. If u truely want it that way they would probaly more than double the current price for data if everyone used there max but they count on alot not using it so there cost is down and so is yours.

A couple of things-first off I too have unlimited data and if they decide to alter my plan in any way I will leave and not look back. As far as unlimited data goes, I guess I don't know what it means. If I pay for unlimited I expect to have unlimated why does it matter how I use it. Is there a differnece from downloading something on my phone vs my pc, if not than who cares.
When I stopped at att today the chick was viewinf my account and noticed I don't use that much data on my 3 lines, she was begging me to switch to a 2gb plan, I laughed in her face. Side note- att has no idea of any attain coming.
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@jc,
I read an article a few weeks back that the average cost for an ISP to support 1GB of network traffic is $0.10. Let's say it's double that for a wireless provider even though it's all 1's and 0's, that would mean on average what we pay $25 per month for 2GB of traffic generation only cost the $0.40 to serve.
I agree that they're in it to make money and don't fault them for it, but their profit margin is GROSSLY disproportionate to the Co's most folk like to piss and moan about(Exxon Mobile..).
Tx

http://gigaom.com/broadband/mobile-data-costs-to-jump-7x-for-operators-to-370b-by-2016/
its not as cheap as u think.mobile data is alot more expensive than cable internet or dsl
Btw all major isp's have caps on there unlimited plans, mine is 450gb a month, comcast i think is 250gb. There was also a story recently of a guy that got suspended by cable isp for a few months after exceeding cap, and after he exceeded cap for a second time was suspended for 1 year.
It is your right to switch to a different mobile carrier, but fact is they all have caps. and with att buying tmobile who is left? not many choices.

I use tethering when I really need some Internet in the middle of nowhere where there is no free wifi or free with aircrackng. Att has never said anything because I use less than 400mb of data per month with occasional 1 to 3 gb spikes if I'm tethering or I look down and notice I have ridiculous reception and run a ****load of 200mb tests from testmy.net
If they do say anything about my infrequent tethering resulting in the loss of my unlimited I think I will give testmy.net money so I can have it run the huge test repeatedly for a month.
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I posted the same info in the other similiar thead. For those that don't know it or never read it, there was a 5GB fair use clause for your unlimited data plan. So that might be the magical number to watch.

Ok guys I am gonna close this up. On a side note if you look at the TOS everyone agreed to when then signed the contract it states that as long as ATT sends you an email or a text to notify you, they can change your account to the proper plans.
But no one will know for sure till it hits. Could be they are gonna bring this policy over from tmobile with the merger but till then no one knows for sure.
Thread closed