Beginning August 11th, AT&T plans to force users to join a new data plan if they deem the customer to be "illegally tethering". It seems that this is mostly targeted toward jailbroken iPhones with wireless hotspot apps. Upon further reading, it seems like AT&T is less concerned about the tethering itself, and more so about making your unlimited data available to several people at once. Here is one of many similar articles about the topic.

I suspect other carriers will follow suit.

Of the big 3, the only one to still have Unlimited Data is sprint.. I'd expect that to change in a year or 2 once they see how much additional business they get assuming people leave their current provider.

"Illegal tethering".........I've never,.... who would do such a thing!?

There's another one to add to your list, AT&T.

LOL@Mike! I too thought their use of the word "illegal" sounded rather manufactured and dramatic. But there probably IS a teeny tiny clause somewhere that covers something like tethering.

Stupid. They wanted to play in the ISP space, but now they want to do so on their terms. OK. Let's see what happens.

Wanna know what's crazy? Sprint's prepaid division (Virgin Mobile) is now advertising a flat $40 per month for an all-you-can-eat, prepaid wireless plan. True, Virgin only uses the 3G network, but hey, there's no 5GB limit on the data piece as it is with contract Sprint plans. Unlimited talk, text and Internet for $40. It's all over the billboards down here. Android is supported on Sprint quite well, which means that the option of unlimited tethering still exists.

The tariffs are circling the bowl once again....

I got my "warning" in the mail the other day letting me know of the "tethering options" I can add to my account. After almost 3 years of using PDAnet, I get a nasty gram. What a crock...

I know it sucks and even though I'm on Verizon I have to be very careful with my usage now but can we really complain? The cellular contract clearly states that the internet usage is unlimited to the cellular device only. If the customer is breaking the terms of the contract then the carrier can do whatever they please. They are playing in the ISP space and they DID set the terms when the customer signed a contract stating you would NOT tether without paying for it. How can we really complain about this?????

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I reviewed my 42 page AT&T Wireless contract and it says nothing about tethering. At any rate, I only use it when I can't find a hard Internet connection and there is nothing but encrypted wireless in the vicinity. My phone gets Internet in that case--so I use it.

As I see it (and lawyers may disagree), I no more tax their network with my tethered connection than I would by browsing straight from my phone...it's just a bit more convenient from my laptop is all.

I mentioned later in the thread that it looks like they are NOT after people like me, but rather those who turn their mobile devices into hotspots for OTHERS to use. That makes sense.

If I use my laptop via a tether and then let someone else use it, it would be the same as if I handed my phone to that person. But the hotspot apps I've seen allow as many as four people to browse the web at once, while the carrier only collect from a single subscriber.

Obviously I can't complain if my contract says anything specifically about this kind of behavior. But I thinks it's fair to point out that with my home Internet connection, I can open up my wireless to my neighbors for free. Hell, I can even ship voice, porn...nearly whatever I want across it. The carrier doesn't care.

My point was, why does an ISP in one case care so deeply while the other pretty much doesn't give a hoot as long as the bill is paid? Because 3G is clogged? And 4G will be within two years? If this is the real problem, then they should come up with a tiered rate plan. That or something equivalent to a FiOS for mobile devices. LOL.

I always wondered what the data stream looked like from a tethered computers browser. Is it different from the Browser on the phone?

Yes, their are several tell tale signs such as the browser ID, resolution, and TTL, APN, OS version, and other header information.