Free Tethering On AT&T No More?

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A while back, AT&T let it be known that they were cracking down on those who are tethering their phones to other devices without the official tethering data plan from AT&T. It’s quite easy, as there are a number of ways to do it on iPhones, Android phones and BlackBerrys, etc., but it’s technically against the terms of service. People do it on every carrier, but AT&T is the first to start cracking down on it. Now, they’ve sent out their “final warning” to customers who continue to do it.

AT&T customers who continue to tether on AT&T without the $45/month tethering plan received this text message from the carrier:

AT&T Free Msg: We’ve noticed you’re continuing to enjoy the tethering feature with your smartphone service. Remember, you need a tethering plan ($45/mo, incl. 4GB) to use this feature, so we’re planning to update your line with the required plan soon.

It looks like AT&T will be changing people’s plans to do this. The other option, which some carriers have done internationally, is to just drop huge fees on your monthly bill in an attempt to get you to sign up for a tethering plan or just to stop.

AT&T isn’t making any friends with this move though. In the regulatory filing with the FCC regarding buying T-Mobile, they’ve publicly said that they can’t keep up with all the traffic on their network, especially from smartphones and tablets. Any iPhone user in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles would of told you that, but they admitted it to the government (which is why, they say, they need to buy T-Mobile, to add capacity to the network). This move to limit and reign in unauthorized tethering is another way that AT&T is attempting to control data usage on its network.