Want to Turn Your New iPhone 3G S Into a Modem? Be Ready to Pay Up.
by Peter Kafka
Posted on June 19, 2009 at 7:10 AM PT
If you’re the sort of person who gets up early to stand in line for the new iPhone 3G S, then you’ve almost certainly got one in your hands by now: Early reports are that the lines for Apple’s (AAPL) newest handset are much more manageable than for previous rollouts. (Though there are some exceptions!)
And if you are that kind of person, chances are you’re interested in the new phone’s “tethering” function, the ability to plug it into your laptop and use it as a modem. But you’re going to have be patient–and affluent.
If you’re an AT&T customer, you’re not going to get the chance to do this in the near future. The wireless company has announced that it’s going to offer tethering, but hasn’t said when. Meanwhile, it has said that it will offer MMS, the ability to send videos and photos from the phone without using email, this summer. So reading between the lines, it’s reasonable to assume that tethering won’t be showing up for the next few months at the very least
And if you’re an AT&T customer, chances are that when you do get the chance to tether, it’s going to be very expensive. Like most carriers, AT&T (T) has said it is going to levy an additional charge for tethering, but hasn’t said how much. Web reports out today suggest that AT&T plans to charge $55 a month. on top of its $30-a-month iPhone data plan. As Daring Fireball’s John Gruber notes, that’s much more than wireless customers outside the U.S. pay for tethering. But it’s cheaper than the rates other AT&T customers already pony up: Blackberry owners currently pay the carrier an additional $60 a month for tethering. UPDATE: Thanks to reader Rob Campbell for catching my error: AT&T charges Blackberry users an additional $15 a month for tethering. So if AT&T really does charge tethering iPhone users $55 a month, it’s likely to be an all-in-one charge that includes the phone’s $30 data plan. We’ll see when the company finally announces pricing, whenever that is.
For what it’s worth, I’m not in the chorus of those who think that’s outrageous: I currently pay Sprint (S) $60 a month for a (pokey) wireless EVDO card with a 5GB data limit, on top of the $100 I pay for an unlimited voice/data plan for my BlackBerry.
ANOTHER (!) UPDATE: Earlier in the day AT&T refused to comment on the $55 pricing plan. Now, via their Facebook page (!), the company confirms that tethering will not cost $55 on top of standard data plans. But it doesn’t actually say how much tethering will cost. So we’re back where we started.
[Image credit: PR 1001]
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Comments
If you’re the sort of person who gets up early to stand in line for the new iPhone 3Gs, then you’ve almost certainly got one in your hands by now.
If you’re the sort of person who has a tech blog on All Things D, then you almost certainly understand data pricing plans and the difference between tethering a 3G cellphone and a completely separate 3G modem. Almost certainly.
The $60 Blackberry plan you refer to is an alternative that includes tethering, not an add-on to an existing plan. So the cost for tethering is $15/month, which is typical for most carriers.
As for your smartphone and modem: That’s like having two separate phones with two contracts and therefore two fees. Fair or not (or wise or not for an industry trying to drive data usage), it’s fairly standard.
If you have a Touch Pro like me and are somewhat technologically savvy (but not so savvy that you have a tech blog or anything), you’ve almost certainly deleted a single registry key and now enjoy tethering for free.
Posted by Rob Campbell at June 19th, 2009 at 8:21 amHi Rob. I’ll double check with AT&T re: BlackBerry tethering fee.
Posted by Peter Kafka at June 19th, 2009 at 8:35 amI would like some clarification about what you are doing on Sprint. If you have a SIMPLY EVERYTHING plan on your blackberry, you are right, you cannot tether, HOWEVER, if you have a normal Blackberry and voice plan combination, then TETHERING is INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE on the Blackberry. We recommend if you plan on using your BB for calls while being on the internet you should also get a card, but again for occasional use with REGULAR VOICE AND BLACKBERRY PLAN COMBINATIONS, ON SPRINT, TETHERING IS ALLOWED FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.
Posted by Kurt Liebendorfer at June 19th, 2009 at 8:38 amYes, you’re correct. My mistake.
Posted by Peter Kafka at June 19th, 2009 at 8:39 amhttp://www.wireless.att.com/bu.....-table.jsp
Footnote 5 says, “Tethering is included with these plans.”
Rob
Posted by Rob Campbell at June 19th, 2009 at 8:40 amI would be thrilled to have the chance to pay for tethering. But living in technologically backward Japan, we will never even be allowed to pay for it if we want to. Those of you on AT&T should count your blessings! We are very lucky to finally have gotten the 3G a year ago. It wont go much further than that.
Posted by Alan Lefor at June 24th, 2009 at 6:20 am