Goodbye illegal tethering

[jntdroid]

I pay $30 for unlimited data and use 2-3gb per month, on a bad month. My neighbor pays $30 for unlimited data, and uses his phone for all his internet, racking up 15-20gb per month. We both signed the contract, we both understand that that possibility exists. However, Verizon/AT&T/etc. have to protect that. Any time you get a discrepancy like that in a commodity, economically speaking, it's a bad thing.

Bandwidth is the #1 commodity for the carriers, and they have to protect it - especially AT&T, who has been maxed out for some time. Honestly, I think cracking down on this is a benefit to a majority of the customers who do not hack/tether, b/c it helps to protect that commodity. It's the few who screw it up for the majority. If everybody just tethered a little bit here and there, it wouldn't be a huge deal.

Whether we like or not, we signed the agreement with our carriers. Whether it's philosophically wrong for VZW, AT&T, whomever, to crack down on tethering, doesn't matter, we signed the agreement with our carriers. There is definitely a sense of entitlement from a lot of rooters/jailbreakers/tetherers. CZ is right... not that it will stop us rooters from doing it, but we shouldn't complain when they crack down on it.

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

Money, I didn't say everyone was trained, but many people don't even question things anymore. I bet if ATT or VZW added 2 bucks to everyones bill, a very small percentage would question it.

And you are right about contract ammendments. I was waiting for that response

I apologize, I should be more direct in a thread where I can't fluctuate tone, or indicate a scenario.

I'll often "argue" from someone elses point of view to fish for clarity or understanding of the position of the person I'm "arguing with.

Odd way to gauge someones point of view, but you'd be surprised at what you can learn verses being direct.

Sorry if I annoyed anyone

I owe you dinner...

But the drinks are sold separately

~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

I do that all the time. Arguing is always viewed as a bad thing but in my opinion when its peaceful then its constructive. My English 102 teacher a year back thought the same. Our class would constantly have meaningless but fun arguments about random stuff. very constructive.

 

[Vyvid]

It doesn't "necessarily" cost them the same though. If one person is using 50 persons worth of bandwidth, sure it may not affect the network overall, but it is costing VZW some money even if its negligible, and the more people that do it the less negligible it gets. I don't blame them for wanting to charge for tethering, although I wish they would make it a reasonable price instead of $20 for 2GB, but that's their choice. I also, as mentioned, wouldn't blame them if they came after me for the probably 20MB of tethering I've used in the year+ I've had my phone. They have every right to if they want to. It's their company not ours. They can set prices as they please. The point is they have to protect their assets and their network. Letting people replace their ISP with LTE is not something they'd want even if data is data and it was costing the same (which its not).[/QUOTE]


I know sweety, I'm letting you know what a lot of people think. I actually agree with you 100%

I don't think vzw should have done "unlimited" data in the first place, leads to a.lot of confusion for people who don't know how it works.

Good forn enticing customers though. A random person presented with unlimited vs 100GBS is probably going to choose unlimited because it sounds like more.


~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

 

[www3]

They have a poll over on wired.com for att users. 5% of responders who tether say they have received a notice. 57% who tether say they have not received anything. The poll is new and less than 100 respondents so far.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums App

 

[DroidMastar2]

guess all the people who replaced their ISP with Verizon 3G will have to save up some money so they can have internet now haha

Haha....It's probably why the so many have been irate/crying/threatening the last 6 months when they thought LTE rates were getting jacked and an end to unlimited data. Now everyone is rushing to lock-in and I have to question what you really will be locking in. I thought VZW would probably cap (and maybe effectively they will/are with throttling), but certainly they won't just continue to ignore tethering abuse.

I was going to say it's really tough to go over 2gigs unless you watch a lot of video and/or d/l torrents, but flashing roms is starting to hog bandwidth (100megs+ just to d/l all your apps again from market, plus 70+ on the rom itself).

Yeah no chance that they'll continue to allow unbridled tethering on 4G. I agree that using it in a pinch shouldn't be that big a deal, especially if you're not using any more then you normally would in a monthly cycle, but if they want to crack down on that too that's their prerogative. But it must totally suck for those who play PS3 and XBOX simultaneously while downloading torrents and streaming music all through their phone. There's a few people on this forum who I can think of who have employed the old "I pay for unlimited so I will violate my TOS if I want to" justification. Can't say I feel sorry for them though...

wait who manages to play ps3 and xbox simultaneously while downloading on a tethered 3g connection LOL.... y would you want to?

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

Haha....It's probably why the so many have been irate/crying/threatening the last 6 months when they thought LTE rates were getting jacked and an end to unlimited data. Now everyone is rushing to lock-in and I have to question what you really will be locking in. I thought VZW would probably cap (and maybe effectively they will/are with throttling), but certainly they won't just continue to ignore tethering abuse.

I was going to say it's really tough to go over 2gigs unless you watch a lot of video and/or d/l torrents, but flashing roms is starting to hog bandwidth (100megs+ just to d/l all your apps again from market, plus 70+ on the rom itself).

Yeah no chance that they'll continue to allow unbridled tethering on 4G. I agree that using it in a pinch shouldn't be that big a deal, especially if you're not using any more then you normally would in a monthly cycle, but if they want to crack down on that too that's their prerogative. But it must totally suck for those who play PS3 and XBOX simultaneously while downloading torrents and streaming music all through their phone. There's a few people on this forum who I can think of who have employed the old "I pay for unlimited so I will violate my TOS if I want to" justification. Can't say I feel sorry for them though...

wait who manages to play ps3 and xbox simultaneously while downloading on a tethered 3g connection LOL.... y would you want to?

Haha, can you imagine the lag! That person on ps3 would be invisible their would be so much lag. If you are skilled enough to play ps3 and xbox at same time. Lol, thats a great contest.

 

[Vyvid]

I will admit I did want to use it for netflix on wii here and there, just because I have 4 year old twins and the same movies over and over drive me bonkers

~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

 

[Vyvid]

Also why I gave up Halo and Deadspace for Mario and Dora lol

~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

 

[czerdrill]

Haha....It's probably why the so many have been irate/crying/threatening the last 6 months when they thought LTE rates were getting jacked and an end to unlimited data. Now everyone is rushing to lock-in and I have to question what you really will be locking in. I thought VZW would probably cap (and maybe effectively they will/are with throttling), but certainly they won't just continue to ignore tethering abuse.

I was going to say it's really tough to go over 2gigs unless you watch a lot of video and/or d/l torrents, but flashing roms is starting to hog bandwidth (100megs+ just to d/l all your apps again from market, plus 70+ on the rom itself).

Yeah no chance that they'll continue to allow unbridled tethering on 4G. I agree that using it in a pinch shouldn't be that big a deal, especially if you're not using any more then you normally would in a monthly cycle, but if they want to crack down on that too that's their prerogative. But it must totally suck for those who play PS3 and XBOX simultaneously while downloading torrents and streaming music all through their phone. There's a few people on this forum who I can think of who have employed the old "I pay for unlimited so I will violate my TOS if I want to" justification. Can't say I feel sorry for them though...

wait who manages to play ps3 and xbox simultaneously while downloading on a tethered 3g connection LOL.... y would you want to?

Haha just hyperbole. I don't get how people use that much bandwidth in one month.

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[sc4fpse]

Actually "illegal" is a term commonly used by large companies for things in conflict with their policies as a means to deter people from violating their policies through fear.

So it's not too uncommon for people to take it literally, as that is why its worded that way.

Granted, most people know better. But I always ask for clarification when people use the term, because it's one of those ugly little tool words that get taken out of context

~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

Right, and I do know that. That last bit of my post was probably aimed at the wrong people. Perhaps not in this thread, but in other places, there have been instances where people clearly thought you were breaking some sort of law by tethering without the proper add-on plan for it. Those are the people that comment should have been aimed at. Though I do think the word "illegal" is still a bad word to use when discussing what you're allowed to do in a contract and what you're prohibited from doing.

 

[sc4fpse]

this is bogus. they are so greedy they are trying everything possible to make as much money. we already pay for data let us use it how we wish. im glad i dont have at&t and if verizon does this im going to sprint.

you paid for mobile data on your cellphone for use only on your cellphone, not tethering. It's two completely different things (as far as VZW is concerned) I will never understand why that's so hard for people to comprehend.

this is bogus! i paid for my food at this restaurant and they want to charge me for my drinks! the nerve of them!!

Actually, no, this is more like walking into a restaurant, ordering take-out, and then the restaurant demanding that you tip whoever took your order in order for you to be allowed to take your food elsewhere and eat it.

 

[czerdrill]

Actually "illegal" is a term commonly used by large companies for things in conflict with their policies as a means to deter people from violating their policies through fear.

So it's not too uncommon for people to take it literally, as that is why its worded that way.

Granted, most people know better. But I always ask for clarification when people use the term, because it's one of those ugly little tool words that get taken out of context

~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

Right, and I do know that. That last bit of my post was probably aimed at the wrong people. Perhaps not in this thread, but in other places, there have been instances where people clearly thought you were breaking some sort of law by tethering without the proper add-on plan for it. Those are the people that comment should have been aimed at. Though I do think the word "illegal" is still a bad word to use when discussing what you're allowed to do in a contract and what you're prohibited from doing.

Illegal literally means prohibited ...so its probably a good term to use there...like in basketball...illegal defense. kobe's not getting cuffed every time the whistle blows

 

[sc4fpse]

Actually "illegal" is a term commonly used by large companies for things in conflict with their policies as a means to deter people from violating their policies through fear.

So it's not too uncommon for people to take it literally, as that is why its worded that way.

Granted, most people know better. But I always ask for clarification when people use the term, because it's one of those ugly little tool words that get taken out of context

~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

Right, and I do know that. That last bit of my post was probably aimed at the wrong people. Perhaps not in this thread, but in other places, there have been instances where people clearly thought you were breaking some sort of law by tethering without the proper add-on plan for it. Those are the people that comment should have been aimed at. Though I do think the word "illegal" is still a bad word to use when discussing what you're allowed to do in a contract and what you're prohibited from doing.

Illegal literally means prohibited ...so its probably a good term to use there...like in basketball...illegal defense. kobe's not getting cuffed every time the whistle blows

You're right, but the word has a legal connotation that I think confuses people.

 

[CD95YJ]

I know sweety, I'm letting you know what a lot of people think. I actually agree with you 100%

I don't think vzw should have done "unlimited" data in the first place, leads to a.lot of confusion for people who don't know how it works.

Good forn enticing customers though. A random person presented with unlimited vs 100GBS is probably going to choose unlimited because it sounds like more.


~*Sent from a Galaxy far, far away*~

I disagree, I think the unlimited plan is a good idea. Google maps uses data for gps, and in your car your not gonna have wifi, pandora or slacker... same thing, blockbuster... same thing. Limiting ones use for a phone that "does what other phones can't" would be bad business sense. The other aspect that is bad business sense is offering unlimited data (which gives you the ability to tether even unrooted through bluetooth) for 29.99 then charging 20.00 for only 2gb of tethered data. When people see the 2gb limit drives them to root and tether without a tether package. If they offered unlimited tethering or even 20gb for 20.00, in my opinion, people would see the benifit in the tether plan and root for reasons other than free tethering.

Sent from my DROIDX using DroidForums App

 

[HarshReality]

So from my POV.. I have unlimited data. If I got a dear John letter and actually called them they could offer me the 'updated account' and if I refused legally they could hit me for backing out of the contract for early termination. BUT if I let it go and they simply rewrite my plan then they are the ones in violation of my pre existing agreement and I could legally get out of the contract scott free. I went through a similar issue with Sprint once on a business account. At the time it was established I was getting a 15% discount but upon leaving my employer they wanted me to 'update my contract'. I told them I was fine with it as it was and if they wanted they could cancel my contract at their discretion. In the end they left it alone and just let the contract ride out and had the updated agreement waiting when I tried to do an upgrade.

I think this whole AT&T thing is a matter of 'only the guilty' will actually call in to fight it. Or at least that is what they are hoping. Perhaps I just hijacked this thread.. was not my intent at all.