What Are The Consequences of Extreme Tethering?

[jcwilliams]

Lmao!

 

[Angelou22]

Funny story, slightly OT but goes with my metaphor. Once I was at a Chinese buffet where they served snow crab legs. I was on my 3rd plate (after all, not much meat in a crab leg) and the owner came up to me and started yelling "No more crab leg for you, you eat too many crab leg you put me out of business. No more crab leg, you eat fried dough ball if you still hungry" - you had to be there, me and my buddy started calling him the "Crab Nazi" (like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld) *LOL*

I laughed a little bit more than I should have. Thanks man.

 

[Dave12308]

I laughed a little bit more than I should have. Thanks man.

No problem man, me and my buddy STILL laugh about it to this day; and it was about 10 years ago!

 

[josh1980]

Regardless of the Terms of service violation my opinion is this. I paid for unlimited data. The data doesn't cost "more" or "less" if I tethered versus downloading files to my phone and then copying them to my laptop. When I'm home and at a friends' house that has wifi, I use it. I keep my wifi on all the time and try to stay away from having to use Verizon's network. I try to be conscientious of others on the Verizon network because there's only so much bandwidth. I happily use about 250MB/month and I have unlimited data. So far this year I've used less than 2GB combined. I'm a big power user/tweaker, but 99% of my usage is at home and at a friend's house.

If my internet goes out at my house, I won't feel guilty about tethering for a few days. If I go travel somewhere and drink up 20GB in a month because I'm traveling I won't feel guilty. It's a give an take. I try to stay off of Verizon's network as much as I can. But when I want to use it I will. It doesn't really cost Verizon any more to sell me 2GB versus 200GB.

 

[striker85]

81g? This thread just wasted 84 k of my data. Pointless...

 

[dautley]

The FCC has ruled that Verizon can in no way restrict 4G LTE data. as part of a areement they made to get the spectrum. They can charge you a tethering fee, but can't limit 3rd party tethering apps or limit unlimited data which the consumer has a right to use as they choose.

 

[IT_Fella]

It's people like you that abuse the system that caused Verizon to stop offering unlimited data! 81 gigs really? I have never gone past 5 gigs in a month. If I were Verizon I would terminate your account!

So just exactly what about the word unlimited do you not understand?

 

[Dave12308]

So just exactly what about the word unlimited do you not understand?

Sadly, "unlimited" really isn't. If they throttle you after a certain threshold (and they do) it's not really "unlimited". What I want to know is how they can advertise something as "unlimited" when it isn't. Seems to me if you or I tried something like that we'd be nailed for false advertising.

 

[Dave12308]

The FCC has ruled that Verizon can in no way restrict 4G LTE data. as part of a areement they made to get the spectrum. They can charge you a tethering fee, but can't limit 3rd party tethering apps or limit unlimited data which the consumer has a right to use as they choose.

They DO restrict it, though. Use a vast amount of data, and watch your speeds slow to a crawl. Throttling is a form of usage restriction in my mind. Maybe the FCC should DO something about it and actually enforce their ruling.

 

[dautley]

They DO restrict it, though. Use a vast amount of data, and watch your speeds slow to a crawl. Throttling is a form of usage restriction in my mind. Maybe the FCC should DO something about it and actually enforce their ruling.

Very very illegal to throttle G4, not G3 data. And only on Verizon because of the terms Verizon agreed to when buying that spectrum. If anyone has G4 data throttled or restricted they should file a complaint with the FCC via the online complaint forum here. File Complaint | FCC.gov Of course Verizon can fall back on the "to preserve network integrity" bit, but not all the time.
Maybe the FCC doesn't do anything because no one complains.

 

[skennelly]

There are free apps in the market like Foxfi, open garden, and pda net, etc. IMO, if they are there, use them. I think the issue is when you hack verizon app and use it for free. This was done on the DX with a flashable zip that modified the nv ram and in turn you could use the native tether app at no charge. Just like you can use Google Maps for free or pay $3/month for vzw navigation (do they still charge for this?), or Google Voice's visual voicemail for free or pay for vzw vv. The minute you "hack" vzw's paid app and use it for free, you are breaking your TOS. Vzw has every right to charge a fee for their proprietary apps, that doesn't mean you cannot use a free alternative that is available in the market.

Sent from my SCH-I535

 

[FoxKat]

A recent FCC ruling stated that using an application that is available on the app store to gain free wireless tethering could not be treated as a violation of the TOS by Verizon, which opens the door for foxfi and other tethering apps. It did not however change the position on the legality of hacking the built-in Verizon hotspot app to escape paying the monthly fee.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[CD95YJ]

http://m.cnet.com/news/what-verizons-fcc-tethering-settlement-means-to-you-faq/57485518?ds=1

Read the whole article, especially the part where it says if your on an unlimited plan you still have to pay to tether. There could be consiquences whether it be financial or cancellation of service if caught tethering, and 81gb of data in a month is pretty easy to catch.

In conclusion, while Verizon and the FCC came to an agreement, that agreement excludes the unlimited plan so tether at your own risk.

 

[FoxKat]

First off, we are not here to judge or criticise. This is an open forum for the discussion of smart phones, specifically Android platform, and related industries, as well as how they integrate into our lives. Each of us has our own unique situations, and how we use our devices depends on those unique differences. What may seem fair or equitable usage to one may seem like excessive or abusive to another. However it is not for us to criticize or act rudely toward another simply because you disagree or feel somehow their actions affect how you benefit from your device.

Let's keep the 'tone' of this discussion to what is relevant to the topic and away from opinions about how one uses their device given their particular circumstances. If it's something that requires intervention by Verizon to resolve, you can bet they will intervene.

As for throttling being a 'limit' on unlimited data, see it as more a balancing of the throughput of data in a particular cell site so as to prevent the denying of access to another cellphone user. This makes complete sense given that cellular communication is regulated by the FCC in order to assure it is fairly distributed.

If someone is using excessive amounts of data such that it limits or prevents the fair use of another it becomes mandated that the carrier do what is necessary to restore balance. Such interruption of service for others by excessive use by one is really no different than a DOS attack on a website. Each cell site and local node (group of sites), only has so much bandwidth to go around, and throttling is a way to balance out that bandwidth, so that everyone has fair access.

Using the analogy of the all-you-can-eat restaurant, they may allow you to return to the food bar as often as you like, but you can't carry back to your table more than will fit on the plate at one time.

Now play nice.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[bhp117]

So I upgraded to a Droid Bionic last May and was lucky enough to be able to keep my unlimited data plan with Verizon since 2009. I'm very happy with my phone and

everything but, I could honestly say that in the past 2 months, about 80% of the time, I am tethering the soul out of my data. I do outrageous things like download full

games on Steam (Skyrim updates, TF2 and the Crysis collection), watch entire TV shows like Mad Men on Netflix, browse tons on videos on YouTube, etc. Last month alone,

from the 1st of August till the 6th of September, I had tethered 81GB of bandwidth. No, that is NOT a typo. I REALLY meant EIGHTY ONE GIGABYTES.

My concern is, what could Verizon possibly do? My last bill was normal. Didn't receive a call from a Verizon rep or anything. Although, I am almost certain that Verizon has

me on their 'bad customer' list since I've noticed a significant amount of download speeds decreased. I wouldn't be surprised if they already throttle the hell out of my data.

What are your thoughts?

I have been avg 80+ gig since may 2011 and vzw havnt done anything yet so i dont think you have to worry much about it
I also havent get throttle yet when ever i reach 50+ gigs
Several times i went over 100+
I know haters see this post will start flaming , so flame all you want and i dont give a rat butt
i do what i want to do with my unlimited data:biggrin: