Tethering - Here's why I wouldn't do it...

[K1K]

for the record you won't find anyone more for free market/capitalism than myself. if you know anything about the history of our country (assuming were all from the USA) it's one of the things that made us great. (stepping off of soapbox now)

but here is my point. tethering is an application that uses my data plan which I pay as much for as my cable at home. If they allow this application on another device on there network but not on mine, without an extra charge.....color me pissed off and looking for a fight. and I am no lawyer but I think your wrong and there is some room in there for a legal debate.

and don't get me wrong I have had Verizon since it was Ameritech, so I like the company and we are arguing in hypothetical situations at the moment.
I guess we'll see when 2.2 drops to the public.

Philosophically, we're on the exact same page, but I dont see any sort of grounds for any sort of lawsuit, unless Verizon somehow misrepresents this contract to people.

Verizon has already done what you say. Different fees depending on the type of phone you use, to access the same internet. Think VZW Navigator. Droid users get GPS for free, and dumber-phone users pay extra for this service. It's a similar idea with tethering.

when your talking a standard cell phone vs. smartphones I understand the different levels of service. but verizon dumps palm/android/win mobile all into smartphone category so if the palm gets tethering with a 29.99/month data plan then those of us with Android devices paying 29.99/month for data should get it also. especially if 2.2 does have it natively. to me that's just good business.

ltken and aminaked, i've enjoyed our little debate but now it's time for dinner.
you guys have a great evening.

 

[aminaked]

You guys are both jumping to conclusions. My contract is not for my Droid. Maybe you signed one but I think that would be silly. My contract with Vz is for the service they provide. The Droid is a peice of equipment I use to access that service.

I don't know if this was directed at me but I don't see how I'm "jumping to conclusions" on the point you mention.

when your talking a standard cell phone vs. smartphones I understand the different levels of service. but verizon dumps palm/android/win mobile all into smartphone category so if the palm gets tethering with a 29.99/month data plan then those of us with Android devices paying 29.99/month for data should get it also. especially if 2.2 does have it natively. to me that's just good business.

ltken and aminaked, i've enjoyed our little debate but now it's time for dinner.
you guys have a great evening.

Point taken, it is kinda crappy of verizon to not give us what they're giving to the palm pre people, but that's their business decision. We can choose another carrier next time, but I don't think we'd win a suit over it. I don't know if the next carrier we choose'd be any better. What'd you have for dinner?

********

Other links that shows how Verizon can act:

PART ONE: http://forums.crackberry.com/f71/omg-help-190239/

Part TWO: http://forums.crackberry.com/f35/my-tetherberry-disaster-218451/

Read if you tether. Found in this thread: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...-phone-connects-facts-myths-about-debate.html

 

[smokiedabong]

Other links that shows how Verizon can act:

Part TWO: My Tetherberry Disaster - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

Sounds more like a Jehovah's Witnesses propaganda to me .

 

[LtKen]

Point taken, it is kinda crappy of verizon to not give us what they're giving to the palm pre people, but that's their business decision. We can choose another carrier next time, but I don't think we'd win a suit over it. I don't know if the next carrier we choose'd be any better. What'd you have for dinner?
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...-phone-connects-facts-myths-about-debate.html

Do we have any proof that Palm isnt footing the bill for this promotion? I dont belive Verizon would eat a cost in order to sell a phone that people dont seem to want.... It seems much more likely that Palm is eating the cost in order to have some chance in competing with Android.

Just speculation, but business is business.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Has anyone been able to successfully add the $10/month "android" mobileconnect to their service?

 

[aminaked]

Other links that shows how Verizon can act:

Part TWO: My Tetherberry Disaster - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

Sounds more like a Jehovah's Witnesses propaganda to me .

Yeah, part two of that tetherberry tale is odd but I figured I'd include it so people could see the whole story.

 

[JohnnyDepth]

Other links that shows how Verizon can act:

PART ONE:Omg!!! Help!!! Unexpected data charges for Tetherberry use - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

Part TWO: My Tetherberry Disaster - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

Uh, did you read this sad fail of a story?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but....

-The phone (BB Curve) was a gift.
-The kid stated clearly he could not afford the VZN card
-Nor the $30.00 data plan.


AFAIK you cannot buy a smart phone and NOT have a
mandated data plan...

So either this story is FOS, OR under some benign circumstance...
VZN allowed the phone to used as a regular phone, and IF used
for data, would be charged on a per MB basis...


Tethering under this circumstance...
OF course he'd get charged!!!!
Tether or no tether.

 

[mcatdtDroid]

more half stories......

if you want to say tethering a droid is potentially bad, post horror stories of tethering a droid

not an e815
not a BB
not any other phone that has a data plan available, but a Droid.

The issue is, and always has been, the fact that we can not pay for tethering. $20 a month for that ability is still a economic win for me considering I was paying over 50 for inet that I couldn't even take with me when I left the house.

tethering on those other phones /= tethering on a droid.... I don't know why people keep posting those stories (well, yes I do, because no such stories exist for the Droid)

Bottom line, the "don't tether" folks seem to think those that tether are going to somehow ruin it for everyone, and therefore, any scare tactic available is fair game if it prevents people from streaming their netflix, even if the article doesn't even apply



"Nokia 4100 user charged 25K because he used his phone on nights and weekends when he didn't have the unlimited nights and weekends plan." <----there guys, don't talk on your phones on nights and weekends because its going to ruin it for the rest of us somehow.

 

[Diordna]

I say we all sit around a camp fire and tell horror stories about tethering, and getting caught!
If you're to scared to listen to these stories in the dark, then go back to your tent.

It's ok, billy.. don't cry. The tethering charge monster isn't really real, and verizon isn't really out to get you or under your bed waiting to strike a tether bill in your sleep.

Just.. don't use it for straight up xbox live for a month and more

 

[jroc]

Ok lets switch directions for just a min:

http://androinica.com/2010/03/12/at...unlimited-data-plans-may-come-to-end-someday/

Post Tech - Chat with Verizon Wireless CTO Lynch on end of all-you-can-eat pricing

Quoted from the 2nd article:

Chat with Verizon Wireless CTO Lynch on end of all-you-can-eat pricing


Verizon Wireless imagines that its coming LTE mobile broadband network will run all kinds of devices such as tablet computers, home appliances, automobiles, smart phones and televisions that you may not necessarily get from a Verizon store.


And because so many devices in one household could be connected to its network, the nation’s largest wireless service operator thinks the days of flat-rate plans may be over, according to Verizon chief technology officer Dick Lynch in an interview Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show. Instead, the company will probably charge a base rate for its users and allow multiple authenticated devices to be attached to its network. Then it will charge by how much bandwidth is used by a provider – a business model known as usage-based pricing.


“The problem we have today with flat-based usage is that you are trying to encourage customers to be efficient in use and applications but you are getting some people who are bandwidth hogs using gigabytes a month and they are paying something like megabytes a month,” Lynch said. “That isn’t long-term sustainable. Why should customers using an average amount of bandwidth be subsidizing bandwidth hogs?”

Ok, it didnt even mention tethering, and it mentioned the upcoming LTE, but Verizon is aware that some users use alot more bandwidth than others....so using lots of bandwidth is not going unnoticed by Verizon.

Maybe they wont hit you with a big bill...I will concede that....but they can change their plans...if ppl continue to be "bandwidth hogs"....The sad thing is if Verizon do change their data plans, ppl that tether their ass off, especially if you tether and dont have a Broadband Connect plan, is going to be one of the main reasons for the change...This way they dont have to waste time going after individual folks, just punish everyone...

Do you agree ppl that tether wild amounts are gonna be one of the factors of a plan change?

 

[mcatdtDroid]

no, I think no matter how much or little people tether on droids, VZW is looking for a feasible way to charge, which they have for all other phones. Droid and the tether apps were probably unanticapated.

It will be corrected I'm sure.

 

[Mark_Venture]

As I read these threads "debating tethering" I don't understand the rational behind those that seem to claim that because VZW doesn't offer tethering for their particular device, they should be able to do it for free or by using some 3rd party tool or app which makes it work.

And I don't understand the talk about smart phones are different, and Droids, Blackberries and other smart phones are all "lumped together" by VZW.

Especially when reading the TOS or T&C's for the data plans on smart phones, blackberries, droids, and even feature phones and they have the same/similar verbiage, that tethering isn't permitted unless the user subscribes to VZW's Broadband Access (BBA) or Mobile Broadband Connect (MBBC) plans.

I guess to me, just because VZW doesn't offer tethering or a BBA or MBBC plan for a particular device, or class of device, doesn't make it "OK" or "justified" to go against what is clearly written in the TOS or T&C's signed by the customer.

 

[R850R]

This was an interesting thread and I'm amazed how much good/bad info is here...oh well. If you want to tether, then do it. If you want to root your phone, then do it.

The reason I bought a droid was because the VZW salesperson told me it could tether and be rooted...he showed me his phone.

 

[BigMcGuire]

This actually makes me upset at Verizon Wireless. All this crap about tethering could be avoided if they actually ALLOWED us to add the Mobile Broadband to our cellphones. But... no.... we can't... Then on top of that Support Reps are telling me (3 different ones) that it is ok to tether until there is a tethering plan for the Droid. That has to hold some weight in court, right? Verbal contract anyone?

They already have a $15/month tethering plan for the Incredible, what is so difficult about allowing us Droid owners to add that to our plan so we can tether legally?

I could really use tethering (at work, college, and at home when I'm outside). $#!@....

 

[nateccnn]

This actually makes me upset at Verizon Wireless. All this crap about tethering could be avoided if they actually ALLOWED us to add the Mobile Broadband to our cellphones. But... no.... we can't... Then on top of that Support Reps are telling me (3 different ones) that it is ok to tether until there is a tethering plan for the Droid. That has to hold some weight in court, right? Verbal contract anyone?

They already have a $15/month tethering plan for the Incredible, what is so difficult about allowing us Droid owners to add that to our plan so we can tether legally?

I could really use tethering (at work, college, and at home when I'm outside). $#!@....

The problem is that a written contract supersedes the verbal and probably has language in it saying no other offers implied...blah blah blah. You do know Vz has actual lawyers with real law degrees on staff...right?

Nate