AT&T fails to deploy iPhone Tethering and 3G MicroCell in 2009

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 68
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by antkm1 View Post


    I have a really big issue with tethering. IMO, tethering should not be an extra fee. I understand that laptops would be using more of the bandwidth and downloading traffic would suffer, but to charge an extra monthly fee for tethering is down-right robbery. not to mention that if you already have a smartphone, you're already paying a monthly fee for internet usage.



    In a way I partly agree with you. All carriers need to end the charade of "unlimited" bandwidth and charge for what people use. Then there doesn't have to be this squabble over smarphone vs. tethering. Data is data.



    Quote:

    Build a better network already!



    This may come as a shock to the non-technical, but bandwidth, and specifically in this discussion, radio spectrum is not unlimited. While there are moves afoot to re-assign more spectrum to the cellular carriers, if "unlimited" usage will quickly grow to fill no matter what capacity there is.



    Esp. those who indignantly demand tethering as a basic right
  • Reply 42 of 68
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sprockkets View Post


    IE jailbreaking perhaps makes it the perfect device. That and the Archos 5 IT does all I need, and so does perhaps the Nexus.



    Well, jailbreaking does in fact may my iPhone damn near perfect. Everything from tethering to the quick wireless on/off switches to background processes (you just don't know how much I love being able to listen to Pandora in the background while I browse the net or do other stuff on my iPhone). It's simple stuff like that which should be no-brainers for the iPhone.
  • Reply 43 of 68
  • Reply 44 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by antkm1 View Post


    I have a really big issue with tethering. IMO, tethering should not be an extra fee. I understand that laptops would be using more of the bandwidth and downloading traffic would suffer, but to charge an extra monthly fee for tethering is down-right robbery. not to mention that if you already have a smartphone, you're already paying a monthly fee for internet usage. Build a better network already!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dasein View Post


    Agreed! Why should I pay for someone else's usage? You use it, YOU pay for it. iPhones hog up enough bandwidth as it is.



    It's nice to say that you want more features at no additional charge than you agreed to, but it's not realistic and it's shortsided. AT&T charges $60/month for dedicated notebook tethering via a USB card and they charge you the difference to equal $60 if you want tethering. For your "it should be included with you data plan" to be viable you are essentially saying you want the iPhone plans to increase by $40 each month for everyone, regardless of if you plan to tether or not.



    PS: This is coming from someone who uses 20-30GB a month tethering with a jailbroken iPhone. If they offered it as an option I'd gladly pay for it as I think it's fair since it's above and beyond what I agreed to. If they cut me off or throttle me I'll deal with it but I certainly don't feel a since of entitlement because I misunderstood my contract the term unlimited.
  • Reply 45 of 68
    They should get this out 'next' year.. Here in Thailand, whenever I go on a vacation at Hua Hin (3G hotspot). I would save a bundle on hotel internet connection fees just by tethering my Mac Book through my iPhone.
  • Reply 46 of 68
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    It's called 4 Telcos who coincidancely all have nearly the same plan structures within similarly priced ranges.



    Gee. Oligopolies hard at work.



    You won't get a serious change from any of them until the US stops subsidizing [tax cuts] these pricks.



    My God man. Coincidently. Don't use words you don't understand. And no, it's not just a typo, either.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DocNo42 View Post


    In a way I partly agree with you. All carriers need to end the charade of "unlimited" bandwidth and charge for what people use. Then there doesn't have to be this squabble over smarphone vs. tethering. Data is data.





    Agreed.



    Quote:

    This may come as a shock to the non-technical, but bandwidth, and specifically in this discussion, radio spectrum is not unlimited. While there are moves afoot to re-assign more spectrum to the cellular carriers, if "unlimited" usage will quickly grow to fill no matter what capacity there is.



    Esp. those who indignantly demand tethering as a basic right



    So AT&T's problem is the lack of available spectrum? You're discussing two different issues.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    It's nice to say that you want more features at no additional charge than you agreed to, but it's not realistic and it's shortsided.



    1. How about just offering tethering? Isn't that what we're talking about?

    2. Shortsighted. Jesus..you guys are killing me.



    Quote:



    AT&T charges $60/month for dedicated notebook tethering via a USB card and they charge you the difference to equal $60 if you want tethering. For your "it should be included with you data plan" to be viable you are essentially saying you want the iPhone plans to increase by $40 each month for everyone, regardless of if you plan to tether or not.



    Straw man. There is no reason for all plans to go up that much.



    Quote:



    PS: This is coming from someone who uses 20-30GB a month tethering with a jailbroken iPhone. If they offered it as an option I'd gladly pay for it as I think it's fair since it's above and beyond what I agreed to. If they cut me off or throttle me I'll deal with it but I certainly don't feel a since of entitlement because I misunderstood my contract the term unlimited.



    This is all because of the term "unlimited." They ought to just set a cap...say 10GB a month. After that, charge $5 a GB. Problem solved.
  • Reply 47 of 68
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,007member
    If AT&T were to release the MicroCell product now, it would be the most direct admission yet that there own network is poor, and would just inject a boatload of fuel to Verizon's ad campaign highlighting AT&T's spotty coverage.



    Even if the device is technically ready, I don't think they know how to market it successfully in light of the current Verizon campaign.



    Another minor question I've always pondered is what will ISP's say/do with the added network traffic generated by the Microcells (especially, uh, Verizon...)
  • Reply 48 of 68
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWatchfulOne View Post


    Aren't USB and Bluetooth both too slow anyway for efficiently surfing the net on a laptop?



    Yes, I refuse to use any internet service that's slower than USB's 480 Mb per second....
  • Reply 49 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kiwee View Post


    Maybe ATT is not looking at it the right way.



    In Sweden the solution i simple.

    You pay for unlimited data. I have a contract that gives me 1GB unlimited SPEED. Full 3G. 10 bucks a month.

    When I reach the datalimit, 1GB. They limit my speed to modem speed. I can still use 3G but it is slower.



    But it's still OK and after the month is over, I get my speed up to 1GB data back. No extra charge, like I said, data is unlimited.



    I reached that ceiling a few days ago, Apparently downloading movies from Usenet will do that.

    But hey. 3G speeds here are good, I averaged 700Kbps from my iPhone tethered to my MBP.



    My 0.02



    I can one up you. I am with Sonera here in FInland. Unlimited data means that: UNLIMITED. I am well over 3 or 4 gigs a month because I tether from the moment I hit the office until I leave. This includes using iTunes, Skype, email, etc.... My speeds are consistently 3 gigs down and 700kb up. AT&T is screwing customers over. Glad I do not have to use them.
  • Reply 50 of 68
    long time waiting on verizon to get an iphone... but now with android and sense ui, no longer interested in an iphone... iphone is boring now...
  • Reply 51 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sapporobabyrtrns View Post


    My speeds are consistently 3 gigs down and 700kb up. AT&T is screwing customers over. Glad I do not have to use them.



    3 Gigs as in 3Gps??
  • Reply 52 of 68
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    The money quote...



    Quote:

    That campaign didn't appear to have much real impact on buyers, however, who continued to snap up iPhones in record numbers.



    The iPhone users I know personally all say they are satisfied with their device. I think the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" syndrome is in full force in this case. Not to say at&t is the guiltless victim here, quite the contrary, but the other carriers aren't much better, as I predict iPhone users will quickly find out when the device is officially available on competing networks. Just my opinion, of course.
  • Reply 53 of 68
    eehdeehd Posts: 137member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by antkm1 View Post


    I have a really big issue with tethering. IMO, tethering should not be an extra fee. I understand that laptops would be using more of the bandwidth and downloading traffic would suffer, but to charge an extra monthly fee for tethering is down-right robbery. not to mention that if you already have a smartphone, you're already paying a monthly fee for internet usage. Build a better network already!



    I don't know if I agree with this. You may be paying for unlimited access, but that contract is for your phone, not another device. Although tethering allows internet traffic to go through your phone, it is not being used by your phone, but your notebook. However, because you are already a customer, tethering plans should not be more than $10.00 extra.



    It's a win-win situation. You get internet on your notebook and the provider get $$ to improve the network.
  • Reply 54 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    1. How about just offering tethering? Isn't that what we're talking about?



    How can you offer just tethering without a phone plan? If you want "just" a connection for your PC then get 3G USB card. BTW, thos data plans are more likely to have a monitored usage cap abd cost 2x as much as phone's data plan. Can you guess why?



    Quote:

    2. Shortsighted. Jesus..you guys are killing me.



    Yes, shortsided for anyone who expects it to be included despite the signed contract stating otherwise and without considering how this will affect the phone's minimum monthly cost.



    Quote:

    Straw man. There is no reason for all plans to go up that much.



    How about realistic based on what they charge for tethering on their other phones and what the 3G USB card data charge is. A little research people!



    Quote:

    This is all because of the term "unlimited." They ought to just set a cap...say 10GB a month. After that, charge $5 a GB. Problem solved.



    Or one could read the contract and realise that "unlimited" can refer to more than one thing.
  • Reply 55 of 68
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by eehd View Post


    I don't know if I agree with this. You may be paying for unlimited access, but that contract is for your phone, not another device. Although tethering allows internet traffic to go through your phone, it is not being used by your phone, but your notebook. However, because you are already a customer, tethering plans should not be more than $10.00 extra.



    It's a win-win situation. You get internet on your notebook and the provider get $$ to improve the network.



    That would be nice to have.



    I'd at least like to have a tethering option when WiFi is enabled. I has to troubleshoot a Mac that could no longer see it's WiFi card. I do have a jailbroken phone with tethering but recall thinking what a PITA It would have been to do without it.
  • Reply 56 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Or one could read the contract and realise that "unlimited" can refer to more than one thing.



    I realize that yes technically the contract does limit the extent of "unlimited data" as there are multiple ways in which data can be unlimited (i.e amount consumed, speed, bandwidth, number of machines, etc). Nonetheless I feel AT&T is guilty of extreme hypocrisy and blatant false advertising. Recently, AT&T sued Verizon for their "There's a map for that" ad under the grounds that even though the ad indicated that the coverage depicted was only for 3G areas the perception of the average viewer was that the map showed total network coverage. Essentially AT&T argued that a viewer's perception is more important than the fine print, when it comes to advertising (there was more to their lawsuit than this, and they eventually dropped it...but still). If AT&T can blame Verizon for misleading advertising than I feel AT&T is at fault for selling an "unlimited data" plan (which most people probably interpret as "without limits in any, way shape or form") when really the plan is limited in many ways. AT&T should not use the word "unlimited" in their marketing if there are hidden limits since is deliberately misleads the customer. I don't really believe that any of the other networks are much better, but I am sick and tired of AT&T's continual disrespect for their customer.
  • Reply 57 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thrang View Post


    If AT&T were to release the MicroCell product now, it would be the most direct admission yet that there own network is poor, and would just inject a boatload of fuel to Verizon's ad campaign highlighting AT&T's spotty coverage.)



    Both Verizon's and AT&T's coverage sucks where I live. I want a MicroCell.
  • Reply 58 of 68
    How about AT&T's network failures around New Year's where cellular signal went up and down for about an hour, and simple SMS text messages were heavily delayed?



    Yes, AT&T's network & infrastructure is not upto par.
  • Reply 59 of 68
    Two thoughts. One, AT&T's failure to deliver on tethering (and very delayed introduction of MMS - only on the iphone) has convinced me to give up on the iphone, at least for a year. When a carrier is ready to offer the iphone with a tethering plan [no jailbreaking necessary], I'll consider the iphone again. Two, we need to forget unlimited data. There is no such thing anyway - just charge us for what we use. Someone might need to stream 1080p 30fps over their phone - fine, charge them $250/month. I just need to edit and exchange MS Word docs and such as part of work on the road. Right now, sans tethering, I have to find another way. This shouldn't be difficult...
  • Reply 60 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Or one could read the contract and realise that "unlimited" can refer to more than one thing.



    I thought it meant without limits?
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