mobile hotspot/tethering

[rans6andrew]

Recently my sister had her broadband fail and it took some banging together of the heads of her ISP and telecoms providers before they agreed a fix. Both had fairly sloping shoulders and, as luck would have it, my sister had a bad cold and completely lost her voice at the same time so was unable to complain or answer the phone......

While all of this was going on she was reduced to communicating with the world in general to the times when her boyfriend had his smart phone there and she could use her email on it. She said it was hard work doing everything on the phone screen made worse by her cold.

When I suggested that his phone could be used to provide a personal hotspot he said it was "forbidden" in the small print of his contract. He was right, it is forbidden by the smallprint in his contract.

I don't know what the problem is, if he doesn't (can't?) exceed the data amount in his tariff, why does it matter to the network operator whether he eats his data in his phone or passes it through to a netbook computer?

Can the phone network tell whether the phone or the computer is the end user of the data?

It seems a bit unfair to sell him loads of data and then to restrict his usage in this way.

Rans6.....

[Milo Minderbinder]

My contract with T-Mobile bars me from using my HTC Android for tethering or use as an access point
But, I do it anyway and have never been billed for it or received a complaint. I figure they supplied it, they know what it can do, why would they supply something for use on their network which was capable of doing something they don't like?

[mixture]

why would they supply something for use on their network which was capable of doing something they don't like?

Maybe because they can't source any equipment with the granularity of control they would like. Maybe mobile phone technology changes so rapidly its easier to stick it in the AUP.

To be honest, your argument is rather stupid anyway. Its like saying your ISP supplies you with an internet connection that you can access kiddie porn on. Sure they could try to block it.... but then that would put the onus on them to block 100% of it..... much easier for them to state in their AUP that "thou shalt not use our connection to browse illegal content".

[Milo Minderbinder]

there is a difference mixture....
Kiddie porn doesn't affect their revenue stream so theres no financial inducive to block it
However tethering does in theory affect their sales as it makes a dedicated 3G dongle unneccesary, so they miss out on a potential second sale. My first "smart phone" - an HTC running a Windows CE desktop DID have tethering and wifi hotspot disabled by them, so they've done it in the past. But not now

[Keef]

My first iPhone wouldn't do tethering (or so they said).
The later one was jailbroken, and certainly would.

My present contract includes a "personal hotspot" which works well, although Mr O2 has now reduced my data allowance from "Unlimited fair use" to 100MB a month. I put a GiffGaff SIM in the iPad and don't tether the iPhone any more.

[Background Noise]

Can the phone network tell whether the phone or the computer is the end user of the data?

Don't know, but they can restrict the capability of the device. With my original O2 sim in my iPhone I can use it as a hotspot but with my 3 sim (which does not include tethering in the contract) in that option is not available in the settings - so the sim can restrict the options available. Other 3 sim/tariff deals are available which do allow it.

[Mike-Bracknell]

It's all about making money, not whether it's technically possible or not.

Witness O2 and their charging for overseas text messages, notwithstanding that the text messages are borne over a free control stream for the mobile and then sent out of the same internet pipe that's used to deliver SMS to other ('free') networks, just via a different VPN.

Can you tell i'm a bit annoyed my wife's "£35/month all inclusive" package turned out to be a "circa £100 a month because she's foreign"?

[BOAC]

Will there not be a MAC code or two somewhere in the data?

[Don Coyote]

A lot of the older tariffs did not allow tethering in the contract although it was possible to do it; it just meant that the operator could accuse you of breach of contract. Most of the newer tarrifs include tethering as part of the data bundle.