tethering

[ScottRoyall]

Ok Z, I have a different question on this same topic.

Will Verizon permit a Moto X to be tethered? 

Scott

>>Branched from an earlier discussion<<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[Ann154]

Wired or wireless tethering?

[ScottRoyall]

Either or.

[ScottRoyall]

I was actually asking a policy question since Verizon was anti-tethering for so long.

[dimap52]

Yes, absolutely Verizon allows tethering on the Moto X. Verizon's never been "anti-thethering. At least not in the past 5 years or so anyway. They just like to CHARGE you for it that's all. And THAT is what I believe is unethical. Only now because of net neutrality issues (over which Verizon is suing the Feds for enacting net neutrality laws) and 700 MHz Block C rules, Big Red has gotten really shady about "tethering charges."  To wit:

1. Verizon was sued and fined for blocking tethering apps in Google Play in vioilation of Block C rules.  The thering apps are back, and assuming any work, you  can use those on LIMITED data plans without charge, according to the settlement of the suit. Unfortunately AT&T and Sprint are not subject to these settlements, so they can and do still hide these apps.
2. On tiered plans, the $20 tethering charge actually buys you 2 extra gigs of data. The line charge on the bill for Mobile Hotspot is iin fact $0.00. Sneaky huh? BUT,at least you actually DO get some value for money in extra data.
3. In the Share Everything Plans, tethering is "included." But you are paying a big, fat, $40 "access fee" per phone, and I'm wagering that $20 of that is the phone subsidy cost, and $20 is the "free tethering" charge.

So yup, you can tether your Moto X. The tethering app is "gimped" to accommodate Verizon's "system" such as it is. Ihate it. I hate tethering charges since other carriers in other cis ountries don't gimp  the standard Android tethering .apk to charge for it. This is a terrible example of unregulated corporate capitalism.  Oh, and did I say I HATE tethering charges?

[ScottRoyall]

Well, just to provide context, I date back to when Verizon was GTE so I know exactly how anti-innovation they were before the current CEO. If they did discover that you were tethering, you might wake up dead! Of course I'm exaggerating, but not wildly. Just charging for the feature is very similar to the fall of the Soviet Union! Bear in mind though that I'm looking at consolidating separate voice and data lines so Verizon would have to charge at rates higher than the Mafia for me to not save money.

[commonsense101]

Tethering has been an option on every smartphone verizon has ever sold, why would they stop now?

[dimap52]

ScottRoyall wrote:

Well, just to provide context, I date back to when Verizon was GTE so I know exactly how anti-innovation they were before the current CEO. If they did discover that you were tethering, you might wake up dead!

• Well those days are long gone. Verizon can and will do an about-face on any restriction they please if they manage a way to monetize it.

Of course I'm exaggerating, but not wildly. Just charging for the feature is very similar to the fall of the Soviet Union! Bear in mind though that I'm looking at consolidating separate voice and data lines so Verizon would have to charge at rates higher than the Mafia for me to not save money.

• That they already do.

[dimap52]

commonsense101 wrote:

Tethering has been an option on every smartphone verizon has ever sold, why would they stop now?

Because it's an unethical example of unbridled corporate malfeasance. As I said in previous post, other countries for the most part, perhaps with a few exceptions that I'm not aware of, do NOT gimp the OEM applications that provide this functionality to accommodate carrier "ownership" of this feature. Tethering is  NOT a service It is a phone feature, just like browsing or email.  It may consume more data than a phone might to render web pages on a computer, but what of it if your data is capped? Open tethering would mean more overage charges for Verizon.

Their competition is seeing the light. T-Mobile now includes a tethering allowance at no extra charge in all of their data plans. In fact they just raised the allowance on their $70 unlimited plan from 500 Meg to 2.5 Gig. At&T is going to have to change their tethering policies too if they expect to buy Cricket, as Cricket also permits tethering on some of their plans at no extra charge.  $60 2 gig plan I believe.

If Verizon is going to charge $0.00 as a line item on my bill, then let me just use the data allowance I have and pay $10/gig overage if I need it, instead of "forcing" me to buy  2 extra gigs of data I don't need up front.

[ScottRoyall]

I read your message with a rueful smile and thought, how soon we forget. The functionality of tethering well pre-dated the term “smartphone.” Dinmap was correct about the suits and fines, things were getting very sporty for Verizon. Still, it took the inherent multitasking of smartphones to get them to embrace tethering. Multitasking allowed Verizon to sneak in background processes to reliably tattle to the network when a user tethers. Do you remember that Sprint was allowing free tethering long before Verizon entered that arena?

I stay with Verizon for the fantastic coverage, but I’m not blind to the company’s faults. I will contact a sales rep in a few days to see if Verizon will make it economically feasible for me to consolidate my multiple lines.