Tethering Complaint Filed Against Verizon with FCC by Free Press

[wicked]

The blocking of tethering apps by Verizon just got very real after a complaint was filed today through the FCC by Free Press which could potentially impact the future of LTE. This has been one of those hot subjects around Droid Life over the last few weeks, so we couldn’t help but smile a little when we saw a group of this magnitude taking it straight to the top.

As you may recall, Droid-Life first reported news that tethering apps had either been removed or purposefully blocked from being viewed and downloaded to Verizon devices. The move wasn’t necessarily a surprise since we know that Verizon likes to force you into purchasing an additional mobile hotspot service on top of your data plan, but the move was bold. And then just last week we noticed that even if you had managed to load up a third party app from outside the market to tether, that Verizon was blocking you from doing so.

People grew angry at this for a number of reasons – and the complaint filed today by Free Press pretty much touches on them all.


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[pharoah]

Good thing I don't tether,or I would be a mad person.I do like the use of my mobile net though.I will be watching this story curious to what the outcome will be.

 

[ObsidianBlk]

Here's my thoughts... I bought the phone. I didn't rent it or borrow it. I own it as I own my computer, car, and cloths I'm wearing. Tethering is a physical feature of the phone... basically a built in router. Tethering is NOT a service, contrary to what the mobile broadband companies want you to think. Cable companies can stop me from splitting my cable line, they can only encrypt the data. ISPs can't stop me from using a router, hub or switch. Likewise mobile companies cannot tell me what features I can and cannot use on my phone. Again, tethering is NOT a service its a physical feature on a phone I bought. For them to charge me $30 to use tethering is like Ford charging me $30 to use my cars air conditioner. I'm paying for unlimited data... to hell with them what I do with the data once its in my phone.

 

[robdroid]

Here's my thoughts... I'm paying for unlimited data... to hell with them what I do with the data once its in my phone.

Well that's the real problem- they offer an unlimited data plan and now some ppl are really starting to consume lots of bandwidth. Tethering threatens to burn up even more bandwidth. Since it's an unlimited data plan- you can't charge the customer more... cause it's "unlimited".
Simple solution for the cell provider- you label tethering a "new/additional service" and make even more $$ on the same service (providing data service) you're already providing at no additional cost to you.

Same old story- screw the consumer

 

[ObsidianBlk]

Well that's the real problem- they offer an unlimited data plan and now some ppl are really starting to consume lots of bandwidth. Tethering threatens to burn up even more bandwidth. Since it's an unlimited data plan- you can't charge the customer more... cause it's "unlimited".
Simple solution for the cell provider- you label tethering a "new/additional service" and make even more $$ on the same service (providing data service) you're already providing at no additional cost to you.

Same old story- screw the consumer

Actually, the bandwidth argument isn't true either. The phone can only transmit so fast whether its sending its own requests or the requests of tethered devices. Therefore, there is no difference in bandwidth between the phone making 50 symultanious or 10 tethered devices each making 5 requests. If the phone can only transmit at 3G speeds, then its maximum output is, at best, the maximum for 3G. A phone cannot consume more bandwidth with tethered devices than it, alone, can.

These are the same principles for your internet service provider. They give you (as an example) 750mbsp bandwidth. If you have a wireless router and hooked up your xbox, playstation, your computer, your kids computer, and your spouces tablet and who knows what else to that router, you're still only going to have a 750mbps bandwidth. Same goes with tethering.