I am unsure what is tethering. Can someone explain to me. Thanks!
Since the new iOS provides personal hotspot, I did trial test a couple times successfully with my Wifi iPad. It is great to me as I do not use my iPad frequently without wifi hotspot. I do not know if I violate the contract or not since my voice/data tariff plan does not include tethering and do not notice any additional charges in recent bill.
iPad 2, iOS 4.3.2
Tethering is the process of using a cell phone or smartphone as a modem for a personal computer of some sort - typically a laptop computer. The term gets its name from how a phone is attached, or tethered, to the computer via a USB cable, but wireless such as Bluetooth can also be used for tethering.
Personal Hotspot is a feature added to the iOS that allows iPhones to share their cellular data connections to provide Internet access to other devices nearby, by creating a WiFi hotspot. Thus, what was formally called tethering is now called personal hotspot.
Thanks for your explanation. The service provider charges more for tethering service. Can I use the data from 3G on my iPhone and iPad. If not, how can they charge me more by using the data on iPad instead of iPhone. Even though I can use both, they also restrict the data plan to 500 MB. If I use more, I have to pay more. I am still unsure why they want to charge tethering extra nowadays.
Ray Li1 wrote:
I am still unsure why they want to charge tethering extra nowadays.
Money, money. I'm not aware of any carrier/provider that does not charge extra for personal hotspot/tethering. In the US, AT&T has started to crack down on users that jailbreak their phones, are still on an unlimited data plan, setup personal hotspot but don't sign up for such. They look at data usage & if they suspect the user is using personal hotspot without signing up for such, they change their plans & cancel their unlimited data plan. Simple fact is, with the proliferation of smartphones and limited bandwidth, most carriers are simply not offering unlimited data plans anymore.
I do agree that if someone subscribes an unlimited plan and use hotspot to share with other friends, it is unfair trading and the service providers should do something stopping it. However, a normal customer wants to share their internet connection with their iPad on the go occasionally. It is also unfair to charge the customer extra as he will not use the internet on the phone.
I remember similar case on broadband connection at home. In the past, each broadband line is restricted to one pc. If you want to connect to more than one pc at home, you have to pay extra. Nowadays, there is no plan for extra pc and one price for one broadband connection line since most of homes have installed wireless network.
In mobile world, pocket wifi becomes popular and service providers have changed their service plan to serve 5 devices. Why not to include in the voice/data plan one day? It more reflects to the customer need. At home and work, we have wifi network available. The only time to use the device without wifi network is for the passages on traveling. It is the way to increase the volume of data usage - an opportunity to charge more.
MR.Ray li1 remember Hotspot with wi-fi or bluetooth need battery .
I mean it use a lot of battery in hotspot
I am not a heavy user as explained earlier. 15-30 minutes a day is the maximum. I believe my iPhone can handle without additional battery.
Tethering vs Personal Hotspot
