AT&T Denies Tethering by End of 2009

**Paul Daniel Ash** · 10-15-2009, 03:30 PM

image via The iPhone Blog

It's fortunate that there are other options for tethering to your iPhone, because AT&T has made it clear that they are not going to provide one anytime soon. While they have been pushing tethering to Blackberry users, the carrier has been reluctant to commit to anything for its "Hummer of smartphones" customers. Seth Weintraub at 9to5Mac.com was feeling bullish on AT&T tethering by end-of-year until he got the following curt message from at AT&T spokesman:

Just reading again – where did anyone promise tethering by EOY? Where did you see that? We promised MMS by end of summer and ended up being a few days late for that…

Weintraub wrote he had been using as his source a 2008 article on CNet (the subject of which can be pretty easily deduced from the title "AT&T Confirms Tethering Coming to iPhone in 2009") that said, in part:

AT&T Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega confirmed on Thursday that iPhone 3G users will be able to use their phones as wireless modems at some point next year. (2009) De la Vega made the comments during a conversation with TechCrunch's Michael Arrington at the Web 2.0 Summit on Thursday....It's not clear when AT&T will roll out the tethering service; some point in 2009 appears to be the only stated time frame

Weintraub's other source, a November 2008 article in MobileCrunch, only promised AT&T tethering "soon," so there's a little more wiggle room there - though most of us don't define "soon" as "more than a year."

So what gives? Certainly, blog rumors and the nonspecific comments of corporate executives with shareholders to impress should not be treated as bankable promises. At the same time, AT&T is far from an undisciplined startup of an organization... even offhand remarks by its higher-ups are doubtless carefully scripted.

If the reason for the delay around data tethering to the iPhone is to allow time for the announced buildout of expanded infrastructure, that's certainly to the good. AT&T has gotten burned - and rightly so - for selling millions of smartphones they didn't have the network to support. The carrier should have a care about yanking the chain of its userbase, however. Some of us may be such iPhone enthusiasts that we're willing to be creative to get the services we need or want. The non-jailbreaking masses, however, may simply decide to go elsewhere.

**dale1v** · 10-15-2009, 03:33 PM

lol, Americans, sorry.

**ihaveabu** · 10-15-2009, 03:44 PM

sigh wtf

someone should call up de la Vega on his quote

**plcrules** · 10-15-2009, 03:46 PM

lol no1 should care we already got wimy and thats better then tethering

**ihaveabu** · 10-15-2009, 04:00 PM

too bad it costs $10!!

**RonHC** · 10-15-2009, 04:06 PM

hahaha April fools from AT&T.............right?

**Paul Daniel Ash** · 10-15-2009, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by dale1v

lol, Americans, sorry.

HA!!

Yeah, sucks to be us, much of the time...

**danimsta** · 10-15-2009, 05:30 PM

im good with 3.0.1 and tethering

i havent seen a need to upgrade to 3.1 anyway

so im happy

**aekhamsouk** · 10-15-2009, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by pauldanielash

HA!!

Yeah, sucks to be us, much of the time...

i can think of a few other countries that would suck worst to be from... or be stuck in, like all the time...

**The Maestro** · 10-15-2009, 06:33 PM

It's ok I think were a few lawsuits away from a verizon iPhone, start suing people!

**petterloco1** · 10-15-2009, 06:41 PM

This not good but every day AT&T is traying to make things more and more dificult, they are holding back the real power off the iphone. if is not AT&T its apple but one way or onother they don't let us have what we paid for, or what we want.

**Myque** · 10-15-2009, 07:04 PM

How do you check if your Country/carrier have tethering or not?
I am not in the US.

Thanks

**rhekt** · 10-15-2009, 07:33 PM

even if ATT allowed tethering. theyd charge us a monthly fee regardless of the unlimited data plan, probably $10-$15 dollars extra. im good with paying $29 dollars for the allways working PDAnet or $10 for the still unworking 3.1.2 unready mywi....

**tudtran** · 10-15-2009, 07:52 PM

At&T network is suck. If they turn on tethering the network is gonna crash.

**Happy Noodle Boy** · 10-15-2009, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by rhekt

even if ATT allowed tethering. theyd charge us a monthly fee regardless of the unlimited data plan, probably $10-$15 dollars extra. im good with paying $29 dollars for the allways working PDAnet or $10 for the still unworking 3.1.2 unready mywi....

If/when AT&T enables tethering, bet on it being an additional $30 just like current Blackberry plans.

**one1** · 10-15-2009, 09:01 PM

The fact that ATT continually denies all the features they should WANT to put in their best selling and top model phone on their network that is saving their azz from the competition tells me somehow, someway, ATT doesn't really seem to LIKE the iPhone all that much.............

They complain it is a hog, but more data is used by blackberry since there are more blackberry users, especially in enterprise situations. They don't even enable MMS until a month ago after 2 years of charging users only getting text full messaging prices, then they say tether and then back out.

Seriously............. it's making their company, yet they don't like the iPhone.

**metaserph** · 10-15-2009, 09:26 PM

Screw them! Soon as they see a migration of iPhones to other networks maybe they'll shape up. The ONLY reason I would accept about all this is IF in fact they are updating their network to support the projected useage. Maybe...

**reanimationxp** · 10-15-2009, 09:37 PM

Can you fix the title of this article please? Completely misleading..

How about "AT&T Delays Tethering Rollout till 2010.. Surprised?"

**kaaroFC** · 10-15-2009, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by Happy Noodle Boy

If/when AT&T enables tethering, bet on it being an additional $30 just like current Blackberry plans.

That would really s&$%k >..<

**wiltok** · 10-16-2009, 08:54 AM

I don't why anyone would think it would be any different than the blackberry plans. I was on the ATT site - the BB plans are very consistent with the Iphone plans ($30 for data on the BB plus $30 to tether).

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