If you thought 20 cent SMS was bad, hold on to your hat.
The next big scam coming out of your favorite cellular telco is tethering. What’s tethering you ask? Tethering is the act of connecting your laptop to your phone in order to get on the net and take advantage of that data plan you already pay for.
Why would anyone bother to give this behavior a name? Well to charge you more money, of course!
But wait, you say, I already shell out for the “unlimited” data plan! Yes but it’s only unlimited within the, uhh, limits of AT&T’s imagination! War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Limited is Unlimited
Perhaps next they’ll sell us the relaxification plan, whereby we are given permission to use our phones while napping in a hammock.
Mark my words: this is going to be a big deal soon. Avoidance of tethering rates will be the number one reason to jailbreak your iPhone. Customers will find enormous surprise bills as AT&T combs their usage logs to track down the rogue tether-ers. Web forum goers will trade tips on flying under the radar.
I must admit that I’m a bit shocked at the lack of uproar over tethering. Apparently consumers are just accepting it. There are even folks eagerly awaiting a tethering option for the iPhone.
Someday my phone will just be a small computer connected to a wireless internet. Someday.
I applaud your outrage, someone should be upset over this bullshit.