AT&T to offer iPhone tethering plan?
Well, if you believe one of our top informants, then the answer is yes! Have a gander at some of the wording we got a hold of and decide for yourself! — “Important iPhone Upgrade Announcement — AT&T does not require a new two-year agreement …
Context & Ripple Effects
Boy Genius Report's source claims to have captured internal AT&T announcement wording — an 'Important iPhone Upgrade' notice stating no new two-year agreement is required — alongside talk of an iPhone tethering plan. It is a single-source leak, flagged here as unconfirmed, but it lands at a telling moment: AT&T is mid-fight in the confirmed 700 MHz spectrum auction against Verizon and Google, bidding for the very airwaves that heavier mobile data use would consume.
The outlet has tracked AT&T's iPhone handling before, reporting in May 2007 that the carrier would not pre-sell the iPhone ahead of launch. A tethering offer would extend AT&T's iPhone relationship beyond the handset itself, into charging for what the device connects to.
First-order effects
- If the leaked wording is accurate, existing iPhone owners gain official laptop-tethering service without being pushed into a fresh two-year contract — decoupling feature upgrades from AT&T's lock-in machinery.
Second-order effects
- Widespread tethering multiplies per-subscriber data load on AT&T's network, sharpening the business case behind its multibillion-dollar 700 MHz bids while pressuring Verizon — a rival bidder for the same licenses — to match or counter any tethering pricing move.
Third-order effects
- Charging separately for laptop-over-phone connectivity points carriers toward metered mobile data instead of flat-rate smartphone plans, and toward tighter carrier control over what devices may do — a direction consistent with the still-unconfirmed reports of AT&T preparing to filter internet traffic.
The trend: US carriers are converting smartphones into paid gateways for laptop broadband, with spectrum auctions and data-plan structure deciding who controls that pipe.