Is Wireless Tether About to Get the Android Axe? Carriers Finally Starting to Block it?
If you aren't sure what that picture is saying, let me attempt to break it down for you. After receiving a tip that Verizon may be blocking Wireless Tether from the market, I decided to do a little digging on the variety of devices I own.
Context & Ripple Effects
Tethering had already become a flashpoint between Android’s app ecosystem and carrier pricing: Android tethering apps were pulled from the Market in 2009, while Verizon’s approach to paid tethering and Droid workarounds was under scrutiny in coverage of its tethering policy.
The report revives that conflict at the distribution layer. Verizon’s alleged filtering of Wireless Tether is unconfirmed, but it would put the carrier—not merely Google’s Market rules—in position to determine which tethering tools reach its subscribers.
First-order effects
- Wireless Tether users on Verizon may lose Market access to the app if the reported block is confirmed, narrowing their ability to turn a phone’s connection into a shared one.
- Verizon would gain a direct enforcement mechanism for its tethering terms through Android app distribution rather than relying solely on its retail plans.
Second-order effects
- Independent Android developers building tethering utilities face greater distribution risk when carrier policy can determine app availability.
- Google’s Android Market becomes a contested channel: carrier-specific filtering can make an app’s availability differ by network even when the software is otherwise compatible.
Third-order effects
- If carriers apply network-specific app restrictions more broadly, mobile software distribution shifts from a single platform gatekeeper toward layered control by both platform operators and network owners.
The trend: Mobile carriers are seeking to translate control of network capacity and service plans into influence over which Android applications customers can obtain.