# Tethering win (And Poll what Rogers will do with Tethering come Dec 31, 2009)



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Had to bring my car into garage this morning. I'm there right now, waiting 20 minutes for shuttle to arrive. 

Pull out laptop, connect to iPhone for tethering, and I'm online typing this. 

Big smile on my face.  Another Apple Moment™


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

ehMax said:


> Big smile on my face.  Another Apple Moment™


Until January when it will be another Roger(ed) Moment. Enjoy it while you can.


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## Guest (Jun 23, 2009)

jawknee said:


> Until January when it will be another Roger(ed) Moment. Enjoy it while you can.


Yep that's what I'm worried about too ... the bait and switch. it's free ... no wait, now it's $30/mnth if you want to keep using it.


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## Seshan (Dec 20, 2008)

I thought they said it would stay free if you already have it?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

The Sith…I mean, Rogers…may say a great many things.


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## ertman (Jan 15, 2008)

I just don't get it. You are already paying for data, why do you have to pay for tethering... cash grab?


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## FeXL (Jan 2, 2004)

Seshan said:


> I thought they said it would stay free if you already have it?


<snort> Seshan, you owe me a new keyboard. I just blew liquid all over it.

Robber's MO is to dangle the carrot just close enough for you to get a lick every now & then for a short while, then about the time you open your mouth for your first real taste they yank the sucka away and slap ya upside the head with a monthly bill for another 20, 50 or hunnert bucks before you are allowed to get a bite. And only then if you agree to some ludicrous contract whereby you must give up your hat, ass, overshoes & first born male.

Canadian cell phone companies as a whole are the most despicable businesses in the country. In case I'm not crystal clear, let me clarify: I'd rather deal with the government...

-----

Sorry for the rant, Mr. Mayor. I'm glad that you're happy with your iPhone.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Added a poll to see what people's opinions are what Rogers will do with tethering come Dec. 31st, 2009


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## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

with regards to the poll, different options (based on 3-year term with ecf. i bet) c-c-c-cash grab


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## CamCanola (Jan 26, 2004)

I'd like to say that Rogers is being a little more receptive to their customer base as of late, however, like that o'l Texas saying goes: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and ah, let's see, fool me again and shame on you, heh heh, or fool me again...


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## Delroy666 (Dec 12, 2006)

Why should there be any extra cost for tethering? Does it cost Rogers more money to deliver the data to my iPhone when I happen to have my laptop connected to it? I pay for a certain amount of data per month already. I shouldn't have to pay twice. That's like if my DSL provider charged me extra for every computer I plug into my router to access the internet.


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## slicecom (Jun 13, 2008)

Delroy666 said:


> Why should there be any extra cost for tethering? Does it cost Rogers more money to deliver the data to my iPhone when I happen to have my laptop connected to it? I pay for a certain amount of data per month already. I shouldn't have to pay twice. That's like if my DSL provider charged me extra for every computer I plug into my router to access the internet.


There shouldn't be, but when has Rogers ever been fair or done what was right?


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## Seshan (Dec 20, 2008)

We need a lawyer to read a iphone 3gs contact, to find out if Rogers changes it, will it break the contract or not. I think it might cost if you are not already signed up. But if I get it and they want to start charging me for it I will bitch at them until they change it.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

From another remaining-nameless forum.



> "*What will happen on December 31, 2009 when the promotion expires?*
> Rogers will continue to enable tethering on devices that allow it, but data plans will be adjusted to better reflect the way customers are using tethering services."
> 
> you see, they're going to do us all a favour by "adjusting" our plans after Dec 31st!


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

Rogers will be all over tethering, and will jack the rates up to infinity - just like a Candyman would be all over a playground if so allowed. February will bring many ripped off customers with giant bills because they didn't know that a meg of data could be more expensive than an ounce of gold.


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## Stephanie (Jul 21, 2004)

Delroy666 said:


> Why should there be any extra cost for tethering? Does it cost Rogers more money to deliver the data to my iPhone when I happen to have my laptop connected to it? I pay for a certain amount of data per month already. I shouldn't have to pay twice.


The exact top-level boardroom phrase is *There's gold in them thar hills!*. That's why they're waiting to see how popular it is. So they can gauge how much extra charges they can get away with.



Delroy666 said:


> That's like if my DSL provider charged me extra for every computer I plug into my router to access the internet.


Shh! Don't give them any ideas. The cable guys had this figured out ages ago when they charged extra for each TV you had, just to watch cable. 

-Stephanie


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

If anyone here remembers the story of Hansel and Gretel, you may recall that the wicked witch in that story gave them lots of tethering (candy) to fatten them up (get them dependent on it) before ultimately cooking and eating them (swallowing your wallet).

My guess is that signing up for the 6GB/$30 plan now is going to cause a lot of self-back-patting come January 1st. Those with more restrictive data plans will be doing the wailing and gnashing of teeth business.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

What about say the Flex Rate plans and the set plans ($60 for 3GB for example), and people with Rocket Mobile Internet Sticks?


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

^^^
One word: screwed...


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I went to Rogers today, they have absolutely no idea that the iPhone 3G can now tether. Okie I'm outta there.

At Fido, they told me that they're guessing that it'll be an extra $10/mo to enable tethering.

On HoFo, those who have tried to tether without first calling in asking the rep to enable tethering so they must be able to tell. Further, there's reports that the 6GB plan is incompatible with tethering, so you may be stuck with getting a 1GB to 5GB plan for $30 to $80 or Rogers' Flex Plan for $30+ in order to tether. It's an entire mixed bag right now.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

No, you're misreading the hofo posts.

It isn't that the 6GB plan is incompatible with tethering on Rogers: it's that the specific blackberry version of the plan may be incompatible, unless a specific APN is enabled on the account. You *do* need a minimum 1 GB plan.

The 6GB plan works fine for tethering; I'm using it, so are many more.

I did not have to call Rogers to enable tethering, although at first when changing the iPhone preference it suggested I do so. Al I did was plug into iTunes after, and it automatically downloaded a new Rogers-related file and installed it.

You are probably right that Rogers can tell when you're tethering. That will probably be more and more refined as December 31st approaches. Alternatively, there may be methods to disguise tethering (the way there are unlocks and jailbreaks)--especially if Rogers charges some ungodly amount for the privilege.




dona83 said:


> I went to Rogers today, they have absolutely no idea that the iPhone 3G can now tether. Okie I'm outta there.
> 
> At Fido, they told me that they're guessing that it'll be an extra $10/mo to enable tethering.
> 
> On HoFo, those who have tried to tether without first calling in asking the rep to enable tethering so they must be able to tell. Further, there's reports that the 6GB plan is incompatible with tethering, so you may be stuck with getting a 1GB to 5GB plan for $30 to $80 or Rogers' Flex Plan for $30+ in order to tether. It's an entire mixed bag right now.


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## AgentXXL (May 2, 2008)

I have the original 6GB /$30 plan offered at the 2008 launch of the iPhone 3G. After upgrading to OS 3.0 last Wednesday, I tried tethering and was prompted to download a carrier settings file. I did a little research before I did the download and saw that no previous settings file had been downloaded (it shows up in your /USER/Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support folder after your next sync with iTunes).

I proceeded with the download and voila! Tethering now works. And to my surprise, it's fairly usable too. In my mind this means that the 6GB/$30 plan is tethering compatible and you don't necessarily have to call Rogers to get them to activate it.

I've read some of the incompatibility reports on both HoFo and other forums and it seems that most were 'early adopters' that used the leaked gold master release that hit the news groups and torrents the week before the official launch. While this build appears to be the same as the first public release, I am quite certain that the problems were the use of it BEFORE the Rogers network was ready for 'public' activation of tethering. 

Some early adopters got the message to call Rogers to have tethering activated. This was the same 'policy' in place for the legal beta testers who were given OS 3.0 as part of their iPhone developer status (tethering didn't get added to 3.0 until very late in the beta releases). Alas the different knowledge and tech support levels offered by the varying Rogers customer support reps led to many being told that their iPhone didn't or couldn't support tethering.

In addition there appear to be some parts of the Rogers/Fido network that hadn't been upgraded at the backend to support tethering and other OS 3.0 features. Now that we're a week into the public launch, I'm sure you'll find that most of these 'teeth(er)ing pains' have been mostly resolved. If not, they eventually will be.

As for what happens after Dec. 31st, it's anyone's guess. And a guess is all it will be until Rogers makes an actual announcement. In the interim I plan to take advantage of all the tethering my 6GB/$30 plan allows me whenever necessary.


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## kungfookiller (Jun 11, 2008)

Hey guys, I had no issue tethering my iPhone 3G after updating to 3.0. 

I had called rogers after I updated to see if I was getting charged for MMS (I had the original $15 VVM value pack) the CSR said I was paying per MMS and that those original VVM value packs were incompatible (read: MMS not included) with MMS so I upgraded to the $20 unlim MMS/VVM package.

I then asked her about the tethering and she said that I would not be charged for any data usage, tethering or regular iPhone 3G usage, as long as I stayed within my 6gb plan. I then asked her if I would randomly get screwed and see huge charges because they decided to charge for tethering to which she replied that it wouldn't happen. 

Now its only July and I'm certain she doesn't know whats going to happen in the future but I just received my bill and noticed the top line: "Tethering Access" with a subsequent charge of $0.00. So I'm going to assume we're going to pay for it eventually. 

Anyone else notice this?


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## zlinger (Aug 28, 2007)

I called Rogers today, and they said 6GB plan includes Tethering at no extra charge, and will stay that way.

Hey Roger$: if you are reading this: If you try to Roger me with a tethering charge, I'm moving to Bell/Telus in 3 yrs... I'm sure others will too.


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## FeXL (Jan 2, 2004)

What did Rogers say last summer about not charging for incoming texts when Telus/Bell started? And what are they doing now?

And is there anybody here who actually believes that Rogers won't start charging extra for tethering in the not so distant future, 6GB plan or not?

Beautiful dreamers...


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

zlinger's information is not correct: Rogers is clearly stating that their policy on tethering *will* change after December 31, 2009.


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## Sniper4u (Jun 25, 2008)

Anyone signing up for a data plan after December 31, 2009 will be charged an extra $10 a month for tethering. If you are an existing customer with a data plan of more than 1 gb there will no extra charge for tethering. Everyone else will pay the extra $10 a month. That's my guess.


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## MikeyXX (Aug 2, 2008)

The reason Rogers can (and no doubt will) charge for tethering is because the money you pay for your Data plan (6g in my case) is for phone device data usage. They don't expect you are going to be getting close to your limit and as such they are making more money. If you tether, you are more likely to use up the data and as such narrow their profit margin. It makes sense (business wise). I they allow tethering on the 6g plan, I'd be impressed as it won't make them anywhere near the money it could if they charged extra for tethering.

So, people get mad and leave.... lets add in the contract breakage money, and the number of people who will grumble and actually not leave, and they make WAY more money charging the fee for tethering.

So my question, without the drawback of stateful packet inspection, how are they knowing you are tethering? IE if you are jailbroken and you use either SSH to use your phone as a proxy, or if you use netshare (when it was available) or PDANET to do the tethering.

Any ideas?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

How do they know? You answered it: packet inspection.

Will they know? Who knows.

As for people getting mad, leaving and paying to stay, or even paying to leave: that raised a good point. Have you ever tried to cancel a contract with Rogers? There is an entire department the sole purpose of which is to entice you to stay, and prepared to throw a lot of endless credits your way. There will likely be a category of tethering credits if Rogers does charge for this in January.




MikeyXX said:


> The reason Rogers can (and no doubt will) charge for tethering is because the money you pay for your Data plan (6g in my case) is for phone device data usage. They don't expect you are going to be getting close to your limit and as such they are making more money. If you tether, you are more likely to use up the data and as such narrow their profit margin. It makes sense (business wise). I they allow tethering on the 6g plan, I'd be impressed as it won't make them anywhere near the money it could if they charged extra for tethering.
> 
> So, people get mad and leave.... lets add in the contract breakage money, and the number of people who will grumble and actually not leave, and they make WAY more money charging the fee for tethering.
> 
> ...


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## wonderings (Jun 10, 2003)

I have a friend who works at rogers, now I know, we hear this all the time, and I dont make any claims to this being gospel or anything of that sort. But he told me that it would be free for those with a higher data plan already. It would cost more for those under the "required" data plan to be able to use this feature. He is no executive with Rogers or anything like that, so I dont say this as fact, but he is a very good friend of mine and I see know reason why he would lie or make this up, its not in his character. I would love it if there was no additional fee, as I am sure everyone else would, its handy and a great tool, but I will not pay more to use this, I pay enough to have internet on my iPhone.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

wonderings said:


> I have a friend who works at rogers, now I know, we hear this all the time, and I dont make any claims to this being gospel or anything of that sort. But he told me that it would be free for those with a higher data plan already. It would cost more for those under the "required" data plan to be able to use this feature. He is no executive with Rogers or anything like that, so I dont say this as fact, but he is a very good friend of mine and I see know reason why he would lie or make this up, its not in his character. I would love it if there was no additional fee, as I am sure everyone else would, its handy and a great tool, but I will not pay more to use this, I pay enough to have internet on my iPhone.


The problem of course is that internal policy changes constantly, and is likely not decided until right before launch time. So whole departments work toward a goal 'knowing' that a specific change or charge is coming and then policy changes.*

That said, I like your version and I'm going to assume that there will be no charge for tethering until Rogers announces something different.

*I guess this is how the Apple Lisa team felt about the Macintosh...


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