Unauthorized tetherers on AT&T being told to pay up

AT&T has begun cracking down on those subscribers who are tethering their laptops or other Wi-Fi enabled devices to their smart phones for Internet access. The company began sending texts and e-mails to those it suspects are doing so without subscribing to the carrier's $45 per month DataPro plan.

For an additional $20 above the standard 2GB smart phone data plan, subscribers are permitted to use their phones as hotspots to connect Wi-Fi devices to AT&T's 3G data network, and given an extra 2GB data allotment. Some have balked at the extra charge, opting instead to tinker with their phones to allow tethering without the necessary plan.

The carrier is giving offenders until March 27 to stop tethering, or the carrier would automatically enroll the subscriber into the DataPro 4GB plan. "Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan," reads a sternly worded letter from the carrier.

It goes on to say that if the customer does not stop using the functionality his or her data plan would be replaced with the new plan, including if he or she is on a grandfathered unlimited plan. A tethering option is not available with the old plan -- which means the customer must accept the new 2GB data cap.

How AT&T is identifying suspected offenders is unclear. It could be guessing based on data usage, or looking at browser data strings for telltale signs the request is from a desktop browser. In any case, the company has said the e-mails have only gone out to a "small" number of users.

While tethering on iOS without the carrier's permission requires a jailbreak and downloading of an unauthorized app, Android users can tether for free with apps from Android Market. Even so, AT&T in recent months has done much to limit the "openness" of Android, whether it be blocking the installation of apps from outside the Android Market or failing to keep its users on the latest versions of the mobile OS.

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