Verizon Cracks Down On Tethering

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Now that Verizon has officially rolled out its new tiered pricing, the company seems to be serious about putting an end to free smartphone tethering.

Last month, reports surfaced that Google's Android store had stopped making tethering apps available to Verizon subscribers. Those apps enabled users to connect tablets and other devices to the Web using their smartphones' WiFi capability. This week, Verizon started issuing updates that make it difficult for smartphone owners to continue to use their devices as modems, according to Broadband Reports. The company started with an update to the HTC Thunderbolt, and is soon expected to also update the Droid Charge and the LG Revolution. Whether it's legal for a wireless carrier to cripple tethering services is unclear. Verizon agreed to follow open Internet principles as a condition of acquiring the spectrum that it uses for 4G wireless phones. One interpretation of that condition is that the company shouldn't attempt to restrict tethering on its 4G network -- though apparently it's still free to do so on the 3G network.


Verizon Cracks Down On Tethering