FCC Attacks Verizon Tether Charge – Why AT&T is Not Next
Last Updated on March 8, 2024 7:08 pm by Jeffrey Powers
Last Thursday I went to update to Mountain Lion and the whole computer crashed. Since it’s under warranty, I sent it in. 5 days later I got it back. Hopefully, all daemons have been expelled from this machine. Nonetheless, periodic backups are now in order.
I also got a new recliner. It’s been a while since I had one, and hopefully I’ll get a lot more work done in comfort. I decided to fall asleep in the chair (to test it out), which is why the show is late. Finally – we have the winner of the Roku2 contest. Congrats to Gary Kirk – winner of the Roku 2!
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Geek Smack! episode 233 Tech News:
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Mountain Lion 3 Million
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Big Head Squirrel Feeder
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Geek Smack: Verizon Loses Tether Charge in Court. Why AT&T or Sprint are NOT part of this.
Verizon was given a $1.25 million dollar fine for charging customers that tethered their phones to another device. The courts declared that Google must reinstate the application in the store. It only applies to Verizon, so that begs the question – Why one and not the other?
In 2008, Verizon bought frequencies for 4G service with a caveat – they cannot restrict the customers’ ability to use the devices. That is why they were sued by the FCC. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint did not have that deal with their 4G frequencies. Unfortunately, that means you might still be paying $50 a month to tether your computer to your phone.
Tethering fees are actually a sad one – Someone with a phone that has a 3 GB cap should choose how they hit that cap – through phone, tablet or computer. After 3 GB, I’m getting charged extra anyway. Why wouldn’t the phone companies want you to go over on your usage? It’s a lot easier to do when you can tether another device to your phone.
Maybe someday, it will be to the point where we have to be connected. Tethering will be a necessity. Hopefully then, we won’t get charged for that option.
Geek Smack! is a weekly video show and podcast that comes out every Tuesday evening. Your host: Jeffrey Powers – talks tech news, IT news and geek news for the week. Geek Smack! is ©2012 under a Creative Commons no-deriv license. Never take candy from strangers. If you would like more information about what is technology, recent news, Geekazine, and Jeffrey Powers, feel free to contact him. Jeffrey Powers does interviews, just ask!
