T-Mobile UK has confirmed that new customers signing up to its "Full Monty" mobile tariff will not be eligible for unlimited tethering on their device, meaning that 3 UK is now the only operator in the market to offer tethering services, reports said.
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T-Mobile UK's "Full Monty" plan. |
Tethering allows users to attach a laptop or PC to a smartphone and use the 3G data allowance that is part of their mobile subscription via the large-screen devices. The Full Monty plan offered unlimited calls, texts and mobile Web browsing--including tethering--for £36 per month when it was launched in February.
However, a T-Mobile spokesperson told TechRadar that: "From Aug. 8, tethering is not permitted for new customers under the terms and conditions of the Full Monty."
The operator said it does have other plans that come with tethering, but the Full Monty was seen as the closest competitor to 3 UK's "The One" plan, which allows all-you-can-eat data and includes tethering.
There is a whiff of backtracking from T-Mobile UK, which in fairness is not surprising: tethering can be hugely draining on data networks. However, operators cannot really afford more negative publicity about so-called "unlimited data" offers, and this particularly applies to T-Mobile: only last year it had its hands slapped by the Advertising Standards Authority, which ruled that T-Mobile's marketing statement of "truly unlimited" data was misleading.
For more:
- see this TechRadar article
- see this Reg Hardware article
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