AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) is cracking down on subscribers who tether their smartphones without subscribing to a tethering plan.
The operator has been notifying users who have been connecting their laptops without subscribing to the $20 smartphone tethering plan that they need to start paying up or stop using their phones as modems.
"Our records show that you use this capability (tethering), but are not subscribed to our tethering plan," an email to an offending subscriber reads. "If you would like to continue tethering, please log into your account online at www.wireless.att.com, or call us... If you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required."
AT&T said if an offending subscriber continues to use tethering without paying the additional fee, the operator will automatically charge the subscriber for usage. AT&T's tethering plans cost $20 for 4 GB of data when a customer already subscribes to smartphone data plan.
"This is all part of ensuring that we can manage our network," Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T, told Cnet. "We are simply letting customers know that we have a tethering plan in place, and we're inviting them to get on the plan."
For more:
- see this Cnet article
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