@callmeox: I see where you are coming from, but to me, this is reminiscent of when broadband (cable/DSL) first came out for residential users and the ISP tried to charge extra for each additional PC that would hook up to the Internet via a router. Eventually they gave up, realizing that there is nothing they could do to prevent users from doing this and no way to determine how many PC's were accessing the net, thus enforcing the additional charges was next to impossible.
With cell networks, this is not quite the same, as Verizon et al own most of the 3G networks and have much more control over the network than broadband ISPs have over the Internet. To me, it shouldn't matter how many devices one hooks up through their 3G Mobile HotSpot. If someone wants to be foolish enough to try to use 50 laptops or whatever to connect to the internet via their 3G HotSpot enabled phone, so be it. It's their own access that will suffer from lag and bandwidth issues as their phone tries to handle all the traffic (which it clearly couldn't handle as I was just exaggerating the point here).
Once a company like Verizon has the network, servers, routers, edge routers, etc in place, it really doesn't matter how much bandwidth one uses, the maintenance is pretty much a fixed cost to Verizon. Therefore, charging $30/month for an Unlimited Data Plan and then another $20, $35, $50, or $80 on top of the $30 (depending on which plan one chooses for the hotspot service) is what I consider to be highway robbery on their part.
Now, now, I know what comes next in your line of thinking, and you're correct, since Verizon owns the network and equipment, has done the engineering, R&D and investment into their network, it is well within their rights to charge extra. However I do think this is somewhat greedy on their part. I think if companies made better, more accessible products at a reasonable price, more people would pay to use it and therefore Verizon's bottom line would increase. But, just like every other technology that has been monetized and turned into a commodity, companies always start off by trying to gouge their customers because they want to recover their R&D investment rapidly and turn a profit asap (fair enough).
There really is no difference between surfing the net, talking on the phone, or using your phone as a HotSpot for your laptop to access the Internet. It's all DATA. So why the artificial pricing tiers and limits? To me, "Unlimited Data" means Unlimited Data. After all, this IS how Verizon markets their $30 Unlimited Data plan (which, by the way, is mandatory on smart phones). Then they flesh the details out in the fine print and legalese, which no one reads until AFTER they're hit with a large bill.
Going back even further, I could make the analogy to the cable companies and how they initially tried to charge for cable on a per TV basis. Have cable and want to use it on your main TV and the one in the bedroom? You were supposed to pay an extra fee for the TV in the bedroom. I think most people would agree that this is greedy and ridiculous (and the cable companies no longer do this because a company's service/quality and the MARKET usually ends up dictating the price and whether a product/service is successful or not.
I am a small business owner (Computer and computer networking consultant) and I think it is ridiculous that they slap on extra fees on top of the "Unlimited Data" plan. If you understand how networks work, you know that it really doesn't impact their bottom line to allow you to use the 3G HotSpot feature without upping additional fees. It's all marketing and gouging. Again...make it fair and reasonable and I'd have no problem paying.
Considering that my cable Internet service costs $50/month for unlimited Internet access and Verizon charges $50/month for 5GB bandwidth and a rate of $10 per each additional GB, it becomes apparent that they are gouging us! (This, on top of the $30 for the "Unlimited Data" plan...so you are really paying $80/month!!).
I don't have an entitlement attitude, its just that a lot of companies these days will screw their customers every chance they get because in the end, they are really only beholden to the stock holders and board members, not the customer, and I for one am sick and tired of companies that do this.
Unfortunately, in my area, Verizon is the provider with the best coverage, so unless I want poor coverage, I really have no other viable choice.