ToS: Hotspot / Tethering

[Rob Stinson]

Here's a bit of background; I'm hoping someone can provide some insight.

I'm currently on Verizon with a four year old 3G Droid rocking Gingerbread and an unlimited data plan. I would like to get the new Nexus 5 and in the process reduce my $83 monthly bill. By most standards, I'm a very light user, as I don't talk much and I sit on my home WI-fi for the majority of the time. I typically use about 250 minutes and less than 300 megabytes of data per month.

I think I could be quite happy with ST and AT&T, although one feature that I value is the availability of tethering/hotspot. With this said, my needs, while very important, are minimal; 1-2 times per month I need to have internet access on my laptop out in the middle of a field. Data usage is a pittance: typically 5-10 meg per day for anywhere between zero and four days a month.

In reading the 25,000 word ST Terms of Service, I gather that they frown upon this. Given that my monthly usage would likely be anywhere between 10-20% of what I am allowed and paying for, my moral compass would not lose too much sleep over 10 meg of tethering per month.

My question: is the tethering / hotspotting strictly forbidden or is it just frowned upon and if it gets out of hand it turns into forbidden.

I've been using PdaNet for the past two years without problem. I don't plan on rooting my Nexus 5 unless I absolutely have too. (At this time, I would prefer not to).

What do you think, can I pull this off? At 250 voice minutes a month and 300 meg of data per month, I should (IMO) be a very desirable customer for ST.

Thanks for your help.

 

[jhawkkw]

Straight Talk's action seems to vary from customer to customer. Sometimes they let it go, others they terminate service as soon as they're caught. So it's tough to say. I would check out the TOS of AIO wireless or AT&T Go Phone as far as tethering goes. They'll still be cheaper than Verizon, though more expensive than Straight Talk. Is T-Mobile out of the question?

 

[Rob Stinson]

Straight Talk's action seems to vary from customer to customer. Sometimes they let it go, others they terminate service as soon as they're caught. So it's tough to say. I would check out the TOS of AIO wireless or AT&T Go Phone as far as tethering goes. They'll still be cheaper than Verizon, though more expensive than Straight Talk. Is T-Mobile out of the question?

I'll look at other AT&T options. I believe continuing with Verizon is out of the question with the Nexus 5. I'm nervous about T-Mobile coverage to be honest. My hotspotting needs tend to be in boonie locations (potentially suburban/rural Tennessee), and that also makes me nervous with TMO.

I suppose with an unlocked GSM phone such as the Nexus 5, I do have some degree of flexibility in experimentation though.

 

[jhawkkw]

I'll look at other AT&T options. I believe continuing with Verizon is out of the question with the Nexus 5. I'm nervous about T-Mobile coverage to be honest. My hotspotting needs tend to be in boonie locations (potentially suburban/rural Tennessee), and that also makes me nervous with TMO.

I suppose with an unlocked GSM phone such as the Nexus 5, I do have some degree of flexibility in experimentation though.

That is true, T-Mobile is much more liberal with it's tethering policies which is why I asked. I'm not sure what the policies are on AIO, but I believe it's permitted on Go Phone. There's a 40 dollar Go Phone plan that might suit your needs. 500 Minutes (10 cents per minute over), unlimited texting, 200MB of data with it being $5 dollars extra per bucket of 100MB.

 

[goobert]

I dont think they will catch you on the verizon network.

I have only heard of data packet inspections on ATT network.

Also look at pagepluscellular.com they will take almost any Verizon programmed phone and you can get a plan as low as $30/month with 500 megabytes. And this data pretty much yours use it as you see fit kind of deal. Tethering is ok because you will have 500 megabytes to use how you want.

I also used to be in a Sprint/Tmobile larger metropolitan area. These carriers like Boost/Virgin/Simple Mobile etc. are all a lot more easy going. The Sprint/Tmobile are designed for large population dense areas where data usage isnt where they are trying to make money. Verizon / ATT charge extra because they have 4x coverage & Towers as Sprint/Tmobile normally have.

 

[new optimus]

Here's a bit of background; I'm hoping someone can provide some insight.

I'm currently on Verizon with a four year old 3G Droid rocking Gingerbread and an unlimited data plan. I would like to get the new Nexus 5 and in the process reduce my $83 monthly bill. By most standards, I'm a very light user, as I don't talk much and I sit on my home WI-fi for the majority of the time. I typically use about 250 minutes and less than 300 megabytes of data per month.

I think I could be quite happy with ST and AT&T, although one feature that I value is the availability of tethering/hotspot. With this said, my needs, while very important, are minimal; 1-2 times per month I need to have internet access on my laptop out in the middle of a field. Data usage is a pittance: typically 5-10 meg per day for anywhere between zero and four days a month.

In reading the 25,000 word ST Terms of Service, I gather that they frown upon this. Given that my monthly usage would likely be anywhere between 10-20% of what I am allowed and paying for, my moral compass would not lose too much sleep over 10 meg of tethering per month.

My question: is the tethering / hotspotting strictly forbidden or is it just frowned upon and if it gets out of hand it turns into forbidden.

I've been using PdaNet for the past two years without problem. I don't plan on rooting my Nexus 5 unless I absolutely have too. (At this time, I would prefer not to).

What do you think, can I pull this off? At 250 voice minutes a month and 300 meg of data per month, I should (IMO) be a very desirable customer for ST.

Thanks for your help.

This is not the best to say but I tethered almost 3gb's this month because my home internet was down for 3 days, they never did throttle or bother me about it, I also use user agent spoofer for firefox but the bulk of my downloading was linux iso.
Also if im not mistaken pdanet (paid version anyway) has a built in hide for your tethered windows laptop so they would be unlikely to know.