Over the past couple of weeks, I have had two phone conversations with representatives from AT&T’s “Office of the President”, each in response to my constant complaining over AT&T’s new iPhone tethering charge.  The case that I have made from the beginning has been that AT&T is unjustified in charging an additional $20 for tethering on top of the $25 charge for 2GB of data.  Since we will be capped at 2GB of data, and charged an additional $10 for each additional GB, why does AT&T care about how much data we use, and how?  If I use all of my 2GB of data on my iPhone using Safari, or Mail, or any other app that uses the 3G network, it would be EXACTLY the same as using Safari, or Mail on my MacBook Pro.

AT&T claims that tethering my iPhone to my laptop will use more data.  This claim is ridiculous, and insults the intelligence of AT&T customers.  I was shocked when “Sophia” from the Office of the President made this claim.  It leaves me wondering if “Sophia” is an idiot, or if AT&T thinks its customers are idiots.  To be fair to Sophia, I’m going to go with the latter.

If I know that my data plan will be capped at 2GB, and since AT&T gives me the means on their website to track my usage, why would I use more data on my laptop through tethering than I would using 3G directly from my iPhone?  This logic was lost on “Sophia”.  She merely restated her faulty claim that I would use more data on my laptop via tethering than I would by using my iPhone directly.

Most of the time, I’m using a wifi network.  I would only need to tether my iPhone when I’m not within range of a wifi network.  Since 3G is nowhere near as fast as a broadband connection such as a T1, DSL, or cable connection, why would I use tethering as my default connectivity?  I have discussed this with several other AT&T customers who also use an iPhone, and who are also always on the go with their laptops.  All of them acknowledge that their 3G usage would be limited to only what they need, and would not be used for general internet connectivity.  Either way you look at this, why should AT&T care?  They’re going to charge an additional fee if we go over 2GB.

What this is REALLY about is AT&T’s desire for yet another revenue stream.  They know that we love to get the most out of our iPhones, and that we’re more likely than anyone else to use 3G data in large amounts.  The iPhone was the first phone I had that is actually capable of doing everything that was promised.  My last ‘smartphone’ was capable of sending email, and had limited web capability, but it was pretty much useless for those things, so I cancelled my data plan.  Then, the iPhone arrived.  I send, and receive several email messages from my phone on a daily basis.  I also have the ability to look up something on the internet whenever the mood strikes me.  Apple has created a great product only to have it be hobbled by AT&T’s greed.

AT&T’s stated reason for adding the extra $20 fee for tethering is bullshit!  If you agree, make sure to complain.  Email Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T at:  rs2982@att.com.  Within a few business days, you’ll receive a call just like I did.  Make sure to tell the rep that you know that AT&T is just being greedy, and that you don’t accept their lame reason to charge for tethering.

A little over a week ago, I spent a few hours with my good friend Andrew to help him renew his Apple certifications.  We went to a really nice coffee cafe near White Rock Lake.  While Andrew worked on his certifications, I used the free Wi-Fi to surf the web, and keep track of some auctions on eBay.  While enjoying the free internet goodness, I noticed that several other customers in the cafe were using PCs with file sharing turned on.  Out of curiosity, I clicked on a few of the PCs that were showing up on my Mac.  Out of the 3 that were visible to my Mac, 2 had file sharing with guest access enabled.  One had accounting information in an unsecured folder!  Not wanting to violate someone’s privacy further, I did not open any of the files that I saw, but I did save a text file onto this person’s computer to let him/her know that I was able to get into their computer easily, without any trouble.  This is actually something that I notice every time I am on a public Wi-Fi network at Starbucks, the airport, and a lot of other places with Wi-Fi.  With all of the identity theft going around, why do so many people fail to do anything about securing their computers?

Well, so much for “unlimited” data plans.  While AT&T struggles with iPhone users who actually expect to USE their iPhones for internet and email, why not upgrade the network instead of whining about supposed iPhone “data hogs”?  This blame the customer strategy is the wrong road to go down.  The iPhone, along with every other smartphone, is hyped as being a phone, and an internet and email device.  When customers actually use their phones for those purposes, it’s wrong to start complaining.

On a positive note… AT&T recently cut me a very good deal on my service.  I appreciate that, and in return, I’ve agreed not to bug their execs anymore about their network issues.  I’m still a customer though, and I will not tolerate limits being placed on me because I actually use my iPhone to the fullest.  I’m signed up for unlimited data, and I expect to get it!

Let’s not even get me started about the lack of a 3G tethering option, and the fact that we get charged extra for text messages!

AppleInsider | AT&T warns of coming clamp-down on iPhone data hogs.

While working as a Mac Genius at the Apple Store, one of my most unhappy tasks was to tell customers that we were unable to rescue any important data from their dying hard drive.  Some customers received this news with quiet acceptance, while others became very upset that their vacation photos were lost, or that thousands of dollar’s worth of iTunes downloads were gone.  These customers learned the hard way that backups are critical to maintaining the vast amounts of data that even novice computer users accumulate.  As we move more and more of our lives onto our computers, data backups have become as important as maintaining homeowner’s insurance, and performing regular maintenance on our cars.  If our data is so important, why do so many of us fail to perform regular backups?  It is a fact that EVERY hard drive will eventually fail.  Failure could occur 1 week after you take your new computer out of the box, or it may not happen for 2 or 3 years.  This is why regular backs are so critical.