yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[G2 and Desire Z General] yowzator:
Simple solution

It seems to me that there could be a win-win solution for everyone.

* Drop the limit from 10GB to 5GB.

* Include tethering at no extra cost (with a data plan of course).

* For users who tether a lot and need more than 5GB, offer a $10 or $15 "tethering plan", that essentially just increases your cap to 10GB or 20GB or whatever.

That way we all get tethering. The occasional tethering user wouldn't need to pay for an extra plan to support a day or two of tethering here and there. But users who tether often and use more data could pay more for that service.

Plus, this would mean no need to create software on the device to control tethering (that could potentially get hacked), simplifying and reducing the costs to roll out the service.

Somehow I doubt they'll go with the simple solution.
[G2 and Desire Z General] mgshute:
Yea, why would they do something that makes sense?
[G2 and Desire Z General] smooth3d:
Ok folks let me educate you on how this works if this goes into affect. Tethering on certain phones such as the new Mytouch or the update coming to the G2 will the a feature option. Which means T-mo can turn that feature off or on depending on what you are set up with.

This does not affect rooted phones, pdanet or any other tether program. Just the built in tethering feature on the new phones os (which still can be bypass with a 3rd party tether app or by rooting). So to keep it simple if you are tethering now on your current phone, you will in the future for no added cost. On the new phones just install a 3rd party tethering app and you will be fine!
[G2 and Desire Z General] ikarma:
I just want to tether the 1 or 2 hours a month that my home internet is down. That's not worth $15 a month to me.
[G2 and Desire Z General] Jakemall:
Funny...I thought wifi used a different source for connecting to the internet. I could understand it if the limit applied to 3g only.
[G2 and Desire Z General] xile6:
If so then wouldnt wifi tether app bypass all this? Because correct me if im wrong but wouldnt the default tether run under this ^ format but the wifi tracker apk not

Yea makes tons of sense and it is smart but why would they do that if they can get more money? i pay $90 for two lines unlimited calling. 3 yrs ago i paid 70 for 600 anytime min + Nights&Wkends.

What im getting at is that tmobile could give everyone unlimited calling but they dont because they can get more money by doing mins for a few bucks cheaper then an unlimited plan.

So i dout they will do what you say but it would be great to have it as 5gb soft cap (included in data plan) 10gb for like $10extra 20gb for $20extra.
[G2 and Desire Z General] larryccf:
you can view your data useage at Tmo's web, when you open your account, click on the phone number you want to check - it's at the bottom of the page
[G2 and Desire Z General] chewy106:
But it still should be something that's part of the My Account app, like all other info is. I would prefer not needing to browse to T-Mobile's page, login with my number/pass, and pick a phone number from my lines and scroll to find it, which I would assume is aad4321's point ;)
[G2 and Desire Z General] krayshunist:
They charge extra for the official tethering app. I know for a fact that Verizon does not block PDAnet. Mostly they charge idiot customers (read: 90% of their customer base) for official tethering support that's "superior" (read: costs money) to other solutions. But there's no easy way to block tethering without also blocking all internet access.
[G2 and Desire Z General] ericc191:
I'm sure this has been addressed, but yeah, if you have root, you'll be fine.
[G2 and Desire Z General] krayshunist:
You're confused. The cap does not apply to wifi, only to data through 3G. Wifi will remain unlimited (unless your internet provider has caps.)
[G2 and Desire Z General] jashsu:
What made you think I was talking about WiFi?
[G2 and Desire Z General] larryccf:
whoops - i was speed reading - sorry bout that
[G2 and Desire Z General] Akulamenuri:
Going from 10gb to 5gb affects less than 10% of members on this forum

The fee for tethering affects 0%
[G2 and Desire Z General] xnghiax:
iPhone tethering may be $10 but don't forget that AT&T's data plans are not unlimited and cost around the same. Comparing apples to oranges. But if you are enticed by the $10 and want to be charged for overages in data then to each their own.
[G2 and Desire Z General] mdayjr:
Thats a waste of time. Better do ur reaearch first b4 u do something foolish. Tmo is a competitor. Att charges for everything and vzw is not far behind.
[G2 and Desire Z General] mingkee:
If the thing said from OP is true, why doesn't T-Mobile give more cap (2-3x more than 5GB) with this "tethering fee"?

In addition, There are few unlocked phones which can bypass the system.

$45 5GB Even More Smartphone Internet with Tethering isn't better than stand-alone webconnect overage free.
[G2 and Desire Z General] grennis:
File this under "I know a guy who ..."
[G2 and Desire Z General] SmartHat:
I hit about 800mbs 1 month while using edge speeds on my old 3gS (T-Zones plan)... and that was just using Pandora. Since I've had the G2 I've been going crazy w/ Data :D

I've had the phone for a little over a week and I'm @ 600mb (no tethering..yet)... so I know that I will go over the Cap if I did start tether, especially with my data intensive browsing habits...

And what someone was saying about the My Account app is true, they should put Data stats that on there rather than making the customer sign on to their website to check data usage.
[G2 and Desire Z General] sykopompos:
The new cap only effects new customers or someone changing their plan. In your contract it says that you have a 10gb cap before they throttle your speed. You will be grandfathered in as long as you have your plan before the cut off and the throttling is a joke with such a simple work around of going into settings to the network settings switch it to 2g networks only then uncheck that and you are back at full speeds
[G2 and Desire Z General] krayshunist:
Are you looking at pictures of kittens all day long? :-P
[G2 and Desire Z General] Bbe1367:
Ive read a couple responses claiming reps don't know or this is a rumor, I will clarify, I was told this and shown the paper by the VICE PRESIDENT of t-mobile. It is true. I did ask him about rooted devices and he claimed we have a way to know if your tethering using a root or "pirate" app and will be charged but I honestly didn't believe that part. Some here said that through updates there will be tethering apps provided through tmobile which require the 15 dollar feature to use,this is true. As far as rooted apps, I cannot tell you anything official.
[G2 and Desire Z General] ohhdavid:
Meh... no offense buddy but I have my doubts that the Vice President of TMobile is disseminating this information to an associate.. especially one that doesn't even capitalize his I's.

Ill belive it when I see it... in my experience this forum is filled with conspiracy theorists that rival Birthers.
[G2 and Desire Z General] sykopompos:
Call bull**** on that one, if you ever looked at the code of the tether apps, the kernel code and even the script in cm all tether does is just transfer the connection thru the same port as what your regular data is so there is really no way for them to tell.

When I first got my g1 they told me that tethering will cost you a lot and they know how to tell and track it, I have tethered many times but now I do it rarely and I have never paid an extra cent
[G2 and Desire Z General] funkadesi:
I highly doubt THAT(what you just explained) is a way of getting rid of the slow speed. I'M pretty sure T-Mobile's servers know once you've crossed the limit with the ACTUAL data.... theres no way of returning to high speeds until next billing cycle starts.
[G2 and Desire Z General] drumking:
I'm tethering my G2 right now making this post :) I think they will charge you

for just turning on the option. Thats what AT&T does. I love how a company

charges you more and more money for services when the economy is down

and when sales are low to make up there overhead :rolleyes:
[G2 and Desire Z General] xnghiax:
Is there another wireless company out there that allows tethering for free? Just curious because this sounds like a meaningless debate otherwise. Honestly, if this was your personal business would you keep giving things away for free? And if your anwser is "yes" then how would you propose to keep your business alive and competing with others? Tethering has been around for a bit but now it has become more mainstream and the average user is becoming aware of its uses so a new market is born. T-Mobile being the last to charge for such a feature isn't very surprising and along with this they don't even charge for overages. I know there are debates out there arguing data throttles and such but take a look at other providers and the overages that come into play when you reach the data limits and compare from there. If you're savvy enough I'm sure you can remain ahead of these new changes but you've got to expect that eventually the business will catch up. Am I the only one that sees this point? Free is nice and I do enjoy free but as I also know free doesn't last forever so enjoy what you can.
[G2 and Desire Z General] sykopompos:
It is more of a debate now because a feature of froyo is built in tether so people are demanding it now and no there is no carrier that gives tethering away for free
[G2 and Desire Z General] LordLugard:
And what's to stop tmo from calling your bluff? All the major 4 carriers have a cap but at least tmo just 'throttles' you rather than charging you overages per kb.

Forgive My Brevity. To Be Or Not To Be...
[G2 and Desire Z General] LordLugard:
My thing is, if I get 5gb data included in my plan, does it matter how I ue it as long as I'm within that 5gb limit?

That's what rubs me off the most. I definitely don't use more than 2gb a month via my cell and if I want to tether occasionally and make use of MY 3gb left remaining then there's no way in hell I'm paying extra for that.

Forgive My Brevity. To Be Or Not To Be...
[G2 and Desire Z General] oldsk00lz:
Tethering charge

If they start charging it will be a sad day. Many users have been tethering for years, even prior to Android. I really hate when things become "easy" for the masses ( a la napster, froyo wifi). For me, I usually have the need to tether for limited amounts of time if I am traveling and don't have good wifi available.

If their network was as large or strong as other networks, then I could see the need to charge. When so many people live outside of HDSP+ areas, and general signal strength is weak as compared to Verizon, it seems like it would be a lousy charge. I can't count the number of times I have not had good reception while co-workers with Verizon work just fine. (i.e. in certain buildings, or basements.) If the price increases too much, it may even push me to cough up a little more for stronger signals.

Identifying tether

I don't really see the app being the thing that notifies T-Mobile, but rather the data usage. For instance, most browsers include user agents which they could sniff for.

Throttling bandwidth

This may also be due to the new T-Mobile TV that I have heard about. Unfortunately, since phones are starting to access true websites versus WAP sites, people are starting to download more and more data. As Skype and video calls, and watching content, become more prevalent data usage will go up even more. I already miss the "OLD" plans that had true unlimited before they snuck in exceptions into their terms of service on new plans.

-oldsk00lz
[G2 and Desire Z General] Bbe1367:
Sorry I didn't capatalize my I's using my ipad, I forgot that grammer is forum rules. Yes the vice president visited my store, they do make runs to visit high selling stores across the nation and because I own a tmobile direct dealer it isn't "disclosing" its just for us to sell it next month.
[G2 and Desire Z General] MCbrian:
It's funny when people post their "insights" into carrier business strategy, especially when the insight consists of nothing more than "it's a profit-based business". Duh! Yes, and of course, everything that a for-profit business does is to increase profits -- everything. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, from the business' perspective.

But this isn't a forum about business strategies, it's a forum about how to increase our enjoyment/use of cell phones/devices. So it's perfectly reasonable for posts to consist of "I don't like this because..." even if what the user doesn't like is a good thing for a carrier. It's completely irrelevant to me, the user, what feature or service or pricing is best for T-Mobile or any carrier -- I'm not a shareholder. I only care what gives

me

the best value/enjoyment.

It may be that "free doesn't last forever"...but only because nothing lasts forever -- yes, and some day the sun will explode ...but forever is a very long time, and why is this a

good

time for it to end?

Bottom line -- and I mean that in the business sense -- if T-Mobile really does impose a $15/month charge for tethering and if it applies to me and if there's not a way to root around it then I'll really have to look hard at "why not switch to Verizon" since they have much, much, broader 3G coverage where I live in the middle-of-nowhere West. The only advantage for me in being with T-Mobile is price...and if that advantage dwindles then it's reasonable for me to consider other carriers with better coverage.
[G2 and Desire Z General] mghtyred:
Sorry, but I'm calling shenanigans on the OP. Someone get me my broom.
[G2 and Desire Z General] pdxrealtor:
Skimmed the most recent posts.

IMO- 5 GB is plenty of data. WIth all of the data intensive apps, let alone the email attachments, VOIP, and the tons of hacked options (mobile AP) I can see how people could easily take advantage of unlimited data especially when you start getting into the higher data speeds that are becoming available. (HSPDA).

If they had the resources they'd set it up so you could use the high speed and ditch your at home ISP. But they're not even close in speeds yet..... YET. IT's coming.... give it 10 -15 years and mobile co.s will, if they're smart, own it all.
[G2 and Desire Z General] gr33k:
Spoke with T-Mobile rep (she actually knew her stuff!)

Hey guys - I called T-mobile support last night and spoke with a rep about:

a) AOSP update - was oblivious said if it's not on the web site it doesn't exist

b) Wifi calling, tethering, data cap - might as well spoke Chinese to the guy...

Today (30 minutes ago) I spoke with them again after reading more about this 5GB cap limit. And here's what I believe to be true since she told me:

a) There WILL be a 5GB cap. She said it's always been there, but I've never used 5GB to verify this...but with my G2 i'm at 3800MB with 13 days left on my billing cycle ;p It will knock you down to EDGE until your next billing cycle.

b) Said nothing about the AOSP update was on the employee C-Community (or wutever) forums. That's not to say it's not there, it's just not in the forums.

So granted she's not aware of the AOSP update...The data cap is pretty real at 5GB - Though I pay 34.99 unlimited data right now and I've had T-mobile since the Motorola Razor came out...I'm disappointed. Throttled is one thing - but kill my connection to EDGE...there goes data and talking at the same time (Edge and Phone call use the same band or something if I understand correctly. Only when you have 3g(+) can you talk and have data). Bummer...

Don't flame me if you don't believe me or if you pissed at the fact that they are (or may if you're still not convinced) doing this bull$h1z - I'm pissed off about it as the next guy - and you panzies saying "i've never had 5GB of usage" - wait till you REALLY use your G2 - Pandora alone can rape your "5GB" - remember ... by today's standards - 5GB is not all that much - BUT At least it's not 2GB I suppose ;( - Download any media files, and use Tango (video chat via 3g - check it out), or other bandwidth intensive apps - even if this was already in place - knowing it now is disappointing!

What worries me is that the G2 is awesome, and with it I can do SOOO much more than my rooted G1 (faster and enjoyably ;p). Limiting the bandwidth means I gotta watch how much I use my phone again...gone is the "unlimited everything" feeling I had :(

(Forgive any idiot typos or bad grammer I'm tired and had a few beers ;p)

EDIT: Forgot to mention! She told me you can do #932# to get data usage on your phone #WEB# is easier to remember ;)

EDIT #2: I asked her to submit a ticket (request/suggestion) for them to add an option to pay more for more bandwidth - at least we'd HAVE an option for more bandwidth - right now 5GB is the ONLY one.

Call T-Mobile and post on their forum your unhappiness if this makes you unhappy :D
[G2 and Desire Z General] sykopompos:
There has not always been a 5gb cap, it has been 10gb and this has been discussed like a year ago, these new changes will only effect you if you change your plan otherwise it is a breach of contract so use your full 10gb and move on
[G2 and Desire Z General] Dlirious:
Not to disagree with your post but wouldn't you agree that without these business strategies to evolve how we use the devices we would not be able to get any kind of value/enjoyment that we have available today? I'm on everyone's side with this and I'm just saying it isn't as bad as everyone thinks but I guess that depends on where you reside and what you're getting for your buck. I know plenty of people with both AT&T and Verizon in my area and they don't get as great of a signal as T-Mobile but as I said it really depends on where you are at.
[G2 and Desire Z General] TheMan42:
tweet tweet!
[G2 and Desire Z General] tehseano:
You're all aware that if you have root and/or are just not using Tmo's official "internet tethering" that would be released with an OTA, just don't add the tether service to your plan, and you can still tether all you want, for free...
[G2 and Desire Z General] yowzator:
I've skimmed through all 8 pages of this thread, but I didn't see if anyone stated when this change will take effect, or if it already has.

I haven't purchased a G2 yet, but plan to soon. This will extend my contract by 2 years, but I don't intend to change anything in my plan. About a week ago I switched my data plan from $30/mo to $25/mo unlimited data including 400 text.

I am considering switching to the $20/mo unlimited data plan, but then I'd have to add $5 for 400 text. However, if switching will cause my contract to change from 10GB to 5GB, I'd like to keep my existing data plan.

If however, the new 5GB plan isn't in effect yet, I should change to the $20 plan immediately, and go buy the phone tomorrow.

Or will all plans change from 10GB to 5GB anyway? I'm unclear on if the 10GB is grandfathered or not.

How can I review the terms of service and contract for all my services? Is there a place I can see these online for my specific plan and services?

Any advice?
[G2 and Desire Z General] sykopompos:
Oct 17th and only applies to new data packages after that date, if you have a 10gb cap then you will keep it as long as you don't drop it or change that data package
[G2 and Desire Z General] Bzerk1:
sweet! exactly answered the question i was about to ask. lol, then the news doesnt bother me at all. 5gigs is plenty room for me.
[G2 and Desire Z General] giganticprune:
dude..be careful about posting stuff like this. i nearly got fired from a provider for something less than this.
[G2 and Desire Z General] Jakemall:
Thanks for that clarification.
[G2 and Desire Z General] krayshunist:
I have yet to see that be implemented by a carrier. It isn't as easy as you think it is. What about third-party browsers that appear on the market? The carrier would need to compile new browser string as they appear on the Android market or you get angry customers who aren't able to use their browsers. Not to mention that Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari all allow you to change the browser string.

Tethering will remain free for quite a while longer.
[G2 and Desire Z General] ihateusernames:
I tried #932# and it said it is not available with my plan.
[G2 and Desire Z General] mghtyred:
Wait, so because it's a fact that executives travel to do meetings, then it's automagically a fact that everything else the OP says is true? Where's my broom, you're next on the shenanigans train!
[G2 and Desire Z General] mghtyred:
By your logic, the following is an accurate statement:

"1+1 is 2, 3+3 is six, and I crap gold bars."
[G2 and Desire Z General] TZAR@:
Data cap & $15 a month to tether? Wait a Damn minute... I'm liking T-Mobile less & less day by day.
[G2 and Desire Z General] n3rdftw:
pretty sure everyone will be at 5GB, the 10GB was never specifically in my contract, i believe the contract is pretty vague about what the cap was, just that there would be a generic throttling when you start using an extremely large amount of bandwidth
[G2 and Desire Z General] synaesthetic:
Charging extra for tethering capability when there's a bandwidth cap is just pure greed, plain and simple. Packets are packets are packets, regardless of whether they are pulled down to a phone or a computer.

I shall continue to root and obtain tethering for free, but the bandwidth cap I saw coming. I knew the HSPA+ rollout would bring it. I'm just happy it's 5GB and throttles instead of AT&T's failtastic 2GB with ridiculous overage fees.
[G2 and Desire Z General] HamNCheese:
a) $15 and a reduction in my data cap? **** that

b) There is no difference in IP traffic from applications vs a tethered device. There is no way that anyone who is tethering will get a bill. The $15 simply turns on the existing Froyo functionality.
[G2 and Desire Z General] HamNCheese:
This implies that they are capable of doing deep packet inspection on a massive scale. It's also trivial to spoof your user agent - so it would all be for nothing...
[G2 and Desire Z General] spovat:
So how can we confirm whether existing contracts will be grandfathered in at 10gb of data?
[G2 and Desire Z General] Mactagonist:
If your contract says "The user will get 10gb of data included" you will be 'grandfathered'. If it doesnt, you will get 5gb.

If you contract does say "the user will get 10gb of data included" then please scan and post it because I have never seen that before.
[G2 and Desire Z General] yowzator:
How can I see my contract? I do all my upgrades by calling 611. I think the last time I got a contract on paper was a decade ago.
[G2 and Desire Z General] HamNCheese:
It probably worth mentioning this:

If T-mobile makes a change in their terms of service, you may opt to terminate your contract within 30 days of the change, as this is a material breach of contract on T-Mobile's part. They are legally obligated to let you out of your contract, meaning that brand new G2 is free - T-Mobile eats the subsidy.

Once out of your contract, you can switch to Even More Plus and save yourself $20/month.

So far, T-mo has been pretty careful not to make obvious changes. But this, being a smart-phone (capable of eating large amounts of data per month) may be a different story.
[G2 and Desire Z General] johnbibbs:
I'm not sure this would qualify as a material breach unless your contract specifically states that you will received 10 gigs of data per month... As someone said earlier, if yours says that I would love to see it.

The bigger hose job is the fact that I'm assuming we all have the "unlimited" data plan which is in fact quite limited.

I believe there is even a clause in the contract that specifically states they reserve the right to throttle bandwidth... I'm obviously paraphrasing.

-John

Sent from my T-Mobile G2
[G2 and Desire Z General] Bbe1367:
so to everybody that bashed my OP, go to tmonews because they just posted it there....thanks guys
[G2 and Desire Z General] krayshunist:
I agree, hence I don't see them blocking tether :-)
[G2 and Desire Z General] tekkaman_01:
you mean the this story

http://www.tmonews.com/2010/10/t-mobile-reducing-data-cap-will-throttle-speeds-after-5gb-of-usage/

that was posted a day before you posted the first post...