ATT Cracking Down on Unauthorized Tethering
 

Just a heads up. Over at Howard Forum's there is a long thread on ATT cracking down on unauthorized tethering:

http://www.howardforums.com/content....ou#new_comment

here is another thread from modmyi which is more extensive:

http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news...tethering.html

How are they detecting a web/data request that comes from the phone versus a tethered device?

That appears to be a point of contention. Some people think that ATT is just guessing based on massive usage patterns. Others say that deep packet inspection could contain many clues such as the browser type, whether there are connections to tell tale sites such as update.microsoft.com, etc. Some of the people who have been flagged have massive data usage patterns, but if ATT is making it a point to look, they may get more sophisticated over time.

Clearly some warnings are going out and I thought I would pass it on for whatever it is worth. I have a problem with guessing based on patterns because I know I would be hard to track. I consume a fair amount of data (not compared to these guys), but make extensive use of wifi where it is available so my usage at home, work, airport lounges, coffee houses, etc. is offloaded to the net, but when I am away from home, my usage goes way up.

What also is disturbing is some of the really ignorant definitions of tethering offered by some ATT reps. Apparently, I'm "tethering" when I play Pandora through my car speakers via a patch cord per one rep. I don't want to judge a company by one stupid rep. I had an ATT rep tell me that I needed to speak with international support about roaming in Montana.

Stu