A new Forbes report today claims that Verizon will be rolling out a system to prevent users of jailbreak tethering apps such as MyWi from working on their network. Their block consists of a redirect, so every time you visit a webpage while tethered, it will simply tell you to sign up for a tethering plan.
It’s unclear how Verizon is able to determine whether or not you are attempting to tether, but their system does appear to work. While I have typically detested the practices used by cellular carries to prevent their users from tethering, this method actually seems reasonable – it doesn’t charge the customer money, and it doesn’t hurt them by forcing them onto a higher-priced data plan (like AT&T does).
While there is still the classical concern that the term “unlimited” should actually mean unlimited, I can see the problems that might arise if every person on an unlimited plan began tethering to a laptop – it could cripple their network.
Unfortunately, in addition to requiring a subscription to one of Verizon’s tiered data plans, Verizon also charges their an additional $20/month just for the ability to tether – a pretty ridiculous, unfair, and anti-consumer measure considering that their data is already capped. A gigabyte is a gigabyte, and it should matter how it is used – right?
Have any of our Verizon MyWi users out there noticed this happening to them?
