Verizon Cracks Down On Jailbreak Tethering

tekgoblin writes "Verizon, like AT&T has now started blocking jailbroken phones from using un-sanctioned tethering apps. Verizon will now require users to be subscribed to a mobile tethering plan to be able to use tethering at all." So which mobile company's actually any good for 3G tethering, voice service aside? My Virgin Mobile MiFi (bought under a plan no longer available) is theoretically unlimited and "only" $40/month, but has had too much downtime for my taste, and atrocious customer service.

How do they tell?

[jsnipy]

How do they even tell tethered traffic from non?

Pick one or the other

[Solandri]

Either you get rid of unlimited accounts and charge by the GB, in which case it shouldn't matter to you whether those GBs are from the phone or tethered. Or you restrict tethering because people on unlimited accounts are using too much bandwidth while tethered. Charging for tethering while at the same time charging per GB is trying to have your cake and eat it too.

The FTC should step in and make it illegal to advertise bandwidth as "x GB" if the carrier puts restrictions on exactly what is and isn't allowed in those GB. At the very least it should come with an asterisk and a disclosure of limitations at the bottom of the ad. That way people know not to compare GB* to GB.

Re:How do they tell?

[mlts]

I use VPNs all the time on my cell phone, and never for tethering. I don't really trust most wireless networks out there, so having my traffic going through an encrypted tunnel out is something I do as a matter of routine. A lot of "free" Wi-Fi places also have ad injectors (a la Phorm) so having an encrypted link gets rid of third party meddling in what I am doing.