

Google plays ball with carriers to kill tethering apps - msravi
http://thisismynext.com/2011/05/02/verizons-removal-tethering-apps-android-market-shame-fcc-violation/

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JonnieCache
The Galaxy S goes beyond tethering and has a Mobile AP feature which just
turns the phone into a wifi access point that runs NAT in front of the 3g
modem.

People I know who still have 'unlimited' data plans have used this for weeks
to provide internet to their whole household in the absence of working cable.

I assume this feature is removed in the US carrier-modified firmware builds?

~~~
sp332
Yeah, I did that on Verizon one time when our DSL went out for a few days. I
got a bill for $700 in overages. Sprint is better, it's about $30/mo. for
unlimited (yes, actually unlimited) tethering.

~~~
abraham
Last I checked Sprint 3G had a 5GB/m limit while 4G is actually unlimited.

~~~
sp332
Nope, Verizon has a 5 GB limit, but I've had Sprint tethering for 6 months and
they've never charged me an overage. But I'm not in a 4G market, maybe the
rules are different there?

~~~
abraham
Looks like the 5GB cap is for data only devices.

> 3G: 5GB while on network and 300 MB while off network.

[http://shop2.sprint.com/en/solutions/mobile_broadband/mobile...](http://shop2.sprint.com/en/solutions/mobile_broadband/mobile_broadband_4G.shtml)

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ben1040
This isn't that new; PDANet has been blocked on AT&T in this manner for at
least a year (from my experience having tried to download it when I first got
an N1). Searching for it in the Market yielded nothing when an AT&T SIM was in
the phone.

On my N1 the easy solution to the block was just to power down the phone, pull
the SIM, then access the market over wifi. All those carrier blocked apps
suddenly reappeared. I don't know if carrier locked phones still "remember"
their carrier when you pull the SIM, though, and in any case I guess you're
stuck with sideloading on those non-LTE Verizon devices where there's no SIM
to remove.

~~~
neuroelectronic
Another possible work-around is Amazon's App store. That's where I purchased
EasyTeather Pro. Are the carriers/Google going to force all App stores to bend
to their whims?

~~~
ben1040
AT&T's app sideloading ban makes Amazon's app store moot at present, and it
certainly puts AT&T in a bargaining position to request Amazon implement these
carrier specific blocks too if Amazon wants access to all these AT&T devices.

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Tichy
Tethering is built into Android from Version 2.3 (or even 2.3), no marketplace
apps needed.

Anyway, I don't understand what Google is supposed to do if carriers choose to
disable it. Maybe customers should be looking into other carriers if they
don't like the way their carriers conduct business.

~~~
rst
It was there in "stock" 2.2 as well, on the Nexus One --- but disabled in
almost all carrier builds.

And Google does have some leverage, if they choose to use it, in the Market
compatibility requirements --- there are minimum requirements for both
hardware and software if you want to get the Market, or Google's other
proprietary apps. (Which, say, the Nook Color flunks --- no camera.) It might
be a bridge too far for some of the carriers, but from the outside, it's not
obvious that they're trying.

(And looking for other carriers is not a hugely practical option in an
environment where there are basically four, and the one with the most
generally consumer-friendly policies, T-mobile, is up for buyout by the one
with the least, AT&T, which is the only one to ban sideloading altogether.)

~~~
Tichy
Not sure if access to the market is much of a leverage. I think most players
in the mobile game seek to establish their own markets anyway. The phone
makers certainly do.

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reader5000
Why do carriers care if I'm accessing my paid-for data via the phone's
interface or a tethered computer? It makes no sense to me.

~~~
guelo
The real reason is that for years they have overcharged corporate customers
for tethering plans and they don't want to lose that revenue. Same reason why
sms is so expensive per GB, basically because they can.

~~~
dspillett
Actually while SMS messages are overcharged for, especially messages that pass
between international boundaries, on pre 3G networks they are far more of a
burden on the network than you would imagine which means the networks have a
vested interesting in keeps the numbers being sent down a little. See
[http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/10/sms_denialofse...](http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/10/sms_denialofser_1.html)
for some details on a theoretical DoS attack based on this limitation. While I
believe this has been addressed with newer transmission protocols like UMTS
there are still a lot of phones out there using the 2G infrastructure either
because the phone is old or because they are being used in an area that has no
good 3G availability.

~~~
guelo
Thanks for the details but I think it backs up my contention, as the networks
are all upgraded the companies are trying to maintain the old sms prices
without technical justification.

~~~
dspillett
I'm not disagreeing with you as such (SMS pricing is definitely OTT,
especially cross-border given that the transmission between countries and
providers is not limited by the 2G per-cell control channel bandwidth), but
they currently have account for the fact that a chunk of their subscribers
will be sending via the older (limited throughput) method rather than the
newer one(s). My phone is capable of everything that is commonly "out there",
but right now it is playing at being a 2G handset as the 3G signal is lousy
out here.

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arron61
Why is this even a surprise? Why is everyone saying it's an open vs close
issue? The TOS clearly states that apps that utilize high bandwidth is a
violation. Google hasn't enforced this strongly but it is against their TOS.
It's the same as in Google banning porn-related material. This is not anything
special.

Of course Gruber jumps on the course saying it's against their open nature,
but please, at least most users (besides some AT&T handsets) can still go and
just install the app from a website.

~~~
msravi
Which TOS are you referring to? The Android Marketplace TOS? Could you please
point to the section of the TOS that mentions this? I find it very strange
that the marketplace would be concerned about an application's bandwidth
usage.

~~~
arron61
(f) is deemed by Google to have a virus or is deemed to be malware, spyware or
have an adverse impact on Google's or an Authorized Carrier's network;

Using the network's bandwidth to tether (since you didn't pay extra for it or
is not authorized to) is deemed as having an adverse impact on the carrier's
network.

------
joelhaus
With any luck, Google has negotiated for something in return that will benefit
end-users. Namely, that these carriers (ahem... Verizon) will agree to always
offer the latest pure Google experience device.

Most likely, Google has negotiated something that advances better/broader net
access over the long-term - as this would also align with their own business
interests. It's difficult to believe that threats alone could have forced
Google's hand.

As far as tethering goes, this seems to be exactly what the spectrum auction
reserve price was designed to protect. Second, tethering apps can still be
installed, just not via market. While this may be a minor inconvenience, I'm
not all that concerned. Big picture/long-term, ubiquitous network access will
be critical enough to the global economy, individual health and national
security that it will no longer make sense to keep in the hands of private
corporate interests within the current regulatory structure.

------
hnsmurf
I'm not sure this matters much. To use one of these apps you have to root your
phone. Anyone who knows to do that knows you can sideload apks.

Average consumers, who don't have the slightest clue what rooting is or why
they'd want to do it, just use the tethering app installed by the carrier, or
nothing at all.

~~~
broknbottle
this isnt exactly true. I just purchased the Optimus V for use on virgin
mobile and all I need to download from the market was an app called quick
settings. I was than able to tether w/o even needing to be rooted

~~~
hnsmurf
How is that possible? Was it USB tethering or something?

------
beamso
<http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=1416#c150> states that
Bluetooth PAN is in Honeycomb.

Since Android 2.2 I've been able to use my Google Nexus One as a WiFi hotspot
so that my laptops can use it's data connection.

------
texas-saluki
I think it is one thing for AT&T to not want to allow these apps but when
Google blocks them based that I am on one network vs another is a problem.

In my case I have a N1 so not an issue as of now, but in the future rooting is
the way to go...unless it is eliminated from the ASOP code.

------
jsight
This is actually really old news. This story on it is from 2 years ago:
[http://androidcommunity.com/android-tethering-apps-pulled-
fr...](http://androidcommunity.com/android-tethering-apps-pulled-from-
market-20090331/)

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gaius
Isn't bidding without intention to actually complete the deal market abuse? It
certainly is in financial markets. As in, jail time.

~~~
macrael
I don't think there is any evidence that Google would not have paid up if they
had won with their low bid, they just had no intention of winning the auction.
They were confidant someone would pay more. Is that illegal in financial
markets?

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RexRollman
Can someone explain why the carriers even care? Bandwidth is bandwidth; isn't
it?

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Price discrimination. Some people are willing to pay more while others aren't.
If you can find a way to charge extra to those that will pay more, or less to
those that can't afford it at the higher price, without letting people jump
between tariffs to make a mockery of your scheme then you can increase your
total profit _and_ better serve your customer base. You can use the same
system to more efficiently gouge a captive audience as well though.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination>

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muro
is there a source for the claim?

~~~
michaelcampbell
I don't know where it's coming from, but I can no longer get the market to
install a couple tethering apps that I once could (US, Verizon, original
Droid).

I'm rooted, so it doesn't matter, but this is definitely happening.

~~~
nightpool
In fact, something most forget about android, you don't even need to be rooted
to still install the applications, just download them from the companies
website and you can install on your own. Unless you're on AT&T, who disabled
that choice on their phones.

~~~
michaelcampbell
That's true, but this article is specifically about the Android market
limiting access, and I was reporting my experience with it.

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yanw
The carries hold all the cards really, and their power is only to get bigger
and more consolidated.

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napierzaza
Looks like Google is becoming more and more closed as the day goes on. Where
is your open-source god now?

~~~
tzs
> Where is your open-source god now?

OT, but that raises an interesting question. Could you have an open source
god? What would a religion be like if its holy texts were a wiki, that any
believer could edit?

~~~
Someone
Lots of forks, as in Protestant churches
(<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Gereformeerd.svg> really starts to look
like a history of Unix)

Of these
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonite_Church_in_the_Netherl...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonite_Church_in_the_Netherlands)
probably would be popular; every church member writes his own confession when
joining the church.

