Tethering, as a first-class iPhone OS feature that works seamlessly with AT&T, has been available for over a year. Anyone who didn't upgrade to OS 3.1 still has it (so-called "samizdat tethering"). AT&T may be choosing to launch tethering formally alongside OS 4.0, but that has nothing to do with Apple.
I've given up on AT&T. In Chicago, we have Clear, a WIMAX service. That's what we use to get our computers on the Internet outside the office.
I kicked myself so hard when I realized that OS 3.1 ruined my tethering. I will be frustrated if OS 4.0's tethering comes with additional fees... on top of the fees that I already pay for data. Rate limit me, bandwidth cap me, whatever, but if I'm not using my ~5 gigs a month (of "unlimited data"), please don't make me pay more for the modality by which I choose to consume that data.
It's not first-class if you can't do it in the most recent version of the OS and even in the version it is "supported" it requires a download from a 3rd party site to enable.
This should really say 'for AT&T Customers on the iPhone', since tethering on my razr worked faultlessly with my Powerbook G4.
Luckily, the very fact of having an iPhone, with a decent browser and mail, apps, Bloomberg etc., renders the laptop largely superfluous for the situations where I used to depend on tethering.
So I wonder how much this is going to cost. The fact that you have to either call AT&T or visit their website is a big indicator it's not going to be free.
I've given up on AT&T. In Chicago, we have Clear, a WIMAX service. That's what we use to get our computers on the Internet outside the office.