Sprint to start hitting Touch users 1st for tethered charges
Spoke to my local Sprint Store manager who said that the winds of change have hit Sprint. Layoffs, near future downturn and long term expenses associated with WiMax have hit home. The reps have been instructed to tell consumers that any, I repeat, any tethering will result in charges on the WM6 phones: smarts and PPCs. Initially, the charge will just appear on your bill. It will apply to the casual tethering in the privacy of your own home to the all out power user. It will be pretty big as some you (Ok, sometimes me) have been getting away with 5 gig a month. If you call a CSR, they will offer up the “phone as modem plan” at $49.99 per month as part of your package retroactive to the month the tethering began (was discovered) in exchange.
How does Sprint know when we tether? Why only WM6 phones? Anyway around this. I use my notebook mostly with WiFi but every once and a while I need to tether (its not an addiction just a choice).
Last edited by Givemealuenski : 01-29-2008 at 03:14 PM.
They know by the browser that is activating the session, it identifies itself and its version and can be read by any of the routers and switches in between (for example, using IE7 or FireFox instead of Pocket IE, a dead giveaway to someone being tethered.)
So will they know the difference between Opera mobile (designated as a desptop) from full blown Opera?
Anyway to hide the browser from Sprint?
I would think you could connect to a VPN you set up with a home computer and also have running on that home computer a proxy server. If you did that and then started the connection sharing Sprint would still just see it as the phone accessing your home PC, which you could claim was for file swapping or some crap like that. But I'm just thinking out loud, I have no idea if it would work.
I would think you could connect to a VPN you set up with a home computer and also have running on that home computer a proxy server. If you did that and then started the connection sharing Sprint would still just see it as the phone accessing your home PC, which you could claim was for file swapping or some crap like that. But I'm just thinking out loud, I have no idea if it would work.
How so, Mr. Supercluver, would we exactly go about it?
Spoke to my local Sprint Store manager who said that the winds of change have hit Sprint. Layoffs, near future downturn and long term expenses associated with WiMax have hit home. The reps have been instructed to tell consumers that any, I repeat, any tethering will result in charges on the WM6 phones: smarts and PPCs. Initially, the charge will just appear on your bill. It will apply to the casual tethering in the privacy of your own home to the all out power user. It will be pretty big as some you (Ok, sometimes me) have been getting away with 5 gig a month. If you call a CSR, they will offer up the “phone as modem plan” at $49.99 per month as part of your package retroactive to the month the tethering began (was discovered) in exchange.
How does Sprint know when we tether? Why only WM6 phones? Anyway around this. I use my notebook mostly with WiFi but every once and a while I need to tether (its not an addiction just a choice).
If you want to get around this, you can use a third party app like PDAnet, instead of the built in Internet Sharing app which uses a Network Access Identifier to determine whether you are tethering or not.
If you want to get around this, you can use a third party app like PDAnet, instead of the built in Internet Sharing app which uses a Network Access Identifier to determine whether you are tethering or not.
If they're really using the user agent sniffing method jpmihalk brought up though, I don't think that PDAnet would get around it. That said though, I don't know that they're actually doing that. jpmihalk, you were just speculating, right?
If they're really using the user agent sniffing method jpmihalk brought up though, I don't think that PDAnet would get around it. That said though, I don't know that they're actually doing that. jpmihalk, you were just speculating, right?
I haven't necessarily read every single topic out there, but this is the first time I had heard of the UA string be used to identify tethering. The threads I've read point to the NAI.
If this is true, then I will finally be able to kick the Sprint Habit. The only, I repeat ONLY reason that I remain with Sprint is that they have a super fast network with low data access fees.
If this is true, then I will finally be able to kick the Sprint Habit. The only, I repeat ONLY reason that I remain with Sprint is that they have a super fast network with low data access fees.
They STILL have a super fast network with low data access fees. Have you checked the competition?
__________________
Don't mess with old futs...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! B. S. and brilliance only come with age and experience!
Ah man, Sprint is just TOO MUCH So... what are they going to do? Hit everybody with 6 month retroactive cents per kilobyte charges for "unauthorized" tethering to the tune of a couple grand or so and then offer the $50/mo PAM plan to cover it all over those last 6 months?
I hate extra tethering fees, SMS charges (dslreports.com has a doozy of an article about those rip-off profit margins on SMS) and so on but this sounds scary enough that I'm almost glad I pay VZW the extra $15 to "legally" tether as much as I like (up to 5 Gig I guess, ran over 2 Gig last month, lol)
I never quite understood exactly why the US cell carriers are in such a tizz over tethering anymore anyway. Shouldn't be more than a nominal $5 a month extra to tether if that much.
wait wait so you all wanna BLAME and BASH sprint because you are violating the rules and getting something for free with a work around they may shut off? wow reality check....be happy you got it free this long. And sprint data is still cheaper than any other carrier on the phone or tethering for 3g.
If you want to get around this, you can use a third party app like PDAnet, instead of the built in Internet Sharing app which uses a Network Access Identifier to determine whether you are tethering or not.
What is the registry hack that we could use to avoid the Network Access Identifier? Over at Spintusers.com, they are reporting Sprint bills over $1K in a month for tethering!
wait wait so you all wanna BLAME and BASH sprint because you are violating the rules and getting something for free with a work around they may shut off? wow reality check....be happy you got it free this long. And sprint data is still cheaper than any other carrier on the phone or tethering for 3g.
Please explain to me how this post is useful for users reading this thread.
We PAY for a data plan. How WE choose to use it shouldnt be up to sprint. Reality check is right.
Sprint to start hitting Touch users 1st for tethered charges
So... what are they going to do? Hit everybody with 6 month retroactive cents per kilobyte charges for "unauthorized" tethering to the tune of a couple grand or so and then offer the $50/mo PAM plan to cover it all over those last 6 months? 
Login
Panel
