O2 Won't Allow Laptop Tethering on iPhone 3G

(4 Votes)

Written by Otto
Monday, 16 June 2008 10:01
As of this morning we have information that the rumour that O2 will allow the iPhone 3G to be "tethered" to a laptop via Bluetooth to be used as a modem is NOT true. While our contact in O2 wouldn't comment directly on the rumor they did say the following - "....it's specifically in the conditions of 'unlimited usage' of data that the iPhone isn't to be used as a modem."... Of course the iPhone is the one mobile that you can actually use to browse the web properly so we don't often have the need to use our laptop on the road. However, it does seem short sighted not to offer this feature. It's another tick for users looking for it and it's available on most other SmartPhones in the iPhones market space. Our contact stated - "Also, you might like to ask Apple about the bluetooth on the iPhone" which sounds like there may even be a technical barrier to this operation, not just a business one? o2.co.uk/iphone
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 July 2008 20:49 )

Wesley Mason makes this comment

Because of the big network providers, like AT&T in the US, don't want Apple to allow tethering, Apple have not included a DUN bluetooth profile in the iPhone 1st gen and likewise aren't including one in the 3G iPhone..which in effect means you just can't use it as a bluetooth modem at all. However, I think Apple would create and include a DUN profile at the drop of a hat just for the UK edition if O2 asked them to, to provide greater service to their customers...but then mobile carriers don't actually care about that! And they're too stuck in the early 90's to consider actually building networks that can take bigger capacity and then allow people to fully unleash over-the-air data, instead of this crippled version of 3G we're forced to use.

Thu 19 Jun 2008 23:09:17 UTC

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