Tethering

Tethering over Wi-Fi, also known as Personal Hotspot, is available on iOS starting with iOS 4.2.5 (or later) on iPhone 4 or iPad (3rd gen), certain Windows Mobile 6.5 devices like the HTC HD2, Windows Phone 7, 8 and 8.1 devices (varies by manufacturer and model), and certain Android phones (varies widely depending on carrier, manufacturer, and software version).

We reserve the right to deny or terminate service without notice for any misuse or any use that adversely affects network performance.

However, actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and a small claims court in California may make it easier for consumers to tether.

[15] The announcement also stated that "(Verizon) recently revised its service offerings such that consumers on usage-based pricing plans may tether, using any application, without paying an additional fee."

In another instance, Judge Russell Nadel of the Ventura Superior Court awarded AT&T customer Matt Spaccarelli $850, despite the fact that Spaccarelli had violated his terms of service by jailbreaking his iPhone in order to fully utilize his iPhone's hardware.

[16] Spaccarelli responded by creating a personal web page in order to provide information that allows others to file a similar lawsuit, commenting: "Hopefully with all this concrete data and the courts on our side, AT&T will be forced to change something.

[18] T-Mobile mentioned that it was only a small handful of users who abused the tethering rules by using an Android app that masks T-Mobile's tethering monitoring and uses as much as 2 TBs per month, causing speed issues for most customers who do not abuse the rules.

[21] The next biggest cellular provider, Vodafone, also states in their mobile price list that they don't allow making the personal connection publicly available.

For example, the "Vodafone Red 2016 S" with 2 GB up to the "Vodafone Young 2020 XL" with unlimited data encourage their users to share their data with another personal device [22] The third-largest provider, Telefonica O2, generally sells cheaper contracts than the larger providers.

[23] Germany's highest justice court also confirmed the illegality of contract clauses that would forbid WiFi hotspots, tethering and in this case cellular routers.

It allows a compatible device to tether its active Wi-Fi connection, without the involvement of cellular networks.

[28] Microsoft Windows computers also allow the sharing of an active Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) connection through tethering.