Optus Charging $10 For The Right To Tether Your iPhone
Apparently Optus has sent out a press release to certain publications, including our sister site Lifehacker, with some details about their plans for data tethering for the iPhone. Maybe they left Giz off the list because deep down they were so ashamed to be charging $10 a month just for the right to tether your iPhone…
According to Lifehacker, you need to pay the $9.99 monthly fee just to be able to use your monthly data allowance via tethering. There are also extra data packs that you can purchase on top of your data pack specifically for tethering, like 2GB for $25 or 6GB for $45, but it looks like those figures are still on top of the $10 a month you need to pay just for the service. Excess data will be charged at $0.35 per MB. It won’t be available for pre-paid customers to start with, but that will change at a later date apparently.
The tethering service will become available on June 22. We’re seeing that some Optus customers are getting the service now for nothing, but I’d expect that to change on Sunday.
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Comments
not too impressed about this one. it seems like optus are just trying to make a profit.
@thegame10 – you really think so?
congratulations are in order, once a gain the big telcos manage to make some of the most desirable tech undesirable. $45 for 6gig?!??! you get more data than that on a dvd, for like a 3rd of the price, oh, and you actually get CONTENT like a movie as well!.
Well thank goodness Three’s getting the iPhone! Can’t wait to see their prices.
http://www.three.com.au/
Free solution for optus :
get this link into your safari on your Iphone, the new profile will allow tethering without this $10 of Optus tax ;-).
forgot the link http://weave.zarack.com/OptusTetherv1.mobileconfig
you my dear friend are a god, works a treat and saves me wasting coin on a crappy overpriced telco usb stick modem
I know you guys carry advertising from Optus, but this is really the last straw. In my (almost) 12 months as an Optus iphone customer, I have had a) rubbish network reception (call drops outs, slow internet etc), b) a $2.20 fee for the “privilege” of getting a bill sent to me and soon c) a $10/month fee for the “privilege” of using a data allowance I already pay for.
My contract is up in July and I am off their network asap. I have also been telling anyone who asks about my iphone that the phone is great but that the network is terrible.
Disgusting..yet typical
Nice one Optus. I’m canceling my service and moving to another carrier. Greedy SOBs.
“thegame10
June 18, 2009 at 3:19 PM
not too impressed about this one. it seems like optus are just trying to make a profit.”
Ummm… last time I checked they were a business?
Sure I want everything cheap as well, but lets be realistic here. These companies are there to make money off people, not be your friend and give you mates rates just ‘because’…
What. The. Eff.
I don’t understand the concept of charging for tethering. How is downloading and watching a YouTube clip on your iPhone ANY DIFFERENT to just passing that data on to a laptop?
You’re already paying for a data allowance.
Data is data. Its destination is irrelevant.
Goddamn you, Optus.
Why the extra fee? It simply makes no business sense, surely a mobile with a PC tethered to it will use LOADS of extra download quota and people will be buying extra quota as a result (they may even buy a mega plan and kick their landline based ADSL). Surely the telcos should be doing all they can to encourage people to use their 3g network.
Plain dumb.
I just noticed the current Optus banner of “Get ready to be happier”
Oh I am getting ready Optus, I am….
Its interesting to question, how Optus can charge twice for the same service? What’s the difference between using your data on your iPhone vs using it on your laptop? This seems to be a very questionable charge in my view.
http://weave.zarack.com/OptusTetherv1.mobileconfig works a treat email to yourself on your phone and install.
Honestly though…is Optus trying to become the new Telstra?
Typical, juice it for all its worth. B4stards.
Does anyone know if VIRGIN ppl would be affected? So far I have managed to tether my phone via USB (Bluetooth is massive FAIL)… but it keeps dropping out like hell!!
Thats insane.. but be braced.. I’m sure the BIG-T will take the cake for daylight robbery!! No WONDER PEOPLE WILL BE JAILBREAKING AND USING IT FOR FREEEE!!
C’mon Dev team.. give us the goodies soon.. Pls!!
By the way VIRGIN/OPTUS suck so hard in call dropouts etc.. I’m in 2 minds to go back to VODAFONE.. the best so far!!
Looks like virginmobile is able to tether without charge and without problem. Don’t know where you are located having issues with optus/virgin but the network in the Perth area does fairly well. *shrug*
I will be contacting both optus and the TIO on monday with this very concern. I thinks its questionable to say the least. I suggest everyone call optus on monday to make their complaints heard, plus call the TIO if you are not satisfied with their response. Lets put some pressure on them!
Optus have been using this business strategy for a while. Their aim is to lose customers.
With regards to the last statement in the article, why do you think it will change come Sunday.
The way current optus users are able to tether, is by using the same configuration that mobiles use to access the internet (and optus does not charge extra for that (the config file pointed out by deck and russo)).
If we still have the ability to change the config at will come Sunday (which I see no reason why we wouldnt, perhaps optus would over-ride it once, but we could just restore it back WITHOUT JAILBREAKING), free tethering for all (normal data charges apply, doh).
Well, yes it’s evil, but remember Optus lost $44 million a QUARTER over iPhone subsidies to keep it cheaper than anyone else. Can’t really blame them for trying to stop that from happening again. But yes, evil.
The carrier settings file worked perfectly. Shove your $10 charge, Optus. Actually, you wont be able to, given you wont be seeing my money.
Spoke to Optus about this yesterday and told them it was a crock.. why the hell would I pay MORE money every month to make use of a Mobile Internet Pack Im already paying for?? WTF
I just thought everyone should know an updated post on Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/18/how-to-tether-your-iphone-running-os-3-0-without-jailbreaking/), As stated by O2 UK:
O2 UK has responded to the tethering hack saying, “we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them.”
This may put a huge hole in this workaround, sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
What effing c*nts. They make you pay for usage you’ve already paid for. This is beyond evil that even microsoft would think up.
Dave
June 19, 2009 at 8:32 AM
How will they know ur tethering as opposed to normal iphone surfing ?
Well let me tell you a little story…… I moved to Optus last year from Vodafone because of the iphone plans… big mistake, not only were the calls dropping all the time, i had no service in the middle of the city (Sydney) internet would run super slow and if i wanted to chat to someone i would end up in India talking to some dude named Mike (yeah right) who didn’t know anything to do except what was on his little help menu troubleshoot. After working with Optus, their “senior techs” in Sydney and playing the blame game, to the point that apple gave me two brand new iphone (I have two contracts with Optus) to prove it was not hardware, had them unlocked and I tested Telstra and Vodafone.. no problems. I took it to the TIO who let me lodge a complaint because no one at Optus would let me speak to the customer relations unit, they sent me to the CRU in at Optus who “investigated” and let me out of my 2 year contracts with no penalty – the basis, I pay 180 bucks a month for two phones plus 30 bucks in insurance per month, total 210, i signed a contract with them on the deal that I would pay my money and they would provide me with “reasonable ” service based on their coverage maps, well to me Sydney the most populated city in the entire country is a “reasonable” area and if they were not to release me I would be forced to take the matter to court for them breaching their contract with me. Vodafone here I come (and 3GS) Optus blows!!!