Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from Macworld UK. Visit Macworld U.K.’s blog page for the latest Mac news from across the Atlantic.
O2, the iPhone service provider in the UK, claims it will disconnect anyone using the new tethering feature in the iPhone 3.0 update without signing up for its bolt-on data package.
iPhone owners who have installed the iPhone 3.0 update are reporting that it is possible to use the new tethering solution to hook up a laptop to use an iPhone’s internet connection for free.
O2 intends to roll out a tethering Bolt On with the launch of the iPhone 3G S today. O2’s iPhone tethering bolt-on will cost up to £29.36 a month. However reports indicate that iPhone users have been able to get around this requirement.
O2 has threatened to disconnect anyone using tethering, as it will be in breach of their contract. “Any use of this particular feature without the purchase of the bolt-on is specifically prohibited under our terms of service,” O2 said. “Under those terms, we reserve the right to charge customers making modem use of their iPhone or disconnect them.”