AT&T shames unauthorized phone tetherers, gives ultimatum

AT&T has begun cracking down on smartphone customers—particularly iPhone users—who have been secretly tethering their smartphones to their laptops without paying for a tethering plan. The company sent text messages to the offending users, followed up with an e-mail, that says they've been identified as taking advantage the feature without paying up. If those users continue to tether and don't make changes to their accounts, AT&T will automatically begin charging for the DataPro tethering plan from March 27. Those who quit tethering before then won't have to upgrade their accounts.

"Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones—a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T's mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information," reads the beginning of AT&T's e-mail.