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The only real choice between vendors is based on price and reliability, since all of them tell you what you can and cannot do with your hardware. The only othe

The only real choice between vendors is based on price and reliability, since all of them tell you what you can and cannot do with your hardware. The only other option is to do without and that's just not a realisitic proposition anymore. It might work for Stallman, but not for me.

chc 11y ago
I agree that there isn't anybody offering completely indiscriminate mobile data for unlimited devices and unlimited users for $80 a month. But the fact that I want a Tesla Model S for $300 and nobody in the market is offering such a thing doesn't mean I can force an existing vendor to provide me with a $100,000 car for $300. Like, if these people want to pay for the data, they can actually use their devices however they want — T-Mobile isn't telling them they can't. T-Mobile is just saying that they aren't offering unlimited data for unlimited devices and unlimited users for $80 a month.
snuxoll 11y ago
> The only real choice between vendors is based on price and reliability, since all of them tell you what you can and cannot do with your hardware. They are telling you what you can and cannot do with THEIR NETWORK. You want to go host a web server on your Nexus 6 where people are downloading multi-GB files daily? GO FOR IT! But don't expect your mobile provider to let you do it over their network.
- drivingmenuts 11y ago
  > They are telling you what you can and cannot do with THEIR NETWORK. The hotspot is from the phone, not the network, so the only way they can tell is if 1) the hotspot is reporting it to them or 2) they are doing packet inspection. Either way, T-Mobile is effectively limiting what I can do with my hardware and hiding behind a bad definition of "unlimited" with the caveats intentionally buried in a wall of legalistic fine-print. Does this seem right, ethical or moral, to you? Because it kinda smells bad to me.
  - chc 11y ago
    > caveats intentionally buried in a wall of legalistic fine-print. It is not buried under legalistic fine-print. They are extremely clear and up-front about what kind of usage is covered under the unlimited data and what the limits on tethering are. When you select the Unlimited plan on their website, "Includes up to 7GB Smartphone Mobile HotSpot data" is the second bullet point in the plan details. I share your frustration with providers who lie about unlimited data, but this is not that.

chc 11y ago

I agree that there isn't anybody offering completely indiscriminate mobile data for unlimited devices and unlimited users for $80 a month. But the fact that I want a Tesla Model S for $300 and nobody in the market is offering such a thing doesn't mean I can force an existing vendor to provide me with a $100,000 car for $300. Like, if these people want to pay for the data, they can actually use their devices however they want — T-Mobile isn't telling them they can't. T-Mobile is just saying that they aren't offering unlimited data for unlimited devices and unlimited users for $80 a month.

snuxoll 11y ago

> The only real choice between vendors is based on price and reliability, since all of them tell you what you can and cannot do with your hardware. They are telling you what you can and cannot do with THEIR NETWORK. You want to go host a web server on your Nexus 6 where people are downloading multi-GB files daily? GO FOR IT! But don't expect your mobile provider to let you do it over their network.

drivingmenuts 11y ago
> They are telling you what you can and cannot do with THEIR NETWORK. The hotspot is from the phone, not the network, so the only way they can tell is if 1) the hotspot is reporting it to them or 2) they are doing packet inspection. Either way, T-Mobile is effectively limiting what I can do with my hardware and hiding behind a bad definition of "unlimited" with the caveats intentionally buried in a wall of legalistic fine-print. Does this seem right, ethical or moral, to you? Because it kinda smells bad to me.
- chc 11y ago
  > caveats intentionally buried in a wall of legalistic fine-print. It is not buried under legalistic fine-print. They are extremely clear and up-front about what kind of usage is covered under the unlimited data and what the limits on tethering are. When you select the Unlimited plan on their website, "Includes up to 7GB Smartphone Mobile HotSpot data" is the second bullet point in the plan details. I share your frustration with providers who lie about unlimited data, but this is not that.