AT&T Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega confirmed overnight that iPhone 3G users would be able to use their phones as wireless modems at some point next year.
(Credit: CNET.com)
De la Vega made the comments on-stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in the US. "Tethering" an iPhone to a laptop, and using the iPhone's mobile data connection to get online, is a service that iPhone users have wanted for some time, but that AT&T was reluctant to provide. Some say the telco feared that a huge influx of traffic could overwhelm its network.
It's not clear when AT&T will roll out the tethering service; some point in 2009 appears to be the only stated time frame.
Last month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly sent an e-mail to a Gizmodo reader saying Apple and AT&T were working on a tethering plan for the iPhone. But for a brief period this year, a company called NullRiver software sold an application called NetShare that let iPhone users tether their laptops to their phones.
Apple pulled the application from its App Store, despite the fact that other carriers selling the iPhone around the world permit tethering and the developer's claim that NetShare did not violate any terms and conditions of the developer program.
