AT&T confirms it will support personal hotspot for the iPhone
AT&T representative Seth Bloom reportedly told PhoneScoop that AT&T will offer personal hotspot when it debuts with iOS 4.3. As was suggested in earlier rumors, the hotspot feature will require customers to subscribe to the $45/4 GB DataPro Plan with tethering. AT&T was rumored to be interested in personal hotspot, but this is the first time the carrier has stated publicly it was going to offer this feature.
Verizon Wireless launched the iPhone 4 with personal hotspot in February. The hotspot provides WiFi-based internet access for up to five devices using the iPhone's mobile broadband connection. The hotspot feature on Verizon provides 2 GB of data for $20, a charge that is levied on top of the $30 unlimited smartphone data plan.
Rather than a standalone application like the mobile hotspot on Android and webOS, the iOS version is built into the operating system. The service can be toggled on/off and configured from within the settings menu. This deep integration suggests all carriers will have access to personal hotspot and can decide individually whether to offer it to their customers.
When the iOS 4.3 update rolls out to AT&T customers on March 11th, are any of our readers going to bump up their plan to take advantage of this new feature? Let us know in the comments.
