Optus: $9.99 to use iPhone as modem

By Liam Tung on 18 June 2009

in brief Optus has outlined the additional cost its iPhone customers face if they want to use their device as a modem.

Optus today put an end to speculation over whether it would charge for tethering — a feature made available in the OS 3.0 update Apple issued today which enables the iPhone to act as a mobile modem.

The telco has opted for $9.99 per month flat fee which applies to all data packages and unlocks the tethering feature, and will only be available to post-paid customers, Optus said tdoay. For example, iPhone customers on the $59 500MB cap would pay an additional $9.99. To activate the feature, customers needed to call customer service. They won't be able to use the feature until Monday 22 June, however.

The telco has yet to announce pricing for the iPhone 3G S, which has been released in the US but is due in Australia on 26 June.

Optus has not yet posted full details about the terms and conditions but said it expected to do so via its website on Monday.

Topics: 3.0, 3g s, apple, iphone, optus, tethering, data

Related Articles

Comments (16)

  • ColbyD commented on 25/08/2009 16:12

    Almost any phone can tether. Optus choose to charge tethering fees to iPhone users exclusively.

    If their profits were invested into developing the network, rather than being paid in dividends. Maybe they wouldn't have to deter customers getting what they pay for(data). Surely the 'i' in iPhone means 'internet'?

    Optus have oversold the available bandwidth, gambling that customers won't use what they pay for.

    In full 3G coverage I've experienced constant internet dropouts and 4kbps bandwidth.

    My phone can have full signal but is unable to recieve calls.

    It's almost impossible to get online or make/receive calls during peak periods in the Brisbane CBD.

    IMO Optus is awful.

    Their network is mainly weetbix wrapped in tinfoil, and is resold to other carriers like Dodo, ACN, Woolworths

  • DR commented on 22/06/2009 17:55

    Yeah this sucks, but as id hate to admit it apple doesnt help the matter at all. a few months ago they removed all tethering apps from the app store. Tethering was available on non-jailbroken phones up until then.

  • prlab commented on 22/06/2009 09:08

    Optus. You will lose me at the end of my contract. This is a blatant rip off. Cripes, you'll be getting additional dollars simply by customers using the phone as a modem and downloading extra data. Meantime, I am jailbreaking the phone and will use a $10 program which allows me data access.

  • hendo commented on 19/06/2009 15:05

    Its just profile settings that you can obtain from a configuration file that is easily located by a search in ggogle. I hvae tethering on my Optus iPhone and its not supposed to be available yet let alone me paying $10 p/month for it!

  • GregoryO commented on 19/06/2009 14:16

    Sooo, you pay for a plan WITH data (and possibly additional handset repayments, depending on your plan...), then you're expected to pay $10 extra for... Data?

    But if I go and buy virtually any other cell phone on the market, I only have to pay for data ONCE?


    Wow, it's easy to see how Optus are looking after their customers and offering value-for-money...

    By charging them for something they've already paid for, essentially ripping them off!


    Yeah, I think I'll just stick to Telstra and non-iPhone products...

    And people are always complaining that Telstra are a rip-off?

  • narced commented on 19/06/2009 13:39

    First, bob - w/c way is Motorola heading compared to Apple? Enough said. Second, I think the Optus 3G network is annoying at best (dropped calls, pockets of no service, non-3G network works better than 3G, etc...). The iPhone has proven that and the Optus users would attest to that. Let's all move to Telstra and see if we can crash their network.

  • KonMan commented on 19/06/2009 10:21

    Well, now I DEFINATELY have a reason to Jailbreak my iPhone. Before this, I could live with it - but now, if on the odd occasion I need to VNC using a laptop screen&keyboard (and not just the iPhone screen via iPhone VNC-which is great as is) - Im NOT gonna pay $119.40 per year for something which Optus does not give any more...

  • ash commented on 19/06/2009 09:42

    What's that AC/DC song... ahhh... "Jailbreak", that's it...

  • philip101 commented on 19/06/2009 09:31

    Got to be joking, Optus! I called Virgin and they confirmed they will not be charging for tethering.

  • andrew commented on 18/06/2009 20:49

    what a crock! not happy optus!!!

Post your own comment

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 and A..F

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 & A..F

Submit

Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.

Connect

The Explain Series

Must read

Popular Phones & Plans

Powered by WhistleOut

1) Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB30 plans 1%
2) Nokia N9743 plans 5%
3) HTC Magic16 plans 1%
4) Nokia E7149 plans 1%
5) Apple iPhone 8GB42 plans 1%
« 1 of »
1) Apple mobile phones 1%
2) Nokia mobile phones 3%
3) HTC mobile phones 3%
4) Blackberry mobile phones 2%
5) Sony Ericsson mobile phones 1%

Mobiles | Broadband | Credit Cards

CNET Australia Partner Services