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Cedar Rapids, Iowa | This isn't an ethics issue - this is a lets-charge-the-consumer-because-we-can issue. If you pay X dollars for Y amount of bandwidth, why should the carrier care what the content of that data is? Furthermore, why should the carrier be allowed to dictate what you can or cannot do with a piece of hardware that you own? You can browse a website on your phone, or you can browse the same website on a laptop that is tethered to your phone. Same data.
Android actually comes with the ability to tether, but most hardware manufacturers strip that feature out so the wireless carrier can sell it back to you. The Nexus One will allow tethering out of the box, without rooting. People wouldn't have to root their phones to do this if the hardware manufacturers hadn't stripped features from the OS in the first place.
In my opinion, wireless carriers have only one product to sell: bandwidth. They should focus on that instead of screwing up the OS on phones. The wireless system in North America is a train wreck.
This isn't similar to stealing copper/tools/gas. A more appropriate analogy would be if Chevy produces a car with electric windows. Your dealership buys the car for resale, and unhooks the wire from the window up/down switch. Once you buy the car, you find out that they'll hook up the window switch for the low price of $1000. Would you be surprised if people figured out how to solve the problem without the dealer's help? | |
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Ethics question - regarding tethering
