Tethering, the process of using your phone to as a wireless hot spot to connect other devices to data services, has the potential to be very useful for customers. But not many are finding that out, which is simply because the additional charge for doing so prevents them. Many customers, who would most likely use the service sparingly, are already feeling the pinch when it comes to service fees. $50 a month for voice, $30 a month for data, and $10 a month for text messaging leave many users frustrated with the cost of their service as it is. Another $25 to tether, is just more than the average consumer can part with in today's world. Though many argue that a phone is not a necessity, the majority of your customer's feel a bit forced to have your services. With the rising demands that employees bring their own devices, remain in constant contact, and always be able to respond to emails and texts wherever they go, their phone is a necessity. Having paid for a smartphone, one designed from the ground up to allow tethering as a value of the phone, it seems a little backwards to find the feature disabled until you pay for it. It is understandable, with the intense demands some users place on the data network, that a company would want to limit the extent that tethering is used. Your loyal customers are very aware that their phone and its capabilities are not a replacement for a home Internet connection. But would offering a limited form of tethering without the additional charge be completely impossible? Allowing a student to connect his or her laptop to upload or email an assignment that they have forgotten or connecting their Nintendo DS here and there to share a game experience with their friends during some unexpected down time, would that really unravel the data network? This would not be the same class of service that one would expect when paying the monthly service fee, it could be speed limited, allow for a very small number of devices, or only work for a very limited amount of data. As it stands many customers are breaking the terms of their contract and finding ways to allow tethering on their phones, and after going through the trouble, they are taking full advantage of their new found connections. Tethering fees have only been paid by those who desperately need and require the service, but many more would like to use it or try it out, some just need it for an unexpected or emergency situation. Being the network that helps your customers out by providing a lite version of such a very valuable service would be a great example of showing you care. But it is up to you whether your customers continue to see your tethering charge as a feature that they may consider paying for, or as just another fee that customers turn to third party applications or phone rooting methods to avoid, which can compromise the phone and void the warranty, as well as risk contract termination by the carrier. We urge you to provide a lite tethering option, an included service that allows for limited access and/or number of devices to connect to the phone. An option that helps to reduce the rooting of phones, installation of questionable apps, and abuse of your network.