It looks like AT&T has decided to take the kid gloves off when it comes to their problem unauthorized hotspot users. Many of the users who get the most mileage out of jailbreak-only apps like MyWi are still rocking AT&T’s grandfathered unlimited data plan, but that won’t be the case going forward.
Rather than just sending out thinly-veiled notices by text message to offending users, they’ve decided to simply kick those customers off the unlimited plan and onto the appropriate tiered plan.
We’re waiting for the official word from AT&T, but according to 9to5Mac, all those who received an email or text notification alluding to their unkosher data use will be forcibly removed from the unlimited plan if they tether again after a certain time. AT&T’s tethering plan, if you’re not familiar, runs $45/month and nets you 4GB of usage. Not too shabby, but certainly a far cry from the promise of all-you-can-eat data that some users were keen to take advantage of.
Update #1: I had originally reported that August 11 would be the cut off date, but this does not appear to be the case for all affected customers.
Update #2: AT&T has just responded with their official stance on the situation: they have been reaching out to affected customers for quite some time, so if you’ve been contacted before, you should probably already know what your deadline looks like. Furthermore, AT&T offers these three choices for those having to make their decisions soon:
1) Stop tethering and keep their current plan (including grandfathered unlimited plan)
2) Proactively call AT&T or visit our stores and move to the required tethering plan
3) Do nothing and we’ll go ahead and add the tethering plan on their behalf