Three kills unlimited 3G and 4G tethering for new customers
By Sam Loveridge March 18, 2014 1:42 pm GMT
UPDATED: Three has confirmed to TrustedReviews that the rumoured changes to the One Plan are correct.
Tethering will now be limited to a maximum 2GB of data, regardless of whether you are on an all-you-can-eat data tariff. This is to enable Three to "manage its network a little better."
"A small percentage of customers were taking advantage of the tethering benefits, using up to 2 terabytes of data a month, making it unfair for the other 99 per cent," said a Three spokesperson.
Tethering has been made available to more customers across more contracts ranging from 500MB to all-you-can-eat data, with a maximum of 2GB available.
The One Plan will also not be available to to new customers. Instead they will have access to a new 24 month contract. Anyone who is currently on the One Plan will be able to continue using it, but once their contract is up they will be required to swap to the new contract if they upgrade their smartphones.
If they switch to a SIM-only contract, they can continue to be on the One Plan. New Three customers can also still get the One Plan on a SIM-only basis as well.
Original Story: Three has updated all its tariffs and killed one of its most popular benefits, unlimited 3G and 4G tethering.
The UK network provider upgraded all 3G contract subscribers to the superfast 4G LTE for free, but has removed one of the key benefits of its extremely popular One Plan.
New customers will only be able to opt for plans that offer a 2GB tethered data maximum, rather than the unlimited tethering originally offered to existing customers.
Three's tethering allowed you to use your unlimited 3G and 4G data from multiple connected devices, including mobiles, tablets and even laptops.
We've reached out to Three for some official information, but rumour has it that existing customers will not be affected by the changes.
The Three website is also temporarily down for "essential maintenance work".
New contracts starting from today offer 500MB data all the way up to all-you-can-eat data, with call packages starting at 50 minutes up to unlimited as well as unlimited text messages.
Tethering on the 500MB, 1GB or 2GB data plans can account for up to 100 per cent of all data used, but if you fork out for the all-you-can-eat tariffs you can only get a maximum 2GB tethered data.
If you need more, additional tethered data allowance will be available at an additional cost.
Rather sadly, according to Wired UK, Three will also be making the One Plan a SIM-only offering.
Three said that the One Plan "will no longer be available for contract handset sales."
It sounds like you won't be able to sign up to the One Plan when purchasing a brand new smartphone from Three from now on, so you might have to change your plans if you wanted it with your Samsung Galaxy S5 or upcoming HTC One M8.
In an attempt to sweeten the deal, Three has made calls to 0800 numbers completely free from your mobile, but we doubt that's much of a bargaining chip.
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By Sam Loveridge