When Apple announced iPhone OS 3.0, one of the somewhat unexpected but awesome features Apple added to it was Internet tethering. Ever since its June release, the iPhone has had the ability to provide 3G internet to your laptop via USB or Bluetooth. So why aren't you able to tether right now? AT&T, of course.
Even though tethering will likely carry a monthly fee, AT&T's already stressed network isn't ready for thousands, if not millions, of tethered iPhones. It's the same reason that it delayed the rollout of MMS. But with MMS now out and AT&T's recent support for VoIP via 3G, you'd think tethering wouldn't be far behind, right?
Wrong, according to the Wall Street Journal's Digits Blog. We're just going to have to wait a while longer.
AT&T, when it originally announced that support for tethering and MMS would be delayed, stated that it wasn't supporting the feature in order to "offer the best possible customer experience." Translation: the AT&T network could and likely would explode. Today's statement from AT&T reflect that this has not changed.