AT&T to offer iPhone tethering plan?

Well, if you believe one of our top informants, then the answer is yes! Have a gander at some of the wording we got a hold of and decide for yourself!

"Important iPhone Upgrade Announcement

AT&T does not require a new two-year agreement for existing customers who upgrade their current iPhone to a new iPhone.

When a current iPhone customer first tethers their new iPhone, they will be required to accept a new two-year agreement. An automated fix for this issue has been developed and will reset the customer’s agreement date back to the date of their original iPhone activation or upgrade. The reset will occur within 48 hours of the customer completing the tethering process.

This issue affects all iPhone to iPhone swaps regardless of model.

There is no action required by the customer.

Most importantly, it is crucial that we set the right expectations with our customers at the point of purchase to ensure we provide the best customer experience possible.

Please advise all customers that to complete the tethering process of their new iPhone they will be required to accept a new two-year agreement including the Ts and Cs, however, their agreement will not be extended from their original iPhone activation or upgrade date. Their original agreement date will be reset within 48 hours of completing the tethering process and we apologize for any inconvenience.

If a customer expresses concerns about the agreement dates changing, assure them that the dates will be corrected and that they can check on line at att.com using the on-line account management tool – OLAM – to confirm the correction has occurred.

We are working with Apple to correct this issue as soon as possible.

Suggested scripting when speaking with a customer:

"Mr/Mrs. Customer, I want to make you aware of an issue you will notice when tethering your new iPhone. The tethering process requires you to accept a new two-year agreement; however, I want to ensure you that AT&T is aware of this and that your agreement will not be extended. AT&T will reset your agreement date back to the date of your original iPhone activation or upgrade. This will be done within 48 hours of you completing the tethering process on your new iPhone; there is absolutely no action required by you to correct this. We apologize for any inconvenience."

UPDATE: Yes, we jumped the gun a little bit and now realize this was a horrible description on AT&T’s part to describe the process of hooking your iPhone up to iTunes. Ironically this email was sent to AT&T employees to try and clear up customer confusion.

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Jonathan S. Geller