In an informal discussion with Pocket-lint recently, Achim Berg, Corporate Vice President of Windows Phone marketing, expressed that he regretted convincing Microsoft to add tethering support with the Mango update. The comment was made after Microsoft showed off more Mango update features this past Tuesday May 24, 2011. Of course, of the many features shown off so far there hasn’t been one hint of tethering support. Berg added to his comment that, after a London VIP event at Millbank Tower near Westminster, he recalls how journalists complained about lack of WiFi during the event; “It’s been clear today that people want thethering support,” said Achim Berg.
There is good news however! Alongside the May 24 event, Microsoft released the Beta Mango Developer Tools (7.1) announcing the developer news about it over at The Windows Phone Developer Blog. The great news comes in the form of a comment left on that posting by a Microsoft employee, responding to some comments about tethering not becoming available with the Mango update this Fall 2011. The employee responding was none other than Matt Bencke, General Manager, Windows Phone Developer and Marketplace Experiences, so you can bet money it’s legit. Matt Bencke also wrote the same article where the comments took place. You can find the original comment concerning tethering on Windows Phone devices, followed by Bencke’s response below.
How about unlocking tethering?
Either wifi or by USB please.
@Advocate – I appreciate your pain around tethering (using your device as a modem) as this has been something that I’ve used in the past. Tethering, in the past was something that we managed independently of the Mobile Operators (e.g. AT&T, Orange, Verizon). In recent years, the Mobile Operators have now taken ownership of this functionality x-all platforms (e.g. our competitors as well as us). We are continually working with them and our OEM partners to enable this functionality for our devices, but at this time there isn’t an announcement that we’ve made in regards to rolling out this feature. Stay Tuned!
Lets all hope that come Mango update later this year Microsoft went full steam ahead into adding tethering support as well. Although no one is ever fond about paying extra for tethering, especially if you already have an unlimited plan still, it’s always better to have the option just in case.
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