Verizon's Droid tethering option comes with hefty price tag

From InfoWorld: Verizon has confirmed that customers will have the option of connecting a laptop to their new Motorola Droid smartphones, on sale tomorrow, using the phone as a wireless modem. The carrier won't say exactly when customers can do this tethering but they are exact about what it will cost: typically, an extra $30 per month, doubling Droid-related data fees.

Connecting a laptop or other device to a phone for wireless data access is called tethering. Verizon offers this as a service, called Mobile Broadband Connect, for an array of its data-capable 3G smartphones. (Verizon has an online FAQ.) The new BlackBerry Storm2, which just became available, supports this same capability, for example.

For iPhone users, AT&T has promised that tethering will be available but has not given any dates or even general time frame.

For a typical Droid user, the price tag for Mobile Broadband Connect will be $30, according to Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney, via e-mail. That gets you 5GB of data transfer. Verizon charges 5 cents for each additional megabyte over that limit.

As with other Verizon phones, the additional monthly charge can double data fees associated with the Droid, though technically the charge is a data service for laptops. After rebates, the Droid itself costs $200 with a two-year contract. Service plans require Verizon's Nationwide voice plan, which begins at $40 a month for 450 voice minutes, and the Email and Web for Smartphone plan, which is $30 a month.

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