Optus iPhone tethering starts at $9.95 a month

Optus has confirmed with iTnews that it will offer tethering and multimedia messaging on its iPhone plans for $9.95 a month.

Tethering allows iPhone 3G S users to use the 3G connection on their iPhone to provide connectivity to their notebook computer over USB or Bluetooth.

Customers can pay the $9.95 a month fee to unlock tethering and consume data on their existing iPhone data plan.

But in anticipation of huge demand for data, Optus announced data packs that are an added cost over subscription plans and the tethering fee.

Optus said a 2GB 'Mobile-as-Modem' pack is $24.99 a month and a similar 6GB plan will be $44.99.

Existing data packs start at 25MB for $4.99 a month, range through 200MB "Classic" ($9.95), 500MB "Super" ($14.95) and 1GB "Ultimate" ($19.99) packs.

US mobile provider AT&T has refused to allow mobile tethering or multimedia messaging on the iPhone 3G S, for fear it will "chew up too much juice".

A spokesperson for Optus said offering tethering and MMS was "in line with Optus' network investments."

Optus will offer MMS (multimedia messages) for 25 cents a message (prepaid customers to other Optus mobile phones), 29 cents (prepaid customers to other Australian mobile phones), 50 cents (post-paid customers to any Australian mobile phone) to 75 cents a message (to an international mobile phone).

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