Verizon has begun blocking customers who use workarounds to tether their mobile devices without a Verizon-approved tethering plan, Boy Genius Report reported Monday. The move comes days after AT&T announced it will start forcing tetherers onto approved tethering plans, and just as the debate ramps up on whether curtailing tethering apps violates certain rules Verizon agreed to when it licensed a chunk of 700MHz spectrum for 4G use.


BGR noted that one of its writers, who uses a jailbroken Motorola Droid X and an unauthorized app to tether other devices, recently found that trying to navigate the Web on tethered devices redirected her to a Verizon Wireless page detailing rates for the company's authorized hotspot plans. This is perhaps a more measured response to tethering than AT&T, where customers must choose between discontinuing their tethering ways or getting forcibly moved to a more expensive tethering plan.