One of the most important and bravest things that Apple did when it launched the iPhone was to force mobile operators not to modify the iOS installed in it at all. Mobile phone operators have a habit of installing modified versions of phone software and this bothers a lot of people because that software contains monitoring systems, plus other modifications that, by and large, spoil the experience of using the operating system.
Apple did not agree with this practice and forced the operators to stop iOS intact if they want to sell iPhone, and the operators agreed. Although Apple remained firm on its positions regarding this request, the company made concessions regarding the functionality of iOS. Here I am of course referring to the famous functions FaceTime over 3G si Personal HotSpot which not all operators offer for free, as they should, but in some cases they ask subscribers to pay a certain amount of money to have them.
Although in Romania we are lucky to have Personal HotSpot for free, after more than a year in which the function had to be purchased, AT&T could start a new trend among operators. The American company decided to offer free the option to make FaceTime calls via 3G only to subscribers who have certain active internet options in their subscription, the rest will have to pay for this option. No one thinks that FaceTime via 3G should be paid for, but AT&T has a different opinion and Apple is doing absolutely nothing to change their decision.
What the American operator is doing could be done by other operators around the world, and here Apple is extremely indifferent. The company obtained concessions on certain plans, but was forced to make some concessions on other plans and FaceTime via 3G plus Personal HotSpot are some of them. It would have been great if Apple had forced the operators to offer all the functions of iOS for free, but unfortunately this will never happen.
