Announcements with iPhone 4 UK price details kept popping up last week like costly mushrooms with Orange, O2 and Vodafone all showing their hands. Three has confirmed that it will be the last of the remaining networks to reveal its iPhone 4 deal and it looks like it could be holding an ace – free tethering! Intrepid phone sleuths have got their hands on a Three carrier update and free iPhone 4 tethering evidence is lurking within it…

3G Forum member DBMandrake went delving into the iPhone 4 Three carrier update and discovered that tethering is configured automatically. He claims: “It should work with no special data plan…in fact, they won’t be able to tell apart the phone and tethering data use.”

If he’s right, that would mean the Three iPhone 4 packages will undercut the other networks by offering free tethering as part of its standard iPhone 4 data deals. So far the other iPhone 4 carriers are charging extra for the service so it could be Three’s killer offering.

iPhone 4 tethering from Vodafone will cost you £5 a month for 500MB, £10 a month for 1.5GB and £15 a month for 3GB. Orange has announced iPhone tethering bundles starting at £5 a month and will give you 3GB worth of tethering data with its £75 a month, 24-month contract. O2 hasn’t detailed its iPhone 4 tethering deals yet but currently charges for the privilege if you’re rocking an iPhone 3GS.

The Three iPhone 4 tethering looks like it’ll be limited to one Bluetooth connection at a time so you won’t be turning your new iPhone into a MiFi replacement. But you should be able to tether one device via Bluetooth and a computer via USB. DBMandrake says he’s tested the tethering with his iPhone 3G and found it also works over 2G connections.

We’re still waiting for official iPhone 4 UK price details from Three, T-Mobile and Tesco Mobile. Since this iPhone 4 tethering info comes directly from a Three carrier update pushed out through iTunes, we’re fairly certain it’ll be part of the network’s iPhone 4 offering but we still need to see what other goodies it’s got in store for us.

Let us know: would having iPhone 4 tethering included for free as part of your data deal make you choose Three over the other networks? Take a look at our iPhone 4 UK price buyer’s guide for the best iPhone 4 deals so far.

Out June 24 | From £free on contract | Apple (via 3G Forums)

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  • RJ

    Now they just need to stop dropping your calls every minute and it may be a worthwhile consideration!

    • Sjflynn999

      actually its very rare that 3 drop calls now. Free tethering from 3? Im gonna jump on that wagon. I dont need home broadband when I can get all the necassary allowance this way. It will make my ericcson w595 redundant. That can be sold on ebay to go towards my iphone 4. :)

    • Jake

      |'ve been on 3 for the last year (and i'm also going on for the iPhone 4) and i've NEVER experienced a drop call… occasionally in an underground area the signal isn't great… but what network is? Overall i think 3 have almost shaken of their bad reputation for having bad signal. AND THEIR PRICES OMG i don't get how they can be so cheap?!

      • bensillis

        They're doing a great job, but reception is so subjective – it's only good if you have it in your house to start with! Right now with Three, I don't have any at all (Weirdly, only T-Mobile 3G gets through, everything else is 2G).

    • Callum

      I never get dropped calls on Three anymore, I understand where you are coming from, they used to be atrocious 2003-8 but now they are a really grown up network now. Comparable coverage to Orange or T-mobile, I went to o2 and I really missed the 3G coverage. Now I'm with Three with a Nokia E63 and I get brilliant service around my county and when I'm travelling around the country

      • bensillis

        I hear very good things about Three in lots of parts of the country, particularly the Yorkshire area. I find in London it's still frustrating though. Not that T-Mobile who I'm with are much better, but at least my phone has never switched to roaming (!) in my house with them.

  • Mark

    I have checked with 3 today – and it's £5 for 500mb or £10 for 1GB. The same as everyone else!

  • Jimmy

    3 are shit, I regret getting a contract with them. No wonder they are cheap you can't get a signal!

    • Glyn

      MMmmmmm you must be very very unlucky Jim. My wife was on O2 and I was on Vodafone. Then the daughter had a 3 phone, Three beat both of the other neworks hands down for coverage so much so That when both our contracts ended we went over to three. The best thing I have ever done.

    • Callum

      I've been with Three for 2 years in rural Dorset and I can't complain about coverage. Coverage gets better the further east you go

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