• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, July 12, 2011

Now that Verizon has officially rolled out its new tiered pricing, the company seems to be serious about putting an end to free smartphone tethering. Last month, reports surfaced that Google's Android store had stopped making tethering apps available to Verizon subscribers. Those apps enabled users to connect tablets and other devices to the Web using their smartphones' WiFi capability.

This week, Verizon started issuing updates that make it difficult for smartphone owners to continue to use their devices as modems, according to Broadband Reports. The company started with an update to the HTC Thunderbolt, and is soon expected to also update the Droid Charge and the LG Revolution.

Whether it's legal for a wireless carrier to cripple tethering services is unclear. Verizon agreed to follow open Internet principles as a condition of acquiring the spectrum that it uses for 4G wireless phones. One interpretation of that condition is that the company shouldn't attempt to restrict tethering on its 4G network -- though apparently it's still free to do so on the 3G network.

Free Press has asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate, but the outcome remains in doubt.

But aside from neutrality issues, Verizon's move clearly seems hard to justify from a pricing standpoint. Given that the company is already going to charge new users based on the amount of data they consume, there's no reason for it to also impose a surcharge for tethering.

If consumers had more options for wireless service, this type of pricing wouldn't raise eyebrows. Then again, if consumers had more options, wireless companies might not attempt to impose tethering fees on top of tiered pricing arrangements.