However, even if the functionality is included in a later update, there's no guarantee that other carriers--including AT&T--will allow users to actually take advantage of it. For example, Apple added support for tethering in 2009, when it introduced the 3.0 version of the iPhone software. But it remained unavailable to AT&T users--except via jailbreak or the other occasional unorthodox workaround--until . An AT&T spokesperson that the company was "evaluating the feature," but declined to give a timeframe.

Speculation and Apple go hand in hand, particularly considering that, as usual, the only comment that the company has made on upcoming iOS features is that...it does not comment on upcoming iOS features. Setting the crystal ball aside, however, there is some good news to be had: the hotspot functionality should be well within reach for all iPhone users.