Insider sources are claiming that the personal hotspot feature introduced with the Verizon-compatible iPhone 4 on Tuesday will make its way to the rest of the iPhone world with the release of iOS 4.3. The feature will let iPhone users share their 3G wireless data connection with up to five devices via Wi-Fi.
Word of the hotspot feature in iOS 4.3 came courtesy of unnamed sources in the telecommunications industry, according to iPhoneClub (translation). Boy Genius Report followed up with its own confirmation of the feature.
Personal hotspot tethering coming to the iPhone
Adding personal hotspot support to the iPhone doesn’t necessarily, however, equate to being able to take advantage of the feature. It will still be up to cell service providers to decide it they want to support personal hotspots, and whether or not they will charge extra for the privilege.
U.S. iPhone customers are already familiar with waiting for feature support. After Apple added tethering support for single device 3G sharing, AT&T left its iPhone customers waiting for months before finally enabling the feature.
AT&T is at least acknowledging the personal hotspot feature is on the way, and is evaluating its options, according to Business Insider. So far, the company has only stated that is has “no plans to announce today.”