Last month AT&T started to send text messages to jailbroken users who used iTether, MyWi or any other app that allowed tethering from their iPhone devices. Today Google announced that they are now pulling all free tethering apps from the market place at the request of the cell phone carriers.

The carriers are AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, is this the first step of Net Neutrality? Network neutrality (also net neutrality, Internet neutrality) is a principle which advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers’ access to networks that participate in the internet. Specifically on content, sites, platforms, the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and the modes of communication.

The carriers claim they are losing out on a lot of profits due to illegal tethering, this should be a call out to them to lower the cost of tethering. Who wants to pay 30-40 dollars for a tethering app or feature, when they could get a mifi or a mobile broadband card to get their internet.