iPhone Tethering Coming Soon?

Reports are going around the Internet that AT&T’s CEO Ralph De La Vega has confirmed that AT&T will offer an official tethering option for the iPhone “soon”. Tethering would allow you to use your iPhone as a 3G modem for your laptop, essentially allowing you to share the iPhone’s cellular connection with your laptop. It’s uncertain whether AT&T will be charging extra for this service, though they do traditionally charge an additional $30/month for tethering on other phones, so it really wouldn’t be a surprise to see them charge for the service. There is also a rumor that the tethering feature will be built into the iPhone’s 2.2 firmware, though that is unconfirmed at this point.