iPhone 4 users on the AT&T network plan received some welcome – and largely unexpected news – on March 11. By upgrading the operating system to version 4.3 (which became available on March 11), you can use your iPhone 4 to create personal hotspots to share your 3G cellular data connection with up to 5 other WI-FI capable devices. To do so, first ensure that the operating system on your iPhone 4 is updated to iOS 4.3. Then, simply enable the Personal Hotspot option from the Settings menu.

Figure 1 - Enabling Personal Hotspot Feature on iPhone 4

Lastly, share the WI-FI password with those you wish to allow to connect to your hotspot.

Note, that using the personal hotspot feature on the AT&T network requires subscribing to the DataPro 4GB for iPhone Tethering data plan, currently priced at $45 per month and that any data "consumed" by those connected to your hotspot will count against your plan. But, enabling the hotspot feature does not require any additional monthly service charges, nor does it require any additional hardware.