( CNN ) -- AT & T has been slow to adopt a feature that lets customers share a smartphone data signal wirelessly to other gadgets and computers . But a mobile hotspot feature is coming to at least two new AT & T phones running Google 's Android operating system . The carrier is also mulling whether it will add the ability to Apple 's iPhone through a software update . Verizon Wireless says its iPhone 4 models , which come out February 10 , will have the hotspot feature . The next version of the iPhone 's operating system , iOS 4.3 , will have that ability built in , say developers who were provided with access to a beta version . But it 's unclear whether AT & T will allow customers to make use of the feature . `` It 's something we 're taking a look at , '' said AT & T spokesman Mark Siegel . He declined to comment on negotiations with Apple regarding the feature 's deployment . Once the hotspot feature is enabled , a phone creates its own Wi-Fi access point . Then as many as five devices , usually , such as laptops , iPods , Kindles or other Wi-Fi-enabled electronics , can get online . Enabling the feature generally reduces the phone 's battery more quickly . HTC 's Inspire 4G and Motorola 's Atrix 4G , two upcoming AT & T Android phones , will allow owners to subscribe to a more expensive data plan in order to utilize mobile hotspot . Some AT & T phones , including the iPhone , offer a feature called tethering . This uses a phone 's USB cable or a Bluetooth connection to share the internet connection to a single computer . The extra monthly fee for tethering is comparable to what AT & T will charge for hot spot . T-Mobile USA offered its free Hotspot feature on Google 's Nexus One phone . However , a T-Mobile spokesman said in June that usage of that is `` not something the company encourages . '' Now , T-Mobile offers the feature , with an upgraded data plan , to MyTouch 4G owners . Sprint Nextel 's Evo and Verizon 's Droid phones , among others , can act as hotspots . For Verizon 's 3G phones , the internet signal is cut -- and the connected devices dropped -- when on a phone call . That 's a limitation of the type of 3G network Verizon uses , but it should n't affect the carrier 's upcoming 4G phones . Verizon , with Mi-Fi , was one of the first carriers out of the gate to offer standalone hardware that connects to its wireless data network and shares that signal with other devices . AT & T , which has perpetually struggled to meet data demand from iPhone customers in the last three years , began selling a Mi-Fi device in November -- more than a year after competitors . As AT & T rolls out faster networks , including 4G infrastructure with speeds to match Verizon 's later this year , the second-largest U.S. carrier by subscribers is finally ready to encourage heavier data usage . That 's especially an attractive proposition for the company now that it has a tiered pricing plan in place to charge heavy users more .
AT & T is known to encourage users to use a feature called mobile hotspot . This allows users to share a phone 's wireless data connection among other devices . AT & T is late , compared to competitors , in adding this ability to its phones .