Not only do you have to have the tethering option turned on but the wifi hotspot option.
I didn't pay for that so I can only tether with EasyTether.
As to the Sprint techs, the ones here failed gloriously to figure out that I needed more services. I would not take their word about the time of day.
Bob
I have been using my HTC 4G Sprint phone to connect to the internet on my desktop computer. However, I have a brand new Sony Vaio Laptop and the Hotspot will not work on it. Is the laptop missing something (some adaptor) or is it just me? I tried with Sprint Techs and we could not get it to work. Thanks for any help I can get. I did try turning on WiFi (on my phone and on the laptop) but that did not work either. I was told not to plug in a usb cable because it (the phone) should just pickup a wifi signal from the laptop.

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic