This issue returns in AT&T's face a year after they'd established new data rate policies and constant denials that anything is wrong with their system or billing practices.
Users are discovering that caps on data plans are pinching their budgets. The iPhone phantom data usage is still an issue, at least according to a developer in Toronto that I spoke with. Kengwei Lu of kvvlu created Threshold, a new app for the iPhone to help identify data usage and phantom data. Kengwei said, "Threshold can isolate data usage by the hour and even track data usage accurately in real-time by showing usage by the second."
On another post: How a law firm tested "phantom" AT&T smartphone data use, Chris Foresman writes:
...no analysis was done to determine what background OS processes, if any, were responsible for the "phantom data." Other devices, including BlackBerrys and Android smartphones, also showed some unknown data use, while others showed none.
"AT&T's explanation that background processes are responsible for the "phantom" data may well be true, but Davis still doesn't believe it's fair to consumers who can't control those background processes. If AT&T is going to cap users' data, they should only have to pay for data they actually request," Davis told Ars.
"AT&T's explanation that background processes are responsible for the "phantom" data may well be true, but Davis still doesn't believe it's fair to consumers who can't control those background processes. If AT&T is going to cap users' data, they should only have to pay for data they actually request," Davis told Ars.
It's not surprising, since there isn't a clear understanding of iPhones' and other smartphones' data consumption. The OS, apps, and then the concerns over privacy and security may also be culprits consuming data unbeknownst to the user. Then, when users think they exit an app, does the app really stop? My apps don't, and according to Kengwei, "Some apps can go on for 10 minutes before the iOS watchdog kills it. It depends on how an app is designed by the developers."
Still, I wonder about even more issues because my AT&T 2G connection is pretty lame. When and if I'm desperate enough to want to view something on the web, the connectivity is so slow and because I don't normally use the iPhone as it is intended, my data traffic just doesn’t seem believable. Are the retransmits and seemingly poor-quality connections pegging my usage up? Is AT&T rounding up and taking an average of an average?
On the same post above a reader comments on the law firm's tests and writes:
As data travels between the UE (User Equipment--the phone) and the Internet it will pass through several different nodes, several (or all) of these nodes will generate CDRs (Charging Data Records). These CDRs will be compared against each other to make sure that everything is OK. Normal policy for operators is that if they detect something wrong with a CDR it (and possibly earlier and later CDRs) will be discarded. This means that the operator will lose money and the user will get some data usage for free, but the alternative is that the operator might charge for something the user hasn’t done, which is a big no-no (can turn ugly if brought to court).
This issue returns in AT&T's face a year after they'd established new data rate policies and constant denials that anything is wrong with their system or billing practices. Maybe this lawsuit will get something done, and even better would be a mass disruption to the "cellular voice" market. At the very least, there might be accountability of what constitutes data usage either by the OS, Apple's data harvesting efforts, the apps updating, AT&T's math or network or the user's legitimate use. Then add to the fold the security and Super Cookies concerns that Gary Audin writes about. It would be nice to know what data consumption is billable. It would seem prudent that all parties want an accurate accounting--at least the customers do.
