Users with other carriers than AT&T are reporting similar issues with carriers in Canada, UK, Norway and Hong Kong.
The traffic between the online community that is generating the discussions about the overbilling of iPhone data usage isn’t isolated to the United States. Users with other carriers than AT&T are reporting similar issues with carriers in Canada, UK, Norway and Hong Kong.
AT&T has made three noticeable changes recently. First is the online report format that now shows data usage as "Sent" or "Received." The second change is that the 2:00 am timeframe for outgoing data no longer shows up on user accounts. However, "Sent" data now shows up just after midnight and sometimes right before midnight. The third change is a notification that was added to the website portal for users reviewing their data usage:
Important Information: There are delays in reporting and processing data records. It may take up to two to five days for airtime usage on the AT&T wireless network to show up in any Data "Used" category. Additional delays may occur due to technical difficulties. Further delays may apply to roaming usage, which is based on usage records received from other carriers. A delay of a minimum of two to ten days for roaming usage is usual and up to 60 days or longer is possible. During the time your invoice is being processed, you may not be able to view your usage or you may experience additional delays in reporting of usage. This usage information is only an estimate and, regardless of what is shown, your next invoice will be determined by the information contained in our billing system, not this usage information. Hawaii Text/Data Users: The time stamp for your unbilled data usage may be off by up to 4 hours.
Apple iPhone users are also using DataMan, an app that tracks and pinpoints data usage on a map using GPS. Users are finding that their DataMan metrics just don't mesh up with AT&T's billing of data usage. But what strikes me about the numerous posts and blogs are the number of suggestions for trimming down data usage. These suggestions may trim down data usage but many of them aren’t practical and would involve time and user effort. This leads me to ponder that while Apple has delivered on the iPhone, they may need to rethink user experience. Apps on iPhones should close automatically as should Safari, Mail or any application. There shouldn't be perpetual motion with any of these apps to the tune that the user is racking up data charges and doesn’t know it. I do think that there's some mystery around how the iPhone and the apps and services work and how customers are billed. Apple and AT&T need to be forthcoming and put the questions, concerns and claims to rest.
Users are reporting substantial data usage differences that are vastly different than what AT&T is billing them. The iPhone models, carriers and countries are different but what remains the same is that users are seeing vast amounts of data usage on their bills. There are several web forums discussing the issue and none of them really addresses the solution. They all speculate and have some interesting theories such as the NSA allegedly spying through AT&T's network. More users are reporting back on the forums that they too are filing FCC complaints.
AT&T's website provides users a tool to calculate emails with or without attachments, video and audio streaming, web page visits and other examples showing frequency and numbers of online transactions while estimating the bandwidth consumed.
When my iPhone had the initial problem of getting calls for numbers dialed to Arkansas, after it was finally fixed my data usage dropped substantially. It hasn’t returned to prior peak levels but it's back up even after I dropped several apps. The AT&T tool to estimate bandwidth just doesn't jibe with what users are reporting.
After reading Gary Audin's post, Super Cookies, A Threat to Security? I wonder more about AT&T and Apple iPhone integrity. Those Super Cookies may account for some of the phantom bandwidth reported by users. Then, users have also discovered that Skype and other peer-to-peer applications use bandwidth and lots of it. After reading the user comments posted on numerous forums, I wonder too about the WiFi security mechanisms in the iPhone, and whether or not they may be a contributing source of phantom data usage.
I've also scouted sites that claim AT&T solved the mystery to the data charges for the iPhones and thus far, there is seemingly no posted solution that debunks the issue. What's interesting are the tools that some used to identify data usage on their iPhones. In one post a user set up WireShark and tracked WiFi usage from his iPhone on his home network. Other posters are using DataMan to defend against AT&T overage charges. Then I found: iPhone Configuration Utility 3.1 for Mac OS X and this tool has an on-board console to review iPhone events. I also learned that the console must be connected to the desktop simultaneously and it becomes burdensome to troubleshoot with the iPhone sitting in the dock.
My theories are that the iPhone users racking up substantial data usage on their AT&T bills are possibly from errant programming. When I think about how long it takes to load any webpage or receive or send Mail then it could be that the "airtime" and not the "actual data usage" is being billed. Then, because of what we don’t know publicly--what amounts of data billed are attributed to: apps, Apple iOS, AT&T, “overhead data,” security issues (Super Cookies and malware, vulnerabilities) and the unknown--I think there's too much wiggle room. Even worse are the suspected phantom data usage reports coming from global users using other carriers with and without DataMan to track their usage.
The FCC complaints may or may not provide a remedy and it’s been interesting to read the many forums and follow the numerous discussion threads. Maybe there are some reasonable explanations for the data usage or gaps between what users see and AT&T and other carriers are billing. Whatever the reasons or causes, folks need to tell Apple to figure it out and come clean. Since the iPhone process of consuming bandwidth has branded iPhone users with a bad nickname among the legions of smart phone users, it would behoove Apple to clean up the process because users don’t like overage charges and even more, they don't like paying for what they really can't control.
Considerations for Enterprise
* Is your mobile data usage accurate?
* How do you know your billed data usage is accurate?
* How do you troubleshoot your iPhones?
* What troubleshooting tools can you use? (Hint: WireShark & iPhone Config Utility)
* What app tracks your iPhone usage? (Hint: DataMan)
* What online resources are available? (Hint: Apple iPhone Support, Apple iPhone Discussion Forums, Apple iPhone Troubleshooting Assistant, AT&T Apple Support
* What applications will your iPhones use and how much bandwidth do they require?
* Do your data plans make sense for each of your users?
* How do you secure your iPhone?
* How do you know it is secure?
* How do you ensure the iPhones are updated?
* Have you heard of any iPhone security updates? (Hint: Apple iOS 4.2 Includes 40 Security Fixes announced 11/23/2010)
* Do you have company policies in place for mobile devices?
