Data usage sticker shock: How I learned to freak out when my daughter used my iPhone 3GS
I tend to be a pretty light data user. As the chart here shows, my monthly data consumption rarely exceeds the 200 MB mark. After all the events of this week, with AT&T announcing its new, and quite limited, data plans I decided to hop over to my iPhone account page and see how I was doing in terms of overall consumption. What I discovered over there shocked me.
After month after month of limited data use, my June numbers (actually starting May 23rd) were through the roof; about 3GB to date. It didn't take me long to figure out why: it's because for the last few weeks my teenage daughter and I have been stopping by Starbucks in the evening. I play my Mother's Day gift of Field Runners on the iPad while my daughter has been surfing the 'net on the iPhone. We chat, we zone, we compute. Add to that, I've also been letting her surf while we run errands in the car.
Unlike me, my daughter watches lots of YouTube videos and engages in other high-bandwidth surfing. Since the "attwifi" system at our local Starbucks is perpetually borked, she's been doing all this over our 3G connection. Just an hour here and an hour there of YouTube and chatting has totally put our bandwidth for the month way over any reasonable pricing under the new AT&T plans.
It's enough to strike fear in a mother's heart, let alone her pocketbook. Especially because I didn't consider her data use to be "heavy" in any consistent way; these were all short intense interaction periods, not a constant use of the phone throughout the day. I know that I am not alone out there. iPhones and iPads get used in real world situations by real people, and with its greater ability to access websites and resources the iPhone and iPad sucks down data like nobody's business.
Am I hoping that Apple has a new data plan agreement up its sleeve to counter these AT&T changes? Darn straight, I tell you. Come WWDC, here's wishing that Steve Jobs will pull out a winner for the iPhone (and especially iPad) community because if I had to sign up for iPhone service under these new terms, my choices would be to either to cut off my daughter's access to data or to start paying far more.
Yes, I'm grandfathered in on my current plan with unlimited data but my heart goes out to the new 3G iPad users who are facing exactly this dilemma. Personally, I don't like the feeling that I can't afford to step away from continuing my plan. I doubt you do either.
So how do you check your usage? Head on over to AT&T's Online Account Management (OLAM) pages. Sign into your account. You can register from the linked page if you have not done so before. On the main page, you'll find a summary of your current usage, both minutes and data, and links to your usage details. There are two of these links: one to a general usage detail summary, and one that allows you to graph out your past data usage as shown in the chart here.
What about you? What have been your data usage shocks?
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I tend to be a pretty light data user. As the chart here shows, my monthly data consumption rarely exceeds the 200 MB mark. After all the...
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You can use the DataMan iPhone app to monitor your data use in real time. This useful app monitors your cellular and Wi-Fi data usage in the background, keeping a log of your activities. What's more, it geotags your data activities. To help manage your data consumption, you'll receive real-time alerts when you exceed your usage thresholds. There are 4 levels of alert thresholds that you can customize to your needs to prevent additional charges to your bill. You can find DataMan in the App Store.
I am worried about this with o2 in the UK, Im on pay as you go so Im hoping to migrate my unlimited data tariff which they no longer offer to new customers.
June 11 2010 at 7:54 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyRidicule....
3 gigs from a bit of youtubing and chatting? Honestly, you M'am have not the slightest clue how much bandwidth something uses....
Chatting consumes a few KB, even hourse of chatting would probably be less thant 5MB
I am using my iphone heavily every day (round 30-50 emails each day, including PDF Attachments, probably around 1h of websurfing and quite a bit of facbooking with uploading pictures).....I end up using 500MB a month.
To get to 3 gigs in 2 Weeks you will have to be watching videos for roughly an hour a day.
Unbelievable, you might want to think about talking to your kid in Starbucks instead of you both staring at an iDevice all evening....
Just wait until the iPhone 4.0 software comes out and you are allowed to multitask. Picture Pandora and Skype running in the background while you are surfing the web on Safari. Add tethering to the picture and you are going to be using serious bandwith.
June 05 2010 at 11:23 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySorry, from someone who is a heavy user, I find it hard to believe it jumped to 3GB is 2 weeks just on YouTube and "high bandwidth" browsing.
I've been a heavy user since day 1, I'm on my phone (on 3G) browsind and working all day and I've never gotten over 600MB a month.
I feel there is something missing from the story.
Just yesterday I used 175 mb of data, on a light day, +- 200mb x 30days = 6,000mb or 6 gigs. I was just surfing and using pandora all day, downloaded 2 small apps. Under this new plan I would pay twice as much, I don't even tether or torrent on my iPhone, which I very well could, imagine my usage then. Wow. Someday soon I will use as much data as physically possible and see how much I consume.(seeing I am grandfathered into the unlimited plan, I really will use as close to unlimited data as the network will allow) I will use what I pay for thank you very much AT&T!!!
June 05 2010 at 2:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replymy 2 p: the author's position is a good example of what is wrong with AT&Ts phone service and why the data plan reform is in fact a very good thing for the rest of us. Like many consumers, she assumes that IT resources are and should be unlimited. GB's of data via 3G? To entertain the daughter with You Tube? Really. A bit of planning (find a place to surf that has functioning wireless) and discipline (keep the 3G traffic light, text, email, web, light video, read a book or magazine) and you're right as rain.
So yes, the new data plans are a good thing for everyone on the network that we're all sharing (or attempting to share). Limits? My goodness. Imagine a world where resources aren't unlimited and we actually have to share with others.
Really? You're complaining because you drag your daughter with you to Starbuck's, so you can look cool and pretentious while you play with your iPad? You're ridiculous and so was this stupid article.
June 05 2010 at 11:10 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyFuck you, just cause you have an iPad and go out in public don't mean shit. It would be worse to be in public with you. Stupid jealous punk.
June 05 2010 at 3:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI truly believe that everyone if not most people will find that they will need the $25 plan after 4.0 comes out and they will have a huge spike in data usage! I'm not going to rely on AT&T WIFI at all. I'm going to make sure I can log into my cable companies WIFI!
Three months from now, you will here some of the people that were so glad to save money on the new plan sharing horror stories about outrageous data usage.
Time tells no lies! We will see.
Funny, I have similar data usage. I had full-time school and full-time work! I downloaded apps during study breaks in my house using WIFI
1/10 309 MB - First month I got the phone and used it
2/10 107 MB
3/10 98 MB ? I wondered where I was...
4/10 107 MB
5/10 790 MB - Studying for finals, I wasn't even returning calls! Not sure how I had all this time to surf the network, work was busy, papers due and finals. PURE BS
I'm going to monitor this very closely now, keep a journal. I'm not going to download apps on my phone or iPad if and when I get one. I am going to see if I can catch them cooking the books! I'm going to turn off 3G all together and just use WIFI as a test!
I honestly believe they are cooking the books! First raising the EFT, then changing the data plan rates, I seriously feel like I'm in PRISON! When there is a better alternative, I will be switching, I really find them to be very dishonest, they have NO INTEGRITY and a brand name that would make a garbage can shine.
Making a profit is find and understandable, that is why they are in business! But, to manipulate the customers and creating situations where they are going to reaping the rewards is STEALING!
When I dropped to the lower texting plan and saved $5 my bill went up $6. To be honest, there is always something with these crooks! But, in the end, they are going to get their just deserts! I really believe they are going to be Sprint for losing the most customers in a quarter!
I have NEVER considered jailbreaking my phone, but now, I am going to think about it. My iPad as well if I choose to get one. They have really turned me from a customer that was okay with them to a customer that can't wait to rid myself of them. I think they feel their customers are STUPID and they they can do whatever they like whenever they like.
I hope they do fix all the network issues, but that alone is NOT enough for me to stay loyal to them!
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