Cloud Storage on the iPhone 5 Could Worsen Data Usage Abuse by AT&T, Verizon

A recent report outlines how AT&T is overcharging iPhone and iPad users on their data usage. Will "iCloud" on the iPhone 5 give mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon yet another channel for overcharging their customers for data?

few monthly bills cause more stress and consternation than that of a mobile phone bill. With the exception of people who take out the most expensive, flat-rate "Cadillac" plans, phone and data usage is in constant flux for iPhone users, and a lingering fear of being over one's data allotment usually leads to hefty bills that no one likes to pay.

A recent report, however, has shown that AT&T is consistently overcharging all of its iPhone and iPad customers on data usage, suggesting that iUsers are getting fleeced on a regular basis.

The Daily Mail in the UK is reporting today that "AT&T are 'systematically overcharging' up to 20 million Americans who use their iPhone or iPad 2 review to access data on the go, an investigation has uncovered." This investigation has led to a lawsuit against the mobile carrier, "alleg[ing] the phone giant routinely over charges customers between 7 and 14 per cent, and in some cases up to 300 per cent."

The investigation reveals that much of the overcharging is being caused by data transfer that is occurring even when the user is not on the Internet or actively using their iPhone, likening the effect to a "rigged gas pump." This overcharging is apparently happening constantly for some 20 million Americans who use their iPhone on AT&T's network, with all of these incremental data overages adding up to 7%+ higher bills at the end of the month.

AT&T is trying to get out in front of this building scandal, suggesting that this data leakage is caused by apps and functions on the iPhone and iPad that engage in regular, automatic data useage in order to remain constantly updated.

Needless to say, this is an outrage for AT&T iPhone customers, who already pay higher rates for service compared to other mobile carriers, such as Sprint.

Who Is To Blame — AT&T or Apple?

The Daily Mail piece clearly places the blame for this "data leakage" on AT&T, which at this point must be a relief to Apple and Steve Jobs, who have recently been on the defensive over privacy and anti-green allegations. Because AT&T is the one overcharging for the extra data usage on the iPhone and iPad, they are bearing the brunt of criticism and, to our knowledge, Apple is not named as a defendant in the current lawsuit.

However, given the location tracking "bug" recently uncovered on the iPhone 4, it would stand to reason that iPhone users could also begin to ponder whether it is possible that this extra, erroneous data leakage, while being capitalized on by AT&T, might in fact be yet another software design flaw inherrent in the iPhone 4, causing it to transfer data even when not in use.

As this story develops, it is quite possible that Apple will have to issue yet another software update — either on iOS 4 or on the anticipated iOS 5, to further ensure that the data faucet is shut off tightly when users are not on their iPhone or iPad.

Undoubtedly, investigators will also now look at Verizon's data billing on iPhone 4 users, and conspiracy theorists are bound to ask the age-old question, What did Steve Jobs know, and when did he know it? — suggesting that the the data leak was less of a "design flaw" and more of a "malicious feature" meant to aid mobile partners in increasing revenues on data charging.

iPhone 5 and "iCloud" — Yet Another Data Transfer Billing Trap for Users?

The biggest question for the new iPhone 5 speculation society is how this revelation calls into question the well-developed "iCloud" rumor, and whether or not cloud storage on the iPhone5 will lead to yet more abuse of iPhone data usage. After all, if the iPhone 5g makes heavy use of cloud storage and computing, this would mean that users would be transferring data on the fly for a wide range of uses, such as listening to music, videos, photos, business-related documents, and other dynamic media. At present, all of that data remains on an iPhone's on-board storage.

If the next iPhone encourages more data to be stores in Apple's data center, one could speculate that there will be exponentially more opportunity for leaky data transfers to take place.

And as we now know, leaky data transfer is a lucrative leak for carriers like AT&T.

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