OTA Data Sync Will Cost You

I SUSPECT MAILBOX sync and Google Latitude services cause my Android phones to contact O2-Ireland through the data tethering APN even though the handsets are told to restrict their operations to the "internet" APN on O2-Ireland. In the screenshot at left (click it to make it bigger), a series of recurring 82 cent charges leads me to believe that Google Latitude is talking to the cloud through whatever means possible--I'm trying to verify that. It could be that Android handsets are designed to use a open.internet as their means of updating their location on Latitude. Or perhaps Google advertisements get pushed down into free applications in 1 MB chunks and I pay for those ads as they arrive. This bothers me because I am leaking data usage and I get billed for it. I have not contracted for this kind of service. Moreover, I cannot stop the service through adjusting any setting on the phone. Nor can O2 restrict the phone from using tethering services--even though I am not contracted for those services. I am not alone in this regard. I've started calling O2's Help Desk on a daily basis to have my 82 cent charges revoked until they can verify what kind of application is running up these irritating charges. It's costing me a pint a day when I use my SonyEricsson Xperia X10 for a whole work day. Last month, I ran up EUR 57 in unwanted charges (a fee O2 has refunded to me). I want my phone to respect my directions. When I turn on my radio, I can select FM or AM or MW and the radio delivers that frequency. I wonder why O2 cannot deliver its over-the-air signal with the same degree of integrity as a simple kitchen radio. Consumers don't like rogue processes. Unwelcome data tethering has to be controlled at the network level, just like unwelcome data roaming.

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Note: I am running both a SonyEricsson Xperia X10 and a SE X10 Mini along with a Nokia N86 and Nokia E90 as part of my normal weekly routine. These 82 cent charges are part of a recent development.

24 Aug Update: My OTA usage with X10 includes Wikitude Latitude, Google Maps, Listen, SE Sync, Gmail. I used the Nokia N86 data services for Gravity and Latitude. I wasn't charged for the 82 cent billing that appeared on my account.

25 Aug Update: O2-Ireland blocked the open.internet APN from use by my primary phone number and my Xperia X10 failed to connect to over-the-air data services. Its APN is internet.

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