Cellular Data: How much are you using?

Chris Parsons · May 9, 2014

Remember the days when every carrier out there offered you unlimited data for your iPhone, pretty much standard? Those days are all but gone now. Maybe you're grandfathered in, maybe your carrier is one of the rare few that still offers unlimited, but for the most part most carriers are now firmly fixed on tiered data with firm caps and stiff overage charges in place.

That is despite information suggesting consumers are using more data than ever on their mobile devices. According to Cisco global mobile data traffic grew 81 percent in 2013, mobile video traffic exceeded 50 percent for the first time in 2012 and while smartphones represented only 27 percent of total global handsets in use in 2013, they represented 95 percent of total global handset traffic pushing a total of 18 exabytes of traffic.

I have T-Mobile and I use a good 14 GB a month. I love using data.EmceeGeek, iMore Forums Member

But were the carriers right in the fact most people weren't using the data they were offered or did they just see the trend upward in usage and design a way to gather more money from consumers? How much cellular data are you actually using on your mobile device? According to the same report, 45 percent of total mobile data traffic was offloaded onto the fixed network through Wi-Fi or femtocell in 2013.

Have an unlimited plan, but at least 85% of that is on WiFi. So I would say about a gig.Taz323, iMore Forums Member

The question popular question in the iMore Forums right now is Cellular Data: How much are you using? It's indisputable that our iPhones, iPods, iPads and Macs are pulling down a ton of data each year but how much data are you really using from your carrier and how much are you offloading elsewhere? Through the carrier changes and device changes, have you ever had to 'up' your data plan? Let us know in the iMore Forums how much data you're using on your devices these days.