Where has my data gone?
Even broadband internet connections marketed as unlimited may have fair usage data allowances; this will mean that subscribers whose bandwidth use might exceed any predefined thresholds may need to monitor their access. While there might not be financial penalties for breaching these allowances, customers will typically be penalised with lower priority access or slower speeds until they move beyond a specified monitoring time window. Customers might also find that if they are frequently exceeding a usage threshold then they will be encouraged to either review their use or upgrade their service plan to one that is more appropriate.
We regularly discuss usage requirements with our customers to provide advice regarding the application of a package most appropriate to their needs, but as the internet evolves and user habits change, we have found that customers are frequently asking the question “Where has my data gone?”.
In this article we will discuss some of the most common applications and background applications that tend to be the highest data consumers, plus those everyday tasks that you may not have expected to have an impact.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media has become by far the most common activity on the internet, with Facebook being the most popular social media platform. Most users underestimate how much data social media and in particular Facebook, can get through. As the internet evolves with faster speeds, so too does the data requirements of social media as it offers a platform for its users to upload anything from photos or short video clips through to full length feature pieces for self-help guides, reviews, and video game footage. By default, Facebook is set to play video that you come across whilst scrolling through your news feed and even if you do not stop to watch, it will download in the background - now just think about how many you pass by in a typical session! Data usage can be lowered by going into the settings and disabling the auto video play feature and as the application will now only download the content you want to view; your service experience should also improve.
STREAMING SERVICES
Streaming services have risen from a relatively modest start to a point where they now dominate the home entertainment industry. They have fast become the most popular medium for consuming movies and TV shows, mainly due to the improvements in internet connectivity and the adoption of smart devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and televisions. Initially, online content was only available through (possibly illegal) peer to peer (P2P) file sharing services, though now it is readily and legitimately accessible for a monthly subscription fee. Data consumption will vary depending on the streaming service and the quality of the video, but prolonged or heavy use will consume a lot of data. Check out our article on streaming to get a better idea of just how much data you could be potentially using.
VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL (VOIP)
VoIP is a digital telephone connection; a solution that has been used extensively by businesses for many years, which has now found its way into the consumer sector through popular apps such as WhatsApp and Skype, now widely utilised thanks in most part to the ubiquitous use of smart phones. The use of VoIP is expected to grow significantly when BT turns off its analogue telephone lines in 2025, its customers gradually transferring (porting) their landline telephone numbers to digital alternatives. Typically, VoIP is a low bandwidth application when using a paid for VoIP service that allows you to set an optimised coder/decoder (codec), but free VoIP services tend to use bandwidth intensive free to use codecs, which result in much higher data consumption. Skype and WhatsApp are examples of VoIP services that utilise the referenced bandwidth intensive codecs for their calls.
VIDEO CONFERENCING
Video conferencing has seen a surge in business use because of the pandemic and with many employees still working from home. In its use, video conferencing is very similar to streaming services but with a simultaneous up/download; the amount of data use can increase further if you are conversing with more than one individual at the same time through different windows.
VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS (VPN)
VPN utilisation also increased during COVID-19 lockdowns to allow users to access business and educational network resources from home as if they were at their place of work or school. VPNs use bandwidth to form a secure tunnel between two connections and allowing for data traffic to flow between the two. Whilst the VPN itself is relatively low in data consumption, using just a small amount of bandwidth to maintain a connection, it is the information passed inside of the VPN connection that uses the data and as a result utilisation will vary.
WEB BROWSING
Web browsing can differ in the amount of data used based on the websites that you are visiting. For example, browsing news websites will have a mixture of high-quality images and videos imbedded within the pages and so will use a lot of data over time, but performing web searches and looking at text only recipes would use very little data. Downloads performed within a web browser will use more data than just browsing though can be more easily tracked, as you typically see the size of the file before or during download as it progresses.
Email can use a significant amount of data when you factor in attachments such as photographs and documents etc, but if you are only sending and receiving basic text-based emails, then usage will be minimal. It is worth noting that email can be used via several different mediums; web-based emails accessed through a web browser, a dedicated app on a smart phone or tablet and more traditional PC based applications such as Outlook.
So far, we have discussed the main applications that users knowingly use and the impacts that they have on data consumption, however there are a range of applications that run in the background and are almost always overlooked within this consideration. The applications we refer to are the various iterations of updates that run in the background to keep software and systems current and secure.
OPERATING SYSTEM (OS)
OS updates are by far the most important and are continually being rolled out by companies such as Apple and Microsoft to combat exploits and vulnerabilities in their system so to keep users and their data safe. Whilst it may be tempting to stop or suspend these updates to save data, it is not advised as you leave yourself and your data open to theft and loss. Instead, check if your service plan offers an unmonitored period where you can pass data without it being deducted from your data quota and schedule updates to run accordingly. It is also worth noting that these types of updates are not just for laptops and personal computers but also internet connected devices such as smart phones, tablets, televisions, and games consoles.
ANTIVIRUS AND ANTIMALWARE
Antivirus and antimalware updates are equally essential to keep users and their data safe from the many threats online. They tend to be much smaller than OS updates and should be frequently updated to protect against the latest threats. As exploitation could result in data being sent to and from your device by viruses or hackers, failing to keep your devices secure may result in additional data consumption.
VIDEO GAMING
Most modern games feature online elements which are not compatible with satellite connections due to its inherent latency. These games plus the consoles that host them do require frequent software patches to resolve bugs or add new features and content and these will work over a satellite link. Some games (like the popular Call of Duty franchise) can see updates as large as 80GB and consoles such as the XBOX Series X can perform updates in a semi standby mode.
SMART DEVICE APPLICATIONS (APPS)
Smart phones and tablets can run a huge variety of apps providing varying functionality and whilst some apps may consume little data when in use, the actual apps themselves will be periodically updated. These updates can vary in size, with some as small as a few Mega Bytes (MB) to large updates more than several hundred MBs. The number of apps installed on a device and how frequently a user runs updates can result in a build-up which would require a significant amount of data to clear. That said, many users will have app updates set to automatically download which will minimise the chance of a queue but at the same time can make it difficult to track how much data is being consumed.
Whilst we have covered a lot of potential sources for data consumption there are other elements to consider, such as the number of devices and users that are connected to and making use of your broadband internet connection. Ultimately, the more users and devices that you have connected, the more data consumption you will see and so it is worth pointing other users to this article to make them aware of what to avoid and minimise, so to ensure that everyone can respectfully share any data quotas potentially applied. There are also seasonal spikes in usage seen during festive holidays, school holidays etc as a result of more users/devices being online.
Freedomsat provides its quota based broadband internet customers with monitoring tools to assist with tracking data consumption, Hughes & Gilat customers can check their usage here and Tooway customers can check their usage here.
If you still have any questions or concerns with your usage, get in touch with our support team by raising a support ticket here.