Well, it seems that this is just an ATT data report left over from their legacy methodology from the old dial up reporting code. While the jury is still out, it is the best theory so far for a couple of very good reasons.
First: ATT continues to play dumb. And while they ARE dumb for trying to restrict data usage and a whole host of other piss poor management decisions, they DO know what is going on here. And number 2 will explain WHY they don’t wanna admit it.
Second: If this is just an aggregate reporting of usage, it means that ATT doesn’t truly KNOW how much data you are using at the time you are using it, and has to ASK your phone for a report. Now, if true, imagine what some jailbreaking coder could do with an app that would change the logs and essentially LIE to ATT when they ask the phone for the report??
If I was ATT using 1990’s tech for accounting, because I didn’t want to write some very new code to make reporting live for millions of data users, I sure as HELL wouldn’t admit it and let the jailbreaking coders get a heads up on finding a way around my anticquaited data reporting model.
This is the only theory that makes sense. Apps don’t phone home, Apple would ban them so fast. There isn’t any secret reporting being done, except by ATT for ATT. They are the only party interested at ALL in your data use. Cause they gotta CHARGE for it.
I’d also be VERY willing to bet that, knowing what I know about old school data dial up reporting, that it GUESSES about usage too. And this would also explain why some users are seeing their midnight reports as close to usage and others are way over.
We saw lots of this way way back on AOL when you had to pay by the minute for dial up. It was a dirty little secret that got known, just about the time that AOL got enough of a customer base to announce their unlimited dial up plans and sweep it under the rug. Old timers will remember or know of what I speak.
So, IMHO, mystery solved. ATT doesn’t have live tracking, is using an old legacy script to run in the middle of the night and just asks your phone “Say, iPhone, just checkin’ but how much data do you think you used today”?
And ATT does NOT want the whole world to know that they DON’T know and are guessing half the time. LOL
But now you do know...
And like someone else said... here come the class action lawsuits... especially once you get billed for the data of incoming iAds.
ATT & Apple is a marriage doomed to divorce and I for one can hardly wait!!
so, as an ignorant question - what happens if you pop your battery out every night before bed and back in the morning - would it phone home immediately in the morning as a queued action, or since it wasn’t online when it was pinged, would it just not report?