Data sessions and billing units

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McBain

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#172028 8-May-2015 16:03

Hi.

When I use my mobile, the data sessions are billed to the nearest x KBs. But I was wondering - when does a data session start and when does it stop? For example, if I use my mobile t read stuff.co.nz, is that a single session? or multiple sessions.

Rob

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1300848 8-May-2015 16:18

which operator?

different operators do this in different ways

sbiddle

30853 posts

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Biddle Corp

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#1300855 8-May-2015 16:23

Depends on your provider and exactly what your phone is doing at the time in terms of data throughput and background data.

johnr

19282 posts

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#1300860 8-May-2015 16:32

No simple answer to this!

raytaylor

4014 posts

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#1301659 11-May-2015 00:12

Trying to explain this...

Think of it like dialup days.
Once upon a time, your phone would create something like a dialup connection to get data.
It was like an actual phone call.

Depending upon your phone settings, the phone call or data session could stay active for a minute after your last data request / activity.
Therefore if you are intermittently browsing, and the data call stayed active, you would be subject to less rounding-up penalties at the end of each session.

Now-a-days with 4g technologies, the data layer is less of a phone call whacked on top, and now more integrated into the core of the cellular network. But of course, your phone going into standly could create session endpoints to save battery power.

However in the greater scheme of things, the amount of data lost to rounding up is insignificant when you have 500mb or 4gb data allowances on your phone plan.

It was more of a concern first half of the last decade when it would cost you 1c per kilobyte of data for things like WAP surfing.

Ray Taylor

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McBain

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1301714 11-May-2015 09:04

Thanks guys.

I think the important factor is the relative size of:

- the billing increment (e.g. 10 KB) and

- the typical size of a data session.

So if, when I read stuff.co.nz, I generate dozens of tiny data sessions (e.g. 50 KB), then the 10KB rounding unit could make quite a big difference (up to 20%).

But if I only generate a few large data sessions (e.g. 500KB), then the 10KB rounding unit would, as Ray indicates, make no real difference.

I'm with 2degrees by the way.

Rob

raytaylor

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#1301760 11-May-2015 09:57

If you view stuff, you are only using part of a data session.
On your phone, you probably have an up/down arrow indicating a data connection. When that disappears, your session has ended.

So turn on your phone - data session starts.
View stuff... xxxkb of data downloaded
View nz herald... yyykb of data downloaded
Turn off your phone - data session ends, consumption rounded up.
Turn on your phone again - data session starts again

I really think it would be working on actual kilobytes now - johnr can confirm. Sessions were only used in 2.5g/3g technology and so the clause is still there for when your phone falls back.

Ray Taylor

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sbiddle

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#1302112 11-May-2015 17:23

The concept of data sessions still exists with 3G and 4G because a billing CDR still needs to be created for billing purposes. I'm not 100% sure what Vodafone's billing session criteria is now, but it used to be per 10 kB and/or every 20 minutes from memory.