Monitoring Mobile Internet Usage

One thing I really like about Bell: they give you a web interface that allows you to see (among other things), your unbilled usage summary. So if you're doing something you don't realize is racking up a big bill, you have a chance to correct it, long before it becomes a problem (like the $2,000 cellphone bill for one month I once got from Telus).

Not only can you monitor your usage via a regular PC, but they also give you an applet for the phone that makes it very easy to see your unbilled usage (and pay your bill) right from your Touch screen.

You can also see when you are being billed for things like false roaming charges, a problem I have had with Rogers and Telus for years. They have billed me for roaming in the US on numerous occasions during periods when I haven't been in the US at all. My guess is that they generate millions of extra revenue this way, when people don't notice.

If you are thethering your phone and using it as a modem with a program like USBmodem, you can monitor any additional charges thay may accrue from this activity.

Rogers even had the nerve to tell me that they would not credit my account anymore, and that I should be watching my phone to see if the little R (for roaming) suddenly appears on my phone. Yeah, right, try seeing that in the sunshine with my eyesight. I made it clear to them in no uncertain terms that unless they fixed their technology, I would be cancelling my contract on the basis of that statement.

Here's a sample screen capture of my unbilled usage summary (on the Bell web interface, you can also drill down into it and see details for each day, up to about the previous 2 hours):

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