Are you over-paying for smartphone data?

 

This chart includes data about 
smartphone subscribers' data consumption 
based on more than 47,000 phone bills 
from June 2010 to July 2011.

CNET - Most smartphone subscribers in the U.S. use far less data than they are allotted by their wireless provider, but data hogs, who are likely to bust through those caps, and frugal data nibblers know where to find the best deals.

It's only been a year since AT&T eliminated its all-you-can-eat mobile data plan and adopted a tiered offering instead. Earlier this summer, Verizon Wireless also ditched its unlimited data plan for a "usage-based" plan. And just last week, AT&T said it would "throttle," or slow, connections on subscribers with unlimited plans if they exceed the 2GB threshold.

The elimination of all-you-can-eat options and the addition of "throttling" on some unlimited data plans has confused and angered many smartphone users. These customers worry that their occasional Netflix-viewing or Pandora-music streaming will lead to massive overage charges or a hobbled data service.

But the reality is that most consumers don't need unlimited data. And even the current 2GB caps offered separately by AT&T and Verizon are still far more than most people need. Usage information collected from more than 47,000 smartphone customer bills between June 2010 and July 2011 and compiled by Validas, a company that analyzes cell phone bills for consumers, supports this notion.     More