What does PTA stand for on my billing statement?

[rbow]

What does pta mean on my bill under texts?

<CM Edit - updated subject>

[JFizDaWiz · Accepted solution]

it's data usage for LTE phones, that's the APN (access point name) it uses

[rbow]

So its just where go online to check my email?

[JFizDaWiz]

anything that involves data (e.g. internet, downloads, apps, email, etc)

[kwarlow]

I just purchased a smart phone 2 days ago and i have already accumulated 107.44 mg of usage for data. THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, it is under pta internet/medianet. I am hooked up to wifi at home and at school. that is simply not possible. i need somebody to explain what this is and how i stop it. i am not paying for internet usage that i did not use...

[wingrider01]

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@kwarlow wrote:

I just purchased a smart phone 2 days ago and i have already accumulated 107.44 mg of usage for data. THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, it is under pta internet/medianet. I am hooked up to wifi at home and at school. that is simply not possible. i need somebody to explain what this is and how i stop it. i am not paying for internet usage that i did not use...

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107 MB in two days is possible - are you listening to pandora / netflix or any other streaming app while you are away from the wireless? Are you sure the wireless is staying connected all the time? Are you using any apps that require cellualr location services? If the wireless drops it automaticly swaps back to cellular data. Are you autoupdating or autoscanning your facebook page. Most smartphones will shutdown the wifi and switch back to cellular if the phone hibernates and is not plugged in for charging.

go into the hpne settings and turn off cellular data then turn back on wifi settings, that way the phone will not autoswitch and you will know exactly when the wifi drops becuase you will lose connection.

[kwarlow]

i had my phone shut off last night and pta used so much data i jumped from 44.8 mb to 107 mg. i was asleep. i shouldnt have to shut the data off, im paying for that every month because ATT says I HAVE to have it.

[ricmiller]

Consumers simply shoulder the taxes of the companies. Fewer people actually have a traditional phone. Mobile phones are the favored way of voice conversation and smartphones are becoming the preferred platform.  For that reason, wireless expenses have been going up continuously in the past few years.

[wingrider01]

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@ricmiller wrote:

Consumers simply shoulder the taxes of the companies. Fewer people actually have a traditional phone. Mobile phones are the favored way of voice conversation and smartphones are becoming the preferred platform.  For that reason, wireless expenses have been going up continuously in the past few years.

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All expenses have been going up - from the cost of cat food to the cost of a galleon of gas, personally will never give up the standard POTS line in my house nor the emergency backup POTS lines at my business, unlike cell phones they rarely have connection issues.

[pj007]

I also have pts on my bill as well(a lot) I always have data turned off so why is it on there?

[pj007]

Oops sorry, pts, not pts

[pj007]

Darn it! Stupid auto correct. Haha pta

[wilcre]

This would indicate that there is some sort of app (or some one is accidently and or deliberately connecting to the internet) on the phone that is connecting at some point in time to the internet.

[lmw143]

how do you change the setting on the phone to make sure your wifi stays on?

[wingrider01]

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@lmw143 wrote:

how do you change the setting on the phone to make sure your wifi stays on?

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that is built into the phone, most, if not all smartphones will shutdown the wifi chipset when the phone goes into hiberation and is not plugged into the charger, this is for power savings and is built into the phone by the manufacturer. Other then that wifi will stay connected as long as it is in range of the access point that is related to the wifi id that is setup by the user on the phone