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Update 7pm ET 7/23 - We think we’ve narrowed down where the problem is.  Details below!

Update 2x 7/28 - iLounge.com member iScottL apparently got soaked by AT&T for $1,500 because of this oversight!

So I learned a little bit of a lesson last month with AT&T and the iPhone and data roaming during our wedding in Bermuda, and it was a bit of an expensive lesson to learn … so it’s worth documenting my experience here in the hopes that no one else runs into the same situation.

WAIT! Before you instinctively close this window thinking “Bah, what an idiot - you should have known data roaming is expensive!” let me be clear — I am very aware of how expensive data roaming is … I was before I left the country. And I am also aware of the protections built into the iPhone to help prevent you from running up a big data roaming bill. This is a story about a loophole in this system that causes that protection to fail…

So let’s start with a little bit of background, to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Simply put, international use of your cell phone is expensive. No two ways around it. Voice, data, SMS (text) or MMS (picture messaging) - if you are doing any of these with your GSM phone in a foreign country, you’re going to have to pay handsomely for the privilege.  As a result of this, I have always carried a dumb phone like a RAZR with me when I travel to a foreign country so that there is no possible chance whatsoever of my smartphone accidentally using data while I’m abroad.

Some people though, like that idiot Dave Stolte, have no grasp of this, and run up thousands of dollars of international data roaming charges and then cry all over the blogosphere and any forum they can find when they get their $3,000 bill in the mail.  Yes Dave, I called you an idiot, because - in this instance, at least - you are.  You are admittedly a web designer, but “I couldn’t even tell you how many KB the average web page is“??!?  Come on…

But anyway, I digress…

So if you use data internationally, be prepared to pay.  As a result of customers like Dave, I have no doubt that AT&T was on the phone with Apple immediately after excusing that $3,000 bill and asking Apple for a fix.  The solution came in September with firmware 1.1.1, which included the new capability to turn off Data Roaming!  Perfect!

Now if you’re out of country, this can protect you from accidentally roaming on a foreign network for data and getting a huge charge - but still being able to seamlessly use WiFi whenever you want.  And as an added bonus, in firmware 1.1.1 this switched was turned to Off by default.  So, in order to use data in a foreign country, you would have to intentionally go and turn this on.  And I believe you even get a warning message when this happens.

So, problem solved, right?  How on earth did I unknowingly rack up data roaming charges in Bermuda?

Bermuda, it would seem, is very friendly to US tourists.  So friendly, in fact, that it would appear that US carriers are setting up towers on the island.  It was no surprise to me when I got to Bermuda that I had GSM service.  What was a major surprise to me, though, was that all my friends on Verizon had service too.  CDMA outside the US?  WTF is that?!? 

But anyway, here’s the kicker — when I fired up my iPhone it did it’s normal search for a few minutes to find an adequate carrier to connect to.  After a few minutes, the iPhone had finally settled on a carrier to connect to … AT&T!!  Yes, that’s right.  My iPhone - when powered up in Bermuda - reads AT&T on the display.

Interesting, eh?  I guess it doesn’t really surprise me - I’m sure AT&T makes a bunch of money from folks from the US using their cellphones in Bermuda. But here’s the real kicker - because the iPhone thought it was on AT&T, the “Data Roaming” protection mechanism was effectively neutered. It thought I wasn’t roaming. But I was. Yet, I wasn’t. As a result, I had no protection wireless against data charges at all.

Realizing this, I intentionally turned off every data feature I could find on the phone.  But that didn’t completely solve the problem.  Occasionally I had to bring up the email client on my phone to get something out of an email related to our wedding.  As soon as you do that, though, the iPhone mail client immediately starts downloading your entire inbox.  So I got hit with some charges.

See that part on the end? General Packet Radio Service for $113.50? That’s the data roaming. In theory, with an iPhone with Data Roaming turned off - you should never, ever see a charge like that.  But because of this crack in the system, I got charged.  In the end, I’ll pay it.  It’s only $113, so it’s not the end of the world. I haven’t called AT&T yet … but maybe I will, just to gripe a bit and warn them about this loophole.  Perhaps they can have Apple improve the Data Roaming protections a bit more … but I used the data, I have no problem with paying for it.

Hopefully this post will protect someone else who may run into the same problem.  I have no idea how many other nearby countries this may be a problem with - maybe Bermuda is the only one.  Lesson learned, if you land in a foreign country and your phone still reads AT&T - be very very careful!!!

UPDATE!

Thanks to intrepid reader XFF at HowardForums, he’s reminded me that the entire GSM world seems to operate on a series of “country code” identifiers and “network operator” identifiers.  The country code identifiers are known as MCC’s - Mobile Country Codes.  The network provider codes are known as MNC’s - Mobile Network Codes.  Paired together, these two three-digit codes can narrow down what country you are in and what carrier you are on in that country.

The MCC for the United States is 310. In theory, no other cellular carrier in another country should be using 310 for any reason whatsoever.  Except, apparently - one carrier in Bermuda does.  If you notice on the MNC link, Digicel Bermuda uses a MCC+MNC combination of 310 38.  Hence, when you bring up the iPhone in Bermuda — it may think it’s still in the United States.  As a result, the “Data Roaming” setting is never consulted.

Bit of an oversight, no doubt!  The good news is that I spoke with AT&T Customer Service and they’ve credited me back all the data charges. But surely, this will end up happening again to someone.

UPDATE 2x!

iLounge member iScottL apparently got soaked to the tune of about $1,500 because of this gap in the MCC, the iPhone, and AT&T.  I feel sorry for the guy because the iPhone prohibits you - if you are on your proper home carrier - from changing any of the cellular data settings (APN names, etc.) so there’s really no way to protect yourself against this problem if you are traveling to Bermuda!