Hidden network overhead can multiply a tracker's data costs several times over

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A common estimate of a GPS tracker's monthly data use, based only on the size of each report, understates what operators actually pay. Network billing counts the IP packets carrying each report, including TCP and IP headers, acknowledgements, keepalives and retransmissions, which pushes the real figure well above the raw payload. Opening a new connection for every report is far more costly still, and encryption handshakes can make the total many times larger, with handshakes making up most of the billed traffic. Reducing report size saves little in those cases, while keeping connections open, resuming TLS sessions or bundling reports cut usage substantially. The figures come from an illustrative calculator assuming a 60-byte report, not from real bills or measurements.

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