Good question. Yes, for the most part. Specifics vary a little by OS, but generally it requires a little introspection and to some extent OS-provided "best guess" projection for the next request/response (this is how to some extent app developers set constraints on using only wifi, or at least preventing cellular). We'd need to consciously avoid reaching out when a new MCC-MNC-to-IP record is clearly out of bounds IPs (e.g., IPs not even remotely adjacent to known good ones in geo).
-Adam On Thu, Apr 3, 2014 at 1:28 AM, Yuri Astrakhan <[email protected]>wrote: > Does the app know if it is connecting over wifi or carrier's network? > Also, in case of multiple SIM cards, does it know which data connection is > actually being used? > > Thanks! > > > On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 9:08 PM, Adam Baso <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hello - >> >> I work on the mobile partner engineering team, probably known better as >> the Wikipedia Zero people. >> >> If our servers see that an IP address matches with a given partner mobile >> network operator (MNO), the pertinent Wikipedia Zero text banner is shown >> to the mobile web user; additionally, offsite links are rewritten to warn a >> user when s/he may be entering into a zone that requires data access >> charges. >> >> This is all fine and well, but partner operators sometimes change IP >> addresses and our systems get out of sync. Our partners are busy and our >> partner management team does of course strive to work with partners to >> proactively manage IP and other technical updates, yet inevitably >> information can fall through the cracks. Consequently, when IPs drift, the >> system doesn't show banners and do URL rewriting as well as it could. >> >> In order to in part more proactively remediate the drift of operator exit >> IP addresses, we're interested in logging two pieces of information >> server-side via the forthcoming rewrites of the Wikipedia for Android and >> Wikipedia for iOS apps, and in some future state a rewritten Firefox OS app: >> >> (1) MCC-MNC identification code of operator if present (e.g., 123-45 if >> the connection is on a particular operator - MCC-MNC is in the format >> ###-##) >> (2) Exit IP address (typically, gateway/proxy in MNO infrastructure) >> >> The MCC-MNC identification code is embedded on SIM cards and accessible >> by routine app APIs. >> >> We would not want to log this information alongside the other Apache >> webserver-style elements, but instead have just these two columns in a >> separate nonpublic file location, purging records older than 90 days. >> >> The thought is to just have the app code add the MCC-MNC value to an HTTP >> header once in a given app session using an MCC-MNC bearing connection >> (cellular data), and let the server detect the IP as per normal server >> operation. >> >> In a nutshell, after normalizing the MCC/MNC codes (some are likely to be >> malformed) and cross-checking against our own MCC/MNC database, we'd be >> able to see if the IPs are askew, and then reach out to operators to ask if >> they have any updated IPs since the last time we received an official >> update. >> >> We think this is a simple and fairly easy way to observe updated IP >> addresses for operator partners, and prompt the partner management team to >> reach out to operators for updated official source IP addresses. >> >> The information could incidentally be useful in gauging rough demand for >> Wikipedia in markets germane to Wikipedia Zero (e.g., higher data costs, >> lower disposable income), although that is secondary to keeping the IPs >> accurate. >> >> Internal review suggests this is in alignment with privacy policy, and we >> wanted to see if there were other thoughts on this approach. We plan to >> move the discussion over to wikitech-l and then later a broader list, but >> to avoid cross-posting problems with people having one membership in one >> list but not another, wanted to start on mobile-l first. >> >> One last thing - the set of IPs for a given MNO are relatively small. For >> example, an MNO may have 100 IP addresses representing 1 million cellular >> subscribers. This has two practical consequences: (1) troublingly, even >> just a handful of missing IPs has outsize impact, and (2) highly targeted >> geography and behavioral inferences are unlikely for a data set composed of >> just two types of data elements submitted. >> >> Thanks. >> -Adam >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Mobile-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mobile-l >> >> >
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