Hi buddha6,
If the Alexa product line behaves like the Google line of similar products, then there is a lot of traffic going around. The devices have a 'discovery' technology which makes them very talkative, meaning all your devices that can talk to each other to control one another will talk to each other... all day, everyday.
As an example your cell phone app to control Alexa outlet, play music on your Dot, or your Dot being told to turn on the outlet (whether actually being told to do something or not) will just be constantly going back and forth over the network making sure they can still 'hear' each other. Not only can this account for data usage, but in my own personal experience with Google products, it can totally drag your home network performance through the mud (that was a horrible weekend for me which only involved 2 android phones and a google home Mini :'( ).
Users who have Google products have experienced this in terrible ways, one user from Reddit said their Chromecast used almost 15GB just rotating the Google 'Backdrop' feature on their TV, even when they were on a totally different input.
I'm not saying this is exactly what could happen to you, and not trying to make it seem like your devices can't be used, but they can be tamed. When you say the Dot/outlets are almost never used, do you mean no one actually tells them to turn on/off or they aren't connected to the wi-fi? Do all your phones have Alexa apps or are cast-enabled? I'll need to pull some event logs to get an idea of how much chatter is going on, but if you don't mind just temporarily powering off the Alexa things and see if data usage slows down at least for an afternoon?
Thanks,
Amanda
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