Constant data use (not by me)

[Incubated]

every time i turn the phone on, i see the dialogue arrows over reception bars indicating that there is some download/upload going on. constatly, i see this every time i turn the phone on. i turn of data in communications tab, but it seems to go back on. i mean, the battery seems to have gotten better for me over time. i find it is worst when i freshly flash a rom. after a bit, it holds up nicely. i can use the phone heavily all day and come home safely powered, or there are days when it jst self destructs. in any case, i was wondering if this constat data usage is either healthy, or necessary for the battery.

my emails are set on update every 60 minutes. other than that, not sure what could be using data, other than telus network itself.