I personally don't believe the Android OS consumes so much data. I believe people do not setup their phones carefully....thus they allow it run numerous updates and consume unnecessary data.

I have written a few steps that worked for me in reducing my data usage to about 600MB monthly.
N.B: I do not use my Android phone to download movies...every other thing is being done using it.

My Advice:

1. Restrict Background Data

2. Use a Mobile security App to restrict Apps that use Mobile data

3. Turn of Google Location Services

4. While hotspoting to your Laptops...make sure your WINDOWS UPDATE setting is set to "Never check for updates"

I have a comprehensive step by step approach that can be viewed here:
http://teknitel.com/technology/tips/reducing-data-usage-on-android-phones/

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