All contractors holding cellular phones issued and paid for by the D.C. government were ordered to return them last week as the District wrestles with the exploding use of wireless communication devices — and the soaring bills that follow.

City Administrator Dan Tangherlini said he was “absolutely shocked” to learn that District agencies were distributing cell phones to some of their outside help. On Aug. 31, Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra directed that all of those phones — 81 as of Wednesday — be collected and their services terminated.