International Travel and Cell Phone Usage

January 6, 2016

In the past, we had a client who racked up a cell phone bill of $250,000 while traveling internationally. Since an email failed to send from the employee’s Blackberry while they were boarding a flight, the phone attempted to resend the email over and over again using the data component of their device throughout the entire 12 day trip.

Don’t let this happen to you!

Let’s discuss how you can set up processes and automation to truly get the lowest cost for international usage.

With the software we use with our clients, employees have an easier time making updates about their devices. Whenever an employee needs a new device, they can easily go in and order the products through the platform itself. As employees need to travel overseas, they can go into the platform and add international features.

The best way to manage international rates and plans is by putting the power in the hands of the employees. They can make updates on travel plans such as departure and return dates and whether they are expecting to travel again in the near future. Having this information allows us to add and remove plans to keep the cost as low as possible and not have features go unused. By automating the process of managing mobility, it helps control costs and allows the employee to do the right thing.

CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

Knowing exactly how employees utilize their phones internationally is an important part of contract negotiations. By being aware of whether employees use their phones more for data, voice, or texting, better rate plans can be negotiated.

That being said, the most important part of a rate plan to negotiate is the data. Today, we can use data for a variety of things such as calling, sending emails, downloading content, and more. In the future, all communication will go through the data network within the device.

Oftentimes, people will have international rate plans set up, even though they haven’t traveled in over a year or they’re planning a trip overseas and haven’t let anyone know to make changes on their device. Reviewing and auditing rate plans monthly is critical and can save a lot of money on what clients are paying for international plans. Since we are experts in rate plan analysis and getting the lowest cost possible, clients can see up to 80-90% cost reduction for international charges. We are able to negotiate truly unlimited international data for a very low monthly add.

EMPLOYEE EDUCATION

Educating employees on how to use devices while overseas greatly affects final costs. For example, even though it’s convenient to take a call on a car or train ride when working overseas, it’s actually very costly. It’s much better to use the office network or landline for conference calls or wait to get back to the hotel to access Wi-Fi because is much cheaper than using a cell phone. By teaching employees how to join Wi-Fi networks, where to make calls, and how to update the platform we use, it becomes a more streamlined process to update and manage plans and devices.

If you’re ready to reduce the costs of international wireless bills for your company, talk to us today.