A lot of companies all over the world have to send their employees to foreign countries for tours, training, business meetings etc. While this is an exciting prospect for the employee as well as the employer what often gets overlooked is the high roaming costs of international calls and data usage.
What is roaming ?
Roaming is simply the use of your mobile in a foreign network but with your regular network provider charging you. Roaming allows you to receive and make calls from anywhere in the world without having to switch to a local network or buy a new SIM.
If your employees are travelling abroad it is important they stay connected to the internet as they need to check emails, download local maps and get other important information that would help in their business transaction.
According to some reports, the roaming fees for one-week international business trip on average can reach somewhere close to $1000. However, companies can greatly reduce this cost if they can adopt a guideline and educate their traveling employees accordingly.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Download everything in advance
Before leaving, make sure your employees research their destination and download the maps, itineraries, tourist guides to their phone so they can use them offline when they arrive.
2. Check the settings
There are some applications for Smartphone that continue to use data abroad (and it is very expensive) even though they are not using them at a precise moment. The best way to avoid it is to turn off the roaming data altogether – ask your operator how to do it if you are not sure how to do it.
3. Use a wi-fi network
This is the best option. Accessing the internet through 3G or 4G with your phone costs money, but using a local wi-fi network usually does not. For instance, B-WiFi is the perfect solution if your employees are travelling to France or anywhere in the world. We offer an affordable alternative to roaming. All you have to do is reserve a miniBox (pocket wifi small enough to fit inside the pocket) with your travel dates and accommodation details and it would be delivered to you. We also have an option for express delivery in case you did not book in advance. Through this device, customers can have their own personal Wi-Fi network on the go with the ability to connect up to 10 devices to it (phone, tablet, laptop). This allows them to use data freely and not let the roaming charges restrict them in performing important business-related or personal tasks.
4. Get a bonus
If you have a rough idea of how much data you employees will use when they are out, all mobile phone operators offer data bonuses at a fixed price that can be purchased in advance. You can contact their customer care service for more information.
5. Activate the data saving mode on your favorite apps
Some apps include data-saving modes or update only during a Wi-Fi connection. Some social networks also offer lower image quality and prevent automatic playback of videos :
Facebook : From your account, click on Settings & Privacy then Settings. Scroll down, in the Media and Contacts section, the Videos and Photos menu allows you to enable or disable the HD mode for videos and photos in your newsfeed and you can choose whether the videos autoplay when you are on Mobile Data and Wi-Fi connections, Wi-Fi connections only or choose to simply never autoplay videos as you scroll.
Instagram : From the menu, click on Settings then in the Account section, access to the Cellular Data Use to enable or disable the Use Less Data option : photos and videos make take longer to load than usual.
Twitter : Click your profile photo (top left), then Settings & Privacy. The Data Usage menu offers you a wide range of options to optimize your cellular uses.
6. Change your SIM
Another way to reduce these charges is to make your employees change their SIM entirely to a local network. Though these can reduce your charges it is not a wise choice and it is not advisable.