* Options for global travelers
Allowing mobile work forces to roam on cellular networks internationally without draining the company’s telecom coffers, it seems, is a dark art that calls for a potion of patience, planning and, often, simple restraint on the part of end users.
The last newsletter broached some of the price challenges of traveling internationally, including multiple-dollar-per-minute usage and roaming charges if special arrangements aren’t made.
Here are the general communications options for your roaming work force and their pros and cons:
* Have the user buy a subscriber identity module (SIM) card for use with his GSM phone. A different SIM card is needed for each foreign country. IT departments could also buy these in bulk ahead of time and issue them to users before their travels. In-country rates will apply, but they will be retail (undiscounted).
* Depending on how long the user will be abroad, have him or her use the SIM and buy a monthly plan with a package of minutes for a flat fee. Some minutes will go to waste, but you’ll likely still come out ahead, dollar-wise.
* Arrange with your homeland carrier or an aggregator for special roaming plans. By example, AT&T offers its Cingular BlackBerry International with Voice plan for $64.99 per month and unlimited e-mail. But you still have to pay per-minute voice charges – albeit discounted ones. Non-BlackBerry users can pay a $5.99 per month international fee and get discounted rates when in Europe that start at $.99 per minute. Aggregators in other countries, such as Roadpost in Canada, rent equipment and also offer flat-rate plans.
* Allow some or all users to use their U.S. phones in other countries, unchanged, and simply bite the bullet on rack rates, which are undiscounted local, long-distance, and roaming fees. Advantage: convenience for all. Disadvantage: gi-normous usage and roaming costs of up to about $5 per minute.
At a minimum, your IT/telecom department might wish to issue a general edict that users exercise common sense when they travel abroad; something along the lines of: “Don’t use your mobile phone unless you have to.”
