Travelling Abroad with your Business Mobiles
We are often told by the media, Ofcom and companies that international roaming charges will become cheaper. Are there real changes on the horizon or have we heard this too often?
In our current financial climate the ‘Financial Director or controller’ of any company, large or small, are seeking new ways of saving money on a business mobile and international roaming.
One of the problems with using business mobile phones abroad is the lack of information we are given as businesses and consumers. How much are we going to be charged? Is it possible to use our minutes abroad? Are there any alternatives and ways of saving money?
Let’s have a look on good deals on the market.
UK calls to 28 countries can be made by orange business customers right from their minutes bundle, and offerings just like this can also be found on o2 and T-mobile. Orange also offer ‘Business World Traveller’ which will give up to 50% off standard voice roaming rates and up to 25% off roaming data.
Vodafone have a similar service called ‘Passport’. You can also take advantage of reduced call charges when you call from another country. Pay 75p connection charge per call when abroad, then talk at your usual UK rate. Get your Vodafone sevice today call 5555 and recieve a free Vodafone handset.
o2 have what’s called ‘International Traveller Service’ which allows customers to call from Europe to the UK for £0.30p per minute. However, if you are calling from other parts of the world then the charges can vary from between £0.81p to £1.20 per minute.
T-mobile also have competitive roaming offers. T-mobile charge between £0.38p and £0.55p per minute to call the UK from Europe. Receiving calls with T-mobile have recently fallen meaning the cost is between £0.13p to £0.20p for Europe.
On certain schemes and networks it is possible to include international minutes that can be used in a certain country.
If you are regularly visiting a country and using your business mobile phone to call the UK, one option is to buy a local SIM card. You will in turn get a local phone number for the country you’re in. Within certain countries it would not be possible because you will have to be a documented resident.
Other options include purchasing international PAYG/Prepaid SIM cards in the UK which offer roaming savings, in some cases up to a 50% to 60% reduction in call charges.
The mobile phone networks are battling for our business, and competition is growing especially fierce in the international roaming market. I anticipate there will be increased competition in regard to the price of roaming throughout the globe. In the end, mobile service providers are competing to reduce prices even more.
Finally, whilst the networks are bombarded with bad press for over charging on roaming I believe they are reacting in a positive way that will benefit business mobile users in the UK.
