We’ve all been there before. You’re on a business trip overseas for a very important conference and desperately need to open a few emails. You search for a nearby WiFi network to no avail, and finally you give up and open the emails over the cellular data network provided by your company’s wireless carrier. Throw in a few YouTube videos and Google maps, and you’ve just cost your company $1,000 in international data charges.
Sounds crazy right? This is serious as a heart attack (OK, not quite. But it’s a real problem). Do a quick search on Google and you’ll find numerous horror stories of people loading a few emails and getting charged outrageous fees for using international data. This is a major problem for businesspeople who travel frequently, and rely on mobile data to do their work while overseas. How can businesses avoid paying outrageous usage and overage fees for using international data? Here are a few tips from your friends here at DataXoom.
Change the settings on company-owned devices.
Before your employees leave the U.S., change a few key settings on their mobile devices and tablets. First, have them set their mail settings to manually “fetch” rather than “push” mail. This way their devices will only use mobile data to retrieve emails when specified, or when connected to WiFi. Allowing your employees devices to push emails while abroad will cause their mail app to constantly run in the background, generating a hefty data bill.
Next, you should disable automatic downloads and app updates, or at least restrict this feature on iOS or Android to operate only when your employees are connected to Wi-Fi. It’s not vitally important that your devices’ features and apps be constantly update–your employees can always wait to do this when they return from their trips, or when they are connected to Wi-Fi
Finally, it’s probably best to not stream any sort of video content over your company’s mobile data network. Streaming video content uses a lot of data, and even viewing one video can potentially cost your company hundreds of dollars. If your employees absolutely need to stream videos on their devices, they should find a WiFi network to which they can connect their devices.
Use WiFi whenever possible.
This brings us to possibly one of the most important tips we have to offer, always use WiFi if you can. The most obvious way to minimize or eliminate data roaming fees is simply not to roam at all. The iOS and Android platforms make it easy to turn off cellular data usage, so before your employees embark on trips overseas, be sure to switch off mobile data on their devices.
Given how prevalent Wi-Fi hotspots have become throughout Europe, Asia and elsewhere, it should be easy for your employees to get by using just W-iFi, it just requires a little extra work. Research the location to which your employee is travelling, and find hotels that provide complimentary W-iFi access, or places with nearby internet cafes.
If all else fails, purchase an international plan.
If you’ve changed the settings on your employees’ devices, and told them to use Wi-Fi networks whenever possible, and they’re still running up your company’s data bill with international charges, then perhaps you should purchase an international plan for your employees that travel out of the country frequently.
These plans are pretty pricey, but they’re by far better than roaming. While T-Mobile offers unlimited data at a reasonable price, AT&T charges $120 for just 800MB of data, or $60 for 300MB. This isn’t a whole lot of data, but for most travelling business people, it’s enough to get by, especially if they are utilizing Wi-Fi networks as their primary source of mobile internet access.
And Now for Something Completely Different.
While DataXoom is best known as a leading U.S. provider of wireless data services, we do offer our customers some very compelling international wireless data options as well. Recently we’ve begun offering our customers a $150 hotspot with 8 SIM’s in it, guaranteeing our clients reliable, secure, and affordable service virtually anywhere in the world.
Just like DataXoom itself, DataXoom International service is new and different. Drop us a note if you’d like to learn more about coverage or pricing options, or call us at 855-533-2829.
Regardless of how you choose to control your employees’ data usage abroad, it’s clear that your employees cannot work effectively without mobile data. DataXoom is an MVNO mobile data provider, with plans developed exclusively for businesses. Interested in what DataXoom can offer your business? Email us at sales@dataxoom.com or learn more here.
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