By
Telecom Lead Team: A majority of Fortune
1000 companies are pursuing alternatives to control the exorbitant wireless
bills incurred when employees do business internationally, according to a
research from CCMI.
Nearly
37 percent of companies surveyed spend $1,000 or more per month per
user on average wireless roaming costs for their international travelers,
with stories of single monthly bill charges ranging from $10,000 to
$200,000. 24 percent respondents of the research said that they have lost
business as a result of roaming costs.
“These
survey findings highlight the fact that among the biggest organizations in the
country, the cost of roaming is a genuine pain point and significant expense
item. There is also evidence that small- and mid-sized companies are burdened
with the same challenges,” said Gary Cohen, senior vice president and
general manager, Truphone Americas.
40
percent of companies are forbidding or curtailing business usage of wireless
devices while abroad to help manage costs.
“The
key take-away from the survey is that virtually all respondents demonstrate a
high degree of correlation in their desire for a more effective solution to
control runaway wireless roaming costs. For a player that brings a high quality
service to bear, this is a clearly valuable market niche,” said George David,
president of CCMI.
The
research was conducted by CCMI on behalf of
Truphone, with a statistically significant sample size of 128 telecom expense
management decision makers from Fortune 1,000 companies taking part.