David O'Kell
Managing Consultant
Abilita Telecom Consultants
dokell@abilita.com

Whether travelling for business or pleasure, we all want to keep in touch. With global cellular coverage on the GSM network, keeping in touch is virtually seamless. But without some planning and discipline, your cellular roaming charges can rival that of a 5-star hotel.

International roaming rates for calls to/from Canada range from $2.00 per minute in Europe, $3.00 to $4.00 per minute in the Caribbean, and $2.00 to $3.50 per minute in Asia/South Pacific. The rate for local in country calls ranges from $1.00 to $3.00 depending on the country. Even just a few calls to check voice mail can add up. (Rates may vary somewhat between providers)

You can reduce international voice roaming charges about 80%-90% by using a local cellular provider in the country. You will have a local telephone number for the country that you are visiting. Typically calls to Canada will be about $0.20 to $0.30 per minute and local calls will be about $0.10 per minute. There is no charge for incoming calls, as the calling party pays for calls to cellular phones.

How to go local…..

1. First you need to have an unlocked GSM cellular phone. Most cellular dealers will unlock you phone for a reasonable charge.

2. On departure, set your voicemail to say that you are travelling and will check for messages. You may also want to call forward your cell phone to your office voicemail, which will reduce the number of calls to check voicemail.

3. On arrival in your destination, get a pay as you go cellular account with a local provider. These can easily be obtained at any cellular dealer, and sometimes even at the airport.

4. Replace the SIM card in your cellar phone with the new local SIM card. If you are at a cellular store, get the store to do the switch and test the service.

5. Text message or email your new international number back to your office, family and other key business contacts.

6. If you run low on pre-paid minutes, these can be topped up using your credit card over the phone.

The added benefit is that you will have a local number to use for incoming calls when needed.

If you have employees who regularly travel internationally to the same countries, you can re-use the local pay as you go SIM card and telephone number by just keeping it topped up with minutes. Normally, pre-paid minutes will last 4-6 months before the card/account is cancelled.

Blackberry and Data Roaming

It is more difficult to set up a prepaid data account and synch your email.

If you have a Blackberry or other voice/data device, you should use it for data on international roaming and call forward or turn off the voice calls. For voice, use a cellular phone for voice with a local number.

International data roaming charges are typically $0.05 per kb with a 10 kb minimum.

Best Practices when travelling

1. Change your voicemail to let people know that you are travelling.

2. Call forward your messages to a single voicemail box.

3. Where practical, use text messaging or email rather than voice as these are less expensive than voice calls.

With some planning and foresight you can keep in touch without having a 5-star cellular bill on your return.

For more information on how to control and manage cellular costs, call 1- 800-594-1346.

David O'Kell
Managing Consultant
Abilita Telecom Consultants
dokell@abilita.com

How To Keep Your Roaming Fees Less Than Your Airfare!

When travelling in the US, cellular phones make it easy to keep in touch. But without some planning, your cellular roaming bill can be a nasty surprise on your return.

Depending on the cellular provider, US roaming rates range from $1.45 to $1.79 per minute for calls back to Canada. The rate for local calls is $0.95 to $0.99 per minute plus long distance from Canada for incoming calls. It is very easy to get a $100+ cellular roaming bill for even a short trip.

Tips to Reduce US Roaming Fees

For occasional travellers, you should call your cellular provider (*611 on your cell phone) before you go and add some US minutes as an option to your plan. At the same time, you can also cancel the feature for the end of your billing cycle. If your trip will go over your cellular billing date, then you will need to purchase the US option minutes for two months. With one call before you travel, you can reduce your roaming costs by 60% to 90%.

Depending on the provider and the number of minutes purchased, the cost will be from $40 to $300, or $0.67 to $0.19 per minute including long distance. Be sure to purchase enough minutes, as the extra minutes used will be rated at $0.75 to $0.95 per minute, still less than the regular roaming plus long distance rates. If you only use your phone 20 minutes on the trip, it pays to use this US roaming option. (Note: This option is only available through Bell Mobility and Rogers.)

Regular travelers to the US can also use this strategy to keep their total cellular costs down. In this case, keep the US option on your cellular plan as a regular feature. Monitor your usage and purchase enough minutes to cover an average trip. For periods when you are not going to the US, say over the summer, then you can take the feature off.

The other option if you travel regularly to the US, is to have a digital North America cellar plan which includes North American long distance and US roaming. Depending on the provider and the size of plan, the costs for minute including long distance will be from $0.17 to $0.34 per minute.

However, this is still two to three times more expensive than a local calling plan. If you use a lot of local minutes and a lot of US minutes, then you best strategy is to use a local calling plan as your base and add US minutes as an option. The savings on your local plan will offset the higher cost of the US minutes.

If you talk a lot in both Canada and the US, then you should consider having two cell phone accounts and numbers, one with a US provider and one with a Canadian carrier. You can use call forwarding to avoid missed calls.

Data Roaming Fees

Unfortunately at this time there is not an equivalent data plan for US roaming. Data roaming rates are about $0.05 per kb. Bell Mobility users can purchase an option for discounted US data rates. There is a new Blackberry coming later this year which allows for a Wi-Fi connection, for no cost data and voice calls for tech savvy users.

For companies of all sizes, wireless is a great communications and productivity tool. But cellular costs remain the single fastest growing and least controlled of all telecom costs. Every company can benefit from a program to manage, track and reduce cellular costs.

Contact us at 1-866-509-4028 to find out how your company can benefit from a managed cellular cost program.