CONTROLLING WIRELESS COSTS: Are You Overspending In These 4 Key Areas?

Controlling wireless costs can be the most difficult task of all areas of telecom auditing and cost-reduction.

These days, many employees and salespeople would consider the use of wireless devices more of a necessity rather than a privilege or convenience. Problems arise, however, with the sheer volume of wireless users, accounts and bills that even a relatively small company can accumulate over time.

Whereas 50 land lines may be shared within a company of hundreds of workers, cell phones are rarely shared or passed between employees. In comparison, 300 wireless users results in potentially 300 separate accounts and phones to control, track and audit.

The good news is that the wireless portion of your telecom department is ripe with potential savings opportunities. Even small accounts can reveal plenty of areas for considerable cost-reduction.

What is "Over provisioning"?

Deregulation of the telecommunications industry has resulted in a dizzying array of options and plans for wireless users. Over provisioning occurs when optional telecom features or plans are included or added to an account that do not enhance the end users' job performance. This can also include phones that are not in use but still being billed and paid for. Inefficiency results in unnecessary overspending.

When auditing your company's wireless services, be sure to check the following 4 key areas for instances of over provisioning.

Are You Overspending in these 4 Areas?

1. Paying for unused or unnecessary features or functionality.

Items and features such as voice mail boxes, 3-way calling, call-waiting, call-forwarding, group talk, etc. can add excessive monthly charges to a wireless account.

Each wireless account should be reviewed for any and all features that carry an additional monthly fee. If the feature does not enhance job performance or is rarely used, eliminate it.

2. Paying for nationwide plans when regional or state coverage would be sufficient.

Nationwide wireless plans are higher priced but do allow for in-network calls without roaming charges. An employee who never travels more than 50 miles from the home office may never use this feature. Always check to determine that the plans chosen for each employee are an exact fit for the usage needed.

3. Paying for wireless insurance coverage, pager protection or roadside assistance coverage.

On accounts with several wireless devices, paying for insurance protection is not cost-effective. On single accounts, insurance coverage may be a good choice, especially if the equipment is top-of-the-line and the coverage premium is reasonable and the insurance comprehensive.

Roadside assistance is one of those "peace of mind" features that can add $40 - $50 per year to each account. Let common sense be the guide here. If the user never travels for any length by car, eliminate it entirely.

4. Paying for wireless phones that have been lost, stolen or unused.

If a medium to large-size organization fails to properly track wireless inventories, duplication of billing for lost, stolen or even unused wireless phones may result.

Example: an employee is transferred to a new office and brings their wireless phone along. The new office provides them with a new wireless phone. The retired phone is kept inside a desk drawer only to collect dust - and in the meantime the bill is still being paid each and every month by the previous office manager!

Establishing procedures for ordering and maintaining accurate wireless inventories should be routine for organizations that want to keep costs down.

Be sure you keep and maintain a complete inventory of handsets along with their respective bills and accounts. Paying for wireless services that are no longer being used can be huge source of unneccessary spending.

For free materials on how your company can reduce telecom spending, visit www.telconassociates.com