Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-31

August 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Mobile Device Management Tagged With: ,

Who Matters More: Customer or Contract?

August 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

As app-centered wireless heats up it’s time for regulators to decide whose rights take priority.

This past July and August the FCC began investigating AT&T and Apple’s practices in earnest, especially after Apple allegedly rejected a Google Voice application (or according to Apple, “continues to study it”) intended for its highly profitable iPhone App Store. This is cause for concern because Google Voice gives users access to a number of features that serve as alternatives to core iPhone features – including the ability to make long distance phone calls for free. From a cellular expense management perspective Google Voice is a tremendous boon: a money-saving utility that can reduce the costs attached to any applicable cell phone plan.

Apple claimed that Google Voice would “alter the iPhone user experience,” something which it works very hard to protect even if it is notoriously vague about what exactly that means. The Google Voice App might have gone too far by offering an alternative UI and by harvesting user data in a fashion Apple considers to be a security risk.

On the other hand, if Google Voice were allowed iPhone users would still be able to send standard text messages and pay for long distance through AT&T’s network if they wanted to. They would simply have an alternative – and of course, that alternative is in many ways far, far more appealing than what AT&T and Apple are willing to offer. The App would have offered more choice – that’s competition at work.

This is an important issue for telecom expense management because it gets best results from a truly open market, where consumers and analysts alike can hunt down the best offers from a broad playing field. If individual smartphone brands are allowed to keep users from taking advantage of apps that provide superior service, it becomes harder to optimize smartphone costs. And if the FCC allows this kind of anticompetitive lock-in to proceed, competitors will be tempted to follow suit, leading to a smartphone market that cripples possibilities for its users.

Filed Under: Cellular Expense Management, Telecom Expense Management Tagged With: , ,

CRTC Urged to Deal with Telecom Fraudsters

August 24, 2009 By 1 Comment

Are carriers allowing fraudsters to attack third party providers?

Ottawa based long distance provider Telepath has asked the CRTC to step in and limit 1-900 service calls to $1000 without prior approval. This comes after Telepath, a line wholesaler, suffered $100,000 in fraudulent bills when hackers attacked two lines and used them to dial bogus pay per call numbers.

We’ve reported on carrier laxness regarding fraud before. Now someone has stepped up and plainly said that Bell, Rogers and other carriers can’t be trusted to protect clients from massive fraudulent billing. Of course that only makes sense – this kind of fraud doesn’t affect their bottom line. In fact, they’re adamant about getting paid. In Telepath’s case, Rogers is only willing to cut the massive bill by 20%. The provider may have to sue its clients for more.

In fact, Telepath’s claims read like a classic checklist of atrocious carrier service. Telepath CEO Dali Bertolila claims he noticed the fraud a couple of days after it occurred and called Rogers to stop payment. According to Bertolila, Rogers refused. So in this case, even client vigilance was useless. Worst of all, the Canadian Press article notes that Rogers claims that its can do nothing to monitor suspicious traffic patterns among third party providers.

Carrier interests appear to clash with the public good on several fronts in this case. When fraud hits, carriers like Rogers get paid. Furthermore, the big carriers know that third party providers exist in large part because of their problems, from erroneous billing to unsatisfactory service, so it’s kind of convenient that they can’t or won’t help in cases where hackers attack those providers. Telecom expense management and third party cellular customer service both exist because carriers won’t step up and provide the service and pricing people need. In this case, it seems to be obvious that Rogers, Bell and the rest are the last people to expect help from.

Filed Under: Telecom Audit, Telecom Expense Management Tagged With: , , ,

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-24

August 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Mobile Device Management Tagged With: ,

Handsfree Calling and Email from Bell

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

With the new “no cell phone while driving” law soon rapidly approaching in Ontario, Bell Mobility is now offering a cool feature that will help drivers avoid falling to hands-on cell use temptation — a good thing, since breaking the law nets you a $500 fine (and it makes you drive badly, too!).

Bell Voice Net service allows users to listen to emails and offers handsfree dialing.You are able to import up to 1000 contacts from Microsoft Outlook and  calls them by name or the number.  The feature also allows you to listen to your Pop 3 emails and also reply by voice.

The feature is currently $5.00 per month. If you need to answer email as soon as possible and/or spend a lot of time about using it, it might be worth the money. Just make sure your bill is error-free and on the best package for your needs (the way we can as part of our cellular expense management efforts) and you’ll keep your total bill down to a minimum, giving you room for this addition.

Filed Under: Cellular Expense Management Tagged With: ,

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-17

August 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Mobile Device Management Tagged With: ,

Four Reasons Why your Mobile Phones Leak Money

August 11, 2009 By 1 Comment

As your mobile phone bills pile up, ask yourself this: “Why are they so expensive?” The answer probably is not because this is simply how much your cell phone fleet costs. Understanding your cell phone plans is the first step to cost reduction. Over the years we’ve seen common problems crop up again and again. Here are four of them to consider the next time your bills arrive.

Billing Errors: Everybody makes mistakes, including major carriers like Bell Canada, Rogers, AT&T and Sprint. Some experts have found error rates as high as 30%. Carriers forget to include discounts, or charge you for pay per minute/unit services you never used. This is why a cellular expense management audit is such an important step in finding you savings.

Extra Units: When your employees leave or switch roles, what happens to their cell phones? In a surprising number of cases the answer is “nothing.” The phone still appears on your statement and still costs you money. In some cases, employees end up with two or even three units associated with them as they change roles, get new phones, and never get the new ones transferred or deactivated.

Inefficient Use: Some of your plans for the mobile fleet may not survive actual use. You imagine salespeople who constantly use voice and email to keep in touch with the head office, but it turns out that it’s more effective for them to compile all of their reports and send them from a computer. Some employees with company phones never even use them, and of course, there are always issues with employees misusing their phones. You can avoid this all with a regular usage breakdown by employee. Our telecom expense management software Tele-Watch does just that.

Unnecessary Services: Unnecessary services are a form of inefficient use. In these cases your staff uses company phones all the time – but they don’t take advantage of all of the features you’ve paid for. They don’t send email, or leave hundreds of unused minutes behind at the end of every month. Pooled minutes, customized plans and bundling can all help, as long as you know your options.

While you can combat many of these problems on your own, some of them require professional help. That’s why we’re here. Contact us for an initial telecom audit and we’ll show you how to plug up the “money leaks” in your current billing.

Filed Under: Cellular Customer Service, Cellular Expense Management, Cost Reduction, Telecom Expense Management Tagged With: , , , , ,

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-10

August 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Mobile Device Management Tagged With: ,

Five Reasons to Get Third Party Cellular Customer Service

August 4, 2009 By 3 Comments

How many times have you waited on hold with customer support? How many times have you recited an account number, re-explained your plan and information and generally wasted your time? How many times have you asked yourself if there’s a better way?

Well, there is a better way. That’s us, specifically the cellular customer service that comes with our cellular expense management services. We don’t just do the math to save you money. We want you to feel better about your cell phone plans, regardless of carrier. That’s why we feature dedicated customer support. Let’s look at five reasons why using us as a third party beats using standard carrier support.

We Fix Billing Errors: That’s part of our cellular expense management service, but it’s also a customer support issue. Have you ever tried to contest a suspicious bill with your provider? If so, you know how annoying it can be. We not only fix errors, but we find them for you in the first place.

We Know You: Tired of answering the same questions over and over again? Once you hire use to manage your cellular service you won’t have to. Our representatives get a chance to know you and don’t have to run you through a one-size-fits-all set of technical questions.

Multi-Carrier Support: You never have to call more than one number. We’ll deal with every carrier and service you use on your behalf. And since you’ll have a telecom expert dealing with carriers on your behalf, you don’t have to worry about calls being diverted or stalled.  We don’t allow it. If there’s a solution, we find it.

We Work for You – Not Them: Carrier-based support focuses on minimizing their cost. Our service focuses on getting you the best support. The difference is a simple and powerful one. We’ll pursue options like replacement handsets and service credits that carriers are reluctant to provide.

You Save Staff Time and Hassle: When your staff spends time on hold with a carrier that’s time they aren’t spending moving your business forward. Sign up with us and replace 20 minutes on hold (and then answering useless questions) with a five minute chat with someone who knows you, wants to help you and fights to get you the best deal. Which do you think is better for your business?

Did you know that you can get this at NO extra cost compared to what you’re paying now? As part of our telecom expense management services all of these benefits are part of a self-funded service. That means you only pay a portion of what you save – if you don’t save, you don’t pay. Get a free cost audit to start, and see how much better your savings and service can get.

Filed Under: Cellular Customer Service, Cellular Expense Management, Telecom Audit, Telecom Expense Management Tagged With: , , ,

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-08-03

August 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment
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