Local start-up, execMobile aims to disrupt the roaming market with solutions that mainly target business executives who frequently travel overseas.
In an interview with ITWeb, Craig Lowe, founder of exceMobile, noted that roaming fees are exorbitant and this was costing many companies a fortune, as executives want to stay connected via the multiple devices they use.
According to Lowe, roaming data is costly because foreign mobile networks establish high prices, determining approximately 80% of the cost for users to roam on their networks.
Planning for data bills is extremely problematic because standard international data costs are so expensive and unexpected data usage overseas can run into hundreds of thousands of rands, he notes.
He says unexpected data expenditure has led to 38% of business travellers turning off their phones when travelling, fearing high data bills. "Companies have also responded with outdated solutions, forcing employees to buy local SIMs or using public WiFi."
However, public WiFi in hotels is increasingly not an option for many corporates because of the security concerns associated with them, says Lowe. Public WiFi hotspots are also getting more and more congested because of the increase in the number of devices carried by people, resulting in slower download speeds. Furthermore, access is often in public areas, which lowers employees' productivity.
"The challenge, therefore, lies in empowering employees to be more productive while mitigating risk with smart roaming connectivity alternatives," he says.
Several South African corporates have already instituted roaming connectivity policies, which is becoming an international trend for companies that have embraced a mobile workforce, utilising cloud-based services.
"Policy ensures finance, HR and IT departments work together to select solutions that benefit the company and empower employees while travelling internationally. It also ensures full line of site of costs, while employees know exactly what options are available to them when travelling abroad," he says.
Lowe says execMobile's PocketWifi offers personal secure data connectivity at a fraction of the cost of offerings from local mobile operators.
"Companies can, therefore, mitigate unexpected expenditure by setting monthly spend limits or utilising an affordable fixed daily cost for unlimited data. This enables corporates to budget based on finite costs or known days abroad. Monitoring systems can now also provide detailed user information, including device battery level, the number of connected devices, mobile network signal strength and data usage. Companies can even prevent streaming-based services (music or video content delivery) if needed.
"In turn, the employee gets instant Internet access anytime, anywhere, and from any mobile device, without having to be concerned about security or the risk of data loss," he says.
According to Lowe, mobile operators are making a fortune across the globe from roaming fees and he does not see them reducing the costs any time soon.
"Europe started talking about lowering rates four-and-a-half years ago; however, it has taken a long time for that evolution to happen and regulate a glide path down to more acceptable levels. Network operators make a lot of their profit from roaming, and with no global regulator, are reluctant to cannibalise international profits. As data becomes more and more pervasive, more people need to be connected globally."
He points out that, internationally, smaller operators are trying to win market share by attacking roaming, but locally nothing is happening yet.
"There's a great opportunity for us to partner with smaller telcos like Cell C and Telkom Mobile and say 'let's attack the roaming space to get more customers'. One can turn what's happening globally into a local advantage."
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