Businesses spend nearly $3 billion a year on mobile connectivity
The cost related to mobile connectivity through roaming, pay-on-demand Wi-Fi and free Wi-Fi is costing businesses in Europe and North America at least $2.91 billion every year. This is according to iPass, provider of global mobile connectivity.
The cost is high because, as the report puts it, mobile professionals have an "insatiable need for connectivity". When traveling and working on the go, they spend on average 6GB every month. The report has an interesting conclusion -- free Wi-Fi is not always as free as you’d think. These connections, being available to everyone, can often be slow, unresponsive and crowded. Business users are then stuck on these slow connections, which are hurting their productivity, which then reflects on the bottom line.
So, free may not be as free as you’d imagine. They even came up with a figure. This loss in productivity can cost businesses anywhere between $767 and $1,159 per mobile professional each month.
"Connectivity has never been more important. Whether mobile professionals are trying to be productive by day or connect to friends and family by night, there is a tangible need to be connected all the time", says Patricia Hume, chief commercial officer of iPass.
"The direct and indirect costs of keeping mobile professionals connected are more than many businesses realize, highlighting the need for businesses to have greater visibility into their employees’ data usage. Cost-effective and secure connectivity is paramount, yet free Wi-Fi does not provide the simplicity and convenience that today’s mobile professionals require".
When connecting via cellular, UK mobile pros traveling internationally incur monthly costs between $155 and $1,124 -- cheapest compared to the US ($205 - $1,459), French (1,371 - $2,059) and German ($350 - $1,124) counterparts. Within Europe, they’d spend $101 - $184, close to what French and German mobile pros would spend. UK mobile pros incurred the greatest costs when purchasing Wi-Fi on demand.
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