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Wireless Expense Management Feature Article
October 20, 2009
'Ghost' Charges Forewarn Need for Wireless Expense Management
By Erin Harrison, Senior Editor
When it comes to managing wireless expenses, companies don’t always take into consideration “ghost” charges such as text messaging and directory assistance fees, which can ring up unforeseen costs. As the cell phone has transformed into a smartphone, it brings with it new sets of available services that were not before on previous bills.
According to Wireless Analytics, 411 directory assistance fees range from $1.49-$3.49 for each call – with estimates placing the revenue to carriers at $8 billion.
“Text messaging is not free and typically users are unaware of the cost to their organization,” explained Erik Eames, managing director of Danvers, Mass.-based Wireless Analytics. The issue, he said, is overages with most carriers charging $0.20 to $0.50 over their specific plans.
“Calls made to third-party toll free numbers in this case is not free for anyone. The wireless user is charged for making the call and the toll free subscriber pays to receive the call. This is especially important to consider when employees call back to the office using their corporate toll-free number,” he said.
Just because you are able to make a call to another country on your mobile device, Eames added, does not mean it’s free or at the same rate as your corporate landline. Most wireless carriers do have discount calling plans but they need to be activated otherwise fees can be very high.
“For example, on AT&T (News - Alert), the fee per minute on a mobile user dialing from the states to a Greek landline is $.09 cents but to another mobile is $2.52 and with a plan it’s $0.32 so it’s quite a delta with regard to fees and most users are not aware of it,” Eames said.
There are also fees associated when the caller waits to hear the auto-attendant (which can take up to 40 seconds) to allow you leave a message or pickup a message. According to Wireless Analytics, there are short cuts, such as dialing [*1#]. As soon as you hear the auto-attendant, Eames said, you can press [*1#], which in most cases allows the caller to bypass the message.
“The key is that each carrier has its own prompt, for example Verizon (News - Alert) is [*], but if you do not know the user’s carrier when making the call by simply pressing the three buttons it should automatically cover the major four carriers. In the case of ringtones and third-party downloads, users are usually led to believe they are downloading something for free (maybe for the first month) but the reality is that so many of these application fees tend to stay on the invoice indefinitely,” Eames warned.
For enterprise customers concerned about their mobile billing, steadily rising data costs could force them to consider cost-saving solutions and a wireless expense management plan.
“Even when a user cancels or discontinues a service they often magically reappear a few months later, which is why we call them ‘ghost’ charges. They seem to appear out of no aware…now that really is scary,” said Eames.
Erin Harrison is a Senior Editor with TMC. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Erin Harrison
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About Wireless Analytics
For years, Wireless Analytics has been helping organizations achieve long-term benefits from their wireless programs. We are your independent partner to determine the best solutions for your wireless communications needs. ...
