"koray parmaks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on 09/17/2008 04:11:56 PM: > I was forwarded this question from a non-technical forum because they know I > lurk here, but not enough to know the best answer myself. > > Here's the q: "Member has been challenged by the very large expenses > incurred with cell phones and hotel phones by a large group of employees > when travelling internationally. Member is seeking advice on a solution to > minimize expenses for both cell phone and hotel phones when travelling > abroad" > > Any advise is appreciated... A "calling card" is as good as I've got for the > moment. Multiple suggestions welcome!
Here are a few ideas: 1. You could setup DISA on your office PBX and put a 1-800 number on it. Most hotels allow local calls including 800 numbers. The employee would call the PBX, enter the DISA login and then place a call from your PBX. This doesn't work with cell phones 2. For cell phone use you could contact the cell provider and have them add a special roaming plan to your employee's phone when they travel. This can sometimes be done on a month-by-month basis. You don't have to pay for it all year if you only make a couple of trips. This only works if you are diligent enough to call before and after the trip. 3. You could use a GSM provider (like Rogers or Fido) and have the employee purchase a SIM card when away, it's usually about $20-$40 plus air time minutes. If the travel is to the same destination then the employee can use the SIM card on more than one trip and use pre-paid minutes to avoid monthly charges. The down side is that with some SIM "visitor plans" they can only accept calls, not place them. Also if your phone needs data access you may not be able to get that with a "visitor plan" or on a pay-as-you-go plan. 4. Use VoIP either with their laptop or a cell phone with WiFi capabilities. IIRC the new blackberries (8230) support WiFi. You may not even need a data plan to achieve that. The down side would be potential bad call quality if you attach to a WiFi network with poor performance.
