- Written by Dominic Stone - Account Director Mobile
- Connect with Dom on LinkedIn
When employees travel abroad, they’ll often receive unexpected mobile bills on their return. This becomes a nightmare for your finance team as unpredictable mobile expenditure causes havoc on the budget. Even minor background data usage or undefined roaming policies can lead to bill shock and result in costs far beyond your projections. To effectively manage business mobile costs when employees travel, and to ensure you are managing your businesses international roaming costs in a sustainable way, it’s crucial to understand hidden roaming costs and implement proactive solutions or switch to all-inclusive tariffs.
The hidden impact of auto-sync and background data usage
One of the most common causes of excessive roaming charges is background data usage and auto-syncing. Many business-critical apps such as email, cloud storage, collaboration tools, and messaging platforms are designed to sync continuously in the background. This means that even when a device is not actively in use, it may still be consuming data for updates, notifications, and file transfers.
For example, a travelling site surveyor’s phone might automatically back up hundreds of photos from client site visits to the corporate cloud during an overseas trip. While this might go unnoticed on a UK plan with inclusive data, it could result in hundreds of pounds in roaming costs when overseas, especially in regions where rates exceed £6 per MB. Businesses aiming at managing international roaming costs should consider implementing background data restrictions for all travelling devices.
Daily flat rate roaming fees soon stack up
Daily flat-rate roaming packages are also a common cause of inflated mobile bills. On the surface, these plans appear to offer predictable spending by charging a fixed daily fee for roaming. However, the small print often includes strict data limits sometimes as low as 500MB per day, and once those thresholds are reached, overage rates can soar. For instance, an employee attending a week-long conference abroad might stream a keynote over mobile data, quickly exhausting their daily allowance and triggering high per-MB charges for the rest of the day. By the time they return, what seemed like a capped daily rate could have doubled or tripled the expected bill.
Preventing bill shock is critical
Extreme bill shock cases are common. These happen when no spending cap is in place and employees unknowingly use data-heavy services while abroad. Consider an engineer on an urgent overseas project who uses video conferencing from a remote site with no Wi-Fi available. A few hours of high-definition video calls could generate thousands in charges in certain countries. Without proactive limits, alerts, or corporate roaming policies, even a short burst of unmonitored usage can cause serious financial damage.
One way to safeguard against extreme bill shock is to switch your employees to an all-inclusive roaming tariff such as the Opus VIP tariff designed for frequent travellers. This kind of approach is one of the most effective strategies for managing international roaming costs for businesses with high travel frequency.
How hidden international roaming costs effect mobile cost management
These hidden charges pose a major risk to businesses when employees travel. Unplanned expenses distort budgeting and open the door to security issues. Some businesses ask employees to switch off data roaming and use Wi-Fi where available. However, if employees resort to personal options like unsecured public Wi-Fi or consumer SIM cards, they are putting security at risk as not all public Wi-Fi is secure. Security considerations should be just as important as financial ones as the right solution will ensure you protect both your budget and your data.
Strategies to avoid hidden costs
We have written another useful blog with tips and tricks to help prevent roaming charges.
Here is a summarised version of how employees can avoid hidden costs when travelling abroad:
Disable Data Roaming by Default
Train employees to turn off data roaming or use airplane mode when abroad, enabling only secure Wi-Fi connections when needed. This is a simple but powerful step in managing international roaming costs effectively for business travel.
Promote Wi-Fi-Based Communication
Encourage the use of voice and video apps over Wi-Fi, and enable Wi-Fi calling where possible to avoid international voice charges.
Leverage eSIMs and Local/Global SIMs
eSIMs provide country or region-specific data plans at local rates. Depending on the frequency of travel, they can be more affordable than all-inclusive roaming tariffs.
Roaming SIMs with multi-IMSI or callback technology can automatically switch to the most cost-effective network.
Policies, Visibility & Controls
- Create a clear corporate travel policy outlining mobile usage expectations, approved roaming packages, and preferred providers.
- Use Mobile Device Management (MDM) or expense management tools to track and cap spending in real time.
Verify, Monitor & Cap Usage
- Confirm roaming plan details with the provider before travel.
- Set daily or total usage caps to prevent runaway costs.
These measures combined create a robust framework for managing international roaming costs for businesses while maintaining operational flexibility for travelling employees.
Corporate risk impact: The multiplier effect of roaming costs
Hidden roaming charges and bill shock, doesn’t just impact individual travellers. They can quickly snowball into a major business expense when multiplied across your workforce. Here are some example projections.
| Scenario | Example cost per employee | No. of travellers | Total cost impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background data syncing abroad | £150 for a week-long trip | 10 employees | £1,500 |
| Daily rate with overage fees | £60 per trip | 25 employees/year | £1,500 |
| Billing error (double charges) | £100 per trip | 15 employees/year | £1,500 |
| Bill shock incident | £3,000 for one high-data user | 1 case/year | £3,000 |
Annual Potential Impact: £7,500+ in avoidable costs
Solutions to help your business avoid international roaming costs
To manage corporate mobile costs when employees travel, awareness is your first line of defence. The safest and most cost-efficient way is to switch all employees who frequently travel to an all-inclusive tariff such as the Opus VIP one. It’s a premium business mobile contract with fixed international roaming charges. One fixed monthly cost gives you everything, with no overages, no roaming charges, and no limits.
Alternatively, you might choose to implement eSIMs and roaming-friendly packages, enforce strong mobile usage policies, train employees, and use real-time monitoring tools to pre-empt bill shock. These strategies, when combined, form a complete plan for managing international roaming costs for businesses of all sizes.
Get in touch to speak to one of our mobile consultants today to discuss the best option for your business needs. They can audit your current plans and provide a comparative cost saving with some of the options mentioned in this blog.
