How Business Traveler Simplified International Roaming using iPlum?

Experiences from our Customers

Tom R. wrote to us how iPlum helped him to take the “bill shock” out of business travel. His frequent overseas trips were making it a struggle to keep in touch. iPlum came to the rescue.

The Challenge: Huge International Roaming Charges

Frequent international travelers often find it hard to keep their phone bills in check. They would return from overseas trips and be shocked by the huge phone bills they ran up for roaming calls. The common street smart advice is to put the phone in “airplane mode” when you are overseas, but it can be frustrating when trying to stay in touch with business associates in home country and customers in the countries being visited.

“When you’re working across time zones, the lag time of email responses can delay or thwart business outcomes,” said Tom. “Last minute changes can be the norm, with the need to reschedule flights, hotels and meetings in the next country on your itinerary.” Travelers may also need to call local numbers to make dinner reservations, book daily activities, and work out meeting logistics.

The Solution: Call Any Number Worldwide Using iPlum Phone Number

“When you’re on a trip, you want to be able to make calls and be reachable by phone, without having to worry how much it might cost you in roaming charges,” Tom said. The key to keeping phone bills in check is to avoid getting hit with steep charges for roaming calls and roaming data.

Tom found that an iPlum phone number was a great solution for him – it worked as a second number on his mobile phone and cost only $4.99 per month.

“Calling & texting was available at very low rates in every country I visited, so I could easily communicate locally.”

Most places that Tom visits now have Wi-Fi data connectivity for checking email, searching on the web, looking up directions, posting to Facebook, and of course for making his iPlum calls.  For places where Wi-Fi is not available, he keeps a basic mobile data plan that he uses to make iPlum phone calls or take care of any last-minute arrangements. Tom disables automatic app syncing to save data while abroad. This also has a positive effect of saving battery life, so he’s not looking for charging stations all the time.

RESULTS

“Before I go on an international trip, I forward calls from my mobile number to my iPlum number. iPlum provides a US phone number, so colleagues can call me like a local call, no matter where I am.” said Tom. “No roaming charges, just the one cent per minute or text using iPlum credits. I am very happy that I found a way to get rid of those roaming charges that used to haunt me when I go on overseas business trips. Now I don’t leave home without iPlum.”