Wireless Waste

Businesses in the United States spend a whopping 25% of their telecom budgets on wireless voice services, and much of that goes to waste, according to a new Yankee Group study.

The trouble? Often, there's no central oversight of cellular contracts, and monthly fees are paid in a hodgepodge fashion. The survey finds that 61% of companies buy voice services directly. But 39% leave some or all decision-making to employees, and, as a result, users frequently subscribe to the wrong rate plans or providers. Only 57% pay wireless vendors directly, 31% reimburse employees, and 12% have them pay out of their own pockets.

Reuters Information Inc. didn't wait for a study to highlight the problems. Its wireless-service decisions are made by a central office, helping the company get better deals with vendors. Moreover, says Troy Van Marter, director of CIO Services, Americas, the IT arm of Reuters, the publishing company uses services from Communication Research Consultants, which has analyzed Reuters' past bills to find billing mistakes and room for improvement, saving it $250,000 a year.