With Smartphones getting smarter and networks getting faster, using your phone to video chat, stream music and binge watch on Netflix is getting easier and easier. In 2012, the average data usage per person was 201MB. In 2015 this number exploded to 1.8GB (A 900% increase).  By 2018, this number is expected to exceed 4.7GB/user/month. How people used their phones is equally dynamic. In 2012, people spent an average of 63% of their time using business related apps such as email etc. In 2015, people spent a total of 17% of their time using business and productivity apps. 83% of their time was used on data hungry, non-business related apps.¹   The diagram below shows how people use their mobile devices today.

Per Employee, How Much Is Too Much Data Usage?

If your company is paying for your employees’ data, how much data should an average employee use each month on business related applications?

Although the cost per GB has decreased, the demand has increased and is projected to continue to do so.  Aside from blocking all non-business related applications, here are some easy tips that can minimize your employees’ data usage and your company’s costs.

 Tips To Reduce Your Employees’ Data Usage.  

By changing the following settings in your employee’s mobile phones,  your company will significantly reduce your data usage and your company’s mobile costs.

1.  Always use Wi-Fi when available

It is easy to automatically connect to a secure Wi-Fi network at home or at the office.  Just go to your device’s settings, make sure your Wi-Fi is on and log on to the wireless network. Your device will remember the network and log on automatically whenever it’s in range.

2.  No video or music streaming unless you’re on Wi-Fi!  NO large files.

Media streaming can easily be the most draining activity for your data plan, and you should absolutely avoid it if you’re not connected to a Wi-Fi network.

3.  Monitor and turn off data hungry apps

Be sure to prevent unnecessary data hungry apps from using cellular data. On an iPhone, go to Settings – Cellular and toggle them off one-by-one.

4.  Shut off your apps

Closing apps when you’re done using them can also reduce data usage. Many open apps—especially those that provide location services—will continue sending and receiving data even when your phone or tablet is locked. This not only wastes data, but can also drain your battery.  On an iPhone double click the home button and flick away apps to shut them.

5.  Disable Wi-Fi Assist

When trying to supplement a weak Wi-Fi signal, Wi-Fi Assist uses Cellular Data to help with bad service. While this does help, you could unknowingly be using a bunch of data. To disable the feature on an iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app and find Cellular.
2. Scroll to the bottom and slide the toggle for Wi-Fi Assist OFF.

6. Disable Background App Refresh

This is a very common trick to save on data. Apps can update in the background, while you are not using them and this, of course, consumes data. This can be disabled and won’t really affect how you interact with your phone.  It also saves battery.  On the iPhone:

1. Go to Settings -> General and find Background App Refresh.
2. Open the menu and disable the function at the top. The apps will go from green to blank.
3. You can review the list of apps that had Background Refresh below the toggle.

7.  Customize your phone’s auto-backup settings

All popular smartphones these days have features for automatically backing up your data. While this can be great, you should check your relevant app’s settings as soon as possible, and customize them so the app is only allowed to use Wi-Fi for uploading backups.

8.  Disable Automatic Downloads on Cellular Data

Automatic application updates can use a lot of cellular data.  Instead, wait until you are connected to Wi-Fi before downloading and updating your apps.

1. In Settings find App and iTunes Stores.
2. In the Apps and iTunes Stores section, you’ll see Use Cellular Data. Turn this off and you’re good to go.

9.  Disable Video Autoplay on Cellular Network

Some social apps such as Facebook and Twitter have a feature which auto plays videos automatically using a lot of data.  To disable Facebook, for example, on iOS devices, go to Settings > Facebook > Settings. Under the Video section, turn on “Auto-play on Wi-Fi only.”  On Android devices, go to App Settings from within the Facebook app, then check the box next to “Auto-play videos on Wi-Fi only.”

10. Turn Off Cellular Data Usage for iCloud

If you use iCloud to move files back and forth between devices, this could lead to higher than usual data usage.  Turning this off can help:

1. Open Settings and go to iCloud.
2. In the iCloud section tap on iCloud once more
3. Scroll to the bottom and disable “Use Cellular Data.”
4. Last Resort: Avoid using cellular data completely

As a last resort you can turn off cellular data completely.

1. Settings -> Cellular
2. Turn Cellular Data OFF.

For assistance with these tips and others to reduce your mobile spend, please contact Optelcon at:

 Mobility Operations and Customer Care

Email: Email: Mobile Operations

Phone:  877-574-7566

Web: www.optelcon.com

WHAT IS SIP AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is an internet protocol like HTTP. SIP makes it possible to securely connect voice, video and data calls through the internet or private cloud based network.

THE BASICS

The number of PRI/T-1’s or POTS lines decide how many concurrent calls or (call paths) you can make between your company’s PBX and the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network); through the Bell Central Office. In the example below 2 PRI (23 call paths each), would need to be purchased. (See below).

THE NUMBERS

The following table provides the average ratio of SIP trunks per user across multiple business types.   Each company is different however.  A manufacturing company may only need a 10% ratio where a call center or brokerage firm may need a 90% ratio.

In the old days, people used Erlang formulas to calculate trunk requirements.

Thankfully these calculators can be found on a number of websites.  Here is a link to one of them.  PBX Channel Calculator. 

WHY DOES THE RATIO OF TRUNKS GET SMALLER WITH MORE USERS?

If you have a 2 person office, it is likely that both users could be on calls at the same time.  You would need a 1:1 ratio or 2 trunks.  If you have an office of 10 people, typically only 60% of the people may need to be on concurrent calls.  And so on…  As your population gets larger, statistically the % of people on the phone declines.

HOW DOES SIP WORK IN A MULTI-LOCATION ENVIRONMENT?

I will use the following example of a company with 5 offices, each with 100 people.

Using traditional methods, your company would have to install, and pay for, 2 PRI (46 call capacity each) for a total of 10 PRI and a call capacity of 460 concurrent calls.  This is wasted spend.  SIP providers aggregate all of your calls to the PSTN using their own switch. By aggregating these calls, your company can apply the trunk ratios based on the total of all users, from all locations.  In the case above, instead of paying for 460 trunks using PRI, your company may only need 150-200 SIP trunks.  This represents a significant savings.

HOW DOES MY COMPANY CONNECT TO A SIP NETWORK?

Companies that use PRI’s typically need two different connections.  The PRI for voice and a separate data connection for the internet or private network.  SIP can either be provided as a separate data connection from the SIP provider or can be delivered using your existing internet/private network connection.  This eliminates the need for two separate circuits.  To ensure voice quality, a (fast lane) is established inside your data connection.  This means that spikes in data will not take away bandwidth from the SIP lane. This prevents the garbled or digitized sound that was prevalent when Voice over IP first came out.  You may however, need to increase bandwidth to accommodate the additional voice calls.  Given the low-cost of bandwidth today, it is typically still more cost-effective than a PRI + Data connection.

Buying SIP services does not come without risks.  At 10,000 feet, things seem pretty simple. At 1 inch, things can get complex.  When it comes to selecting a SIP vendor, it is important to choose the right features, technical specifications and to negotiate the right terms and pricing. Since no company is going to highlight their weaknesses, it is best to work with a company that has had real world experience with these services and companies.

For further information and/or a complementary evaluation please contact us.

A detailed Review of Interval, Attainment and Term Revenue Commitments

After negotiating hundreds of contracts, from dozens of carriers, for clients ranging from global 50 to $50M/year in revenue, I feel I have a unique perspective on this topic.  In my experience, I have found that revenue commitments, are to a large extent, arbitrary.  Although contrary to popular belief, I regularly find that companies who spend $1M/year will get better rates than companies who spends $10M/year with that same vendor. (I will explain why and how to avoid this phenomenon in another post).

Revenue Commitments Are Designed To:

• Generate predictable revenue streams for carriers
• Insure that the clients are captive customers
• Defend current revenues from would be competitors
• Create significant negotiating advantages at contract renewals
• Increase margins over time

• MARC – Minimum Annual Revenue Commitment
• Take Or Pay – Either Use A Minimum Amount Or Pay For It Anyway.
• MMRC – Minimum Monthly Revenue Commitment
• MAC – Minimum Annual Commitment
• ARC – Annual Revenue Commitment

The table below demonstrates the one of the most negative aspects of an annual commitment.

In this case, the customer has already spent more than the aggregate committed dollar amount by month 21. Since the customer still has the 3rd year commit to satisfy, the customer is stuck for the duration.  During year 3, the customer will still have to give the carrier an additional $720K to satisfy the 3rd year annual commitment.  In effect, the real commitment ends up being $3.12M. ($2.4M for years 1 and 2 + $720k for year 3)  Unfortunately, most of the agreements we see before renegotiating have a 30-60 day auto-renewal clause. By the time your company has satisfied the commitment, there is only 2-3 months left to do anything about it. Since the incumbent knows it can take 4-6 months to move a large data network to another carrier, the customer no longer has any leverage in the form of a credible alternative.  Advantage: (Vendor)

In this example, the 60% revenue commitments remains the same however, we have removed the annual minimum requirement.

By taking this approach, the customer satisfies the total $2.1M commitment in month 22 of 36.  This means that the customer no longer has any obligation to the carrier, but the carrier is obligated to keep the current rates and terms in place for the next 14 months.   The customer is in complete control at this point.  Figuratively speaking, the Sword of Damocles is transferred from over the head of the customer to that of the carrier.  Negotiating from a position of complete control enables our clients to get better SLAs, terms and pricing than companies with a less favorable negotiating position.  Advantage: (Customer)