The true cost of 3G

Justifying the cost of 3G connections isn’t straightforward. They add anything from £10 to £30 per month per person to your overheads, and you’ll almost certainly be tied into a contract lasting from 12 to 24 months. Here, we examine where you might be able to make savings elsewhere to justify the cost, and why continuing to use other methods to get online could be a false economy.

Can I dump my BlackBerry?

One possible cost saving is to downgrade your fleet of BlackBerrys and mobile phones – or stop supporting them altogether – in favour of equipping staff with always-connected laptops instead.

Some people certainly will need to have constant access to email, with the phone buzzing in their pocket every time a new message is received, but the reality is that most people’s job doesn’t involve them responding to emails instantly.

The only surefire way to work out who needs a BlackBerry-style device and who would get more benefit from a 3G-enabled notebook is to speak to them (or, if you’re part of a large business, speak to a representative sample). Go through exactly what they use their phone for, and talk through what benefits they would get from a constantly connected notebook.

Though people may initially be unwilling to give up their BlackBerry, faced with an alternative that offers a far more pleasant interface to their email plus constant access to the office network, they may be quickly swayed.

How much do you currently spend on keeping people connected? And what’s the risk?

Many companies rely on ad-hoc connections to keep their mobile workforce connected to the office network. Perhaps they use public Wi-Fi hotspots; perhaps they hop onto a client’s machine when visiting an office; perhaps they use their home broadband connection.

All of these methods come with a cost and a risk. Using wireless hotspots can cost a significant amount of money, whether you pay for the occasional 30 minutes or subscribe on a monthly basis. Often businesses don’t keep track of this expense, with it being signed off along with the coffee and croissant at Heathrow.

It’s also all too simple to spoof a Wi-Fi hotspot, giving it a convincing name (Openzone) or an alluring one (Free Public Wi-Fi) that lures people into a false sense of security. Once they’re logged on, it’s easy for the hotspot owner to log details, from credit cards to sensitive company information.

When visiting a client, your staff may be tempted to use a PC there to check email or more. Not only is this unprofessional, it also comes with an inherent risk: Windows’ habit of offering to save passwords (which may be on by default) means there’s a big likelihood your employee will leave his email – and potentially your network – open to all-comers.

A home broadband connection should theoretically be safer, but according to Moneysupermarket.com [www.pcpro.co.uk/news/221856] 16% of home networks are still left unsecure. This brings data risks but also the possibility of viruses from other machines on the home network.

Conclusion

While initially it may seem like 3G is a big extra cost to your business, in reality there could be other savings you can make. When you factor in other advantages a full, always-on internet connection could have to your mobile workforce, especially if they’ll be using a VPN to connect to the office network, the benefits of mobile broadband are clear.

At the same time, some members of your workforce will get greater benefit from a BlackBerry, and for others there’s no real justification for such a sophisticated solution. Just be sure to weigh up the risks, including missed opportunities, as well as the costs.