Kae Zulager

Apr 01 2016

Fie on Fools! What tricks have been played on you today?

Just like THIS SIGN, carrier marketers are sneaky brilliant advertisers. We have heard so many Carrier Quips that just end up being funny, we sometimes like to make a list. So, here it is, for your April fool’s day viewing pleasure, we have compiled some of our favorites.

Please hold, you are very important to us ………………………………………………………..…………………………………
Trust me
Turn it off and turn it back on again
Your credit has been posted to your account
I can’t help you with that but let me transfer you to someone who can….CLICK
You’ll have coverage there
I’m sorry to hear that
Please hold, you are very important to us ………………………..………………………………….………………………………………
Your rate plan change has been completed and will reflect on the next bill
No, we don’t give out confirmation numbers for your change
My name is Fred, I am located in the US and you will clearly understand what I am saying
By changing this rate plan, you will save $50 per month
We will manage your bill and call you when better rate plans come out
Your rate plan is only $9.99 per month
Your discount will post on your next bill
We are out of stock on that free device
We won’t throttle you
Please hold, you are very important to us …….………………………………………CLICK ****dial tone******

Also, if you have questions about saving your company money through the auditing, optimizing, or managing of wireless services, please click here to contact The Bill Police.

Still Protecting Your Wireless Rights, especially Cody today…….

Mar 29 2016

Apple Surpasses Android for Highest Data Usage per Month

Apple device average data use exceeded Android data use within this past year. See the graphic below for the data.

The overall average amount of traffic per smartphone in 2015 was 929 MB per month, up from 648 MB per month in 2014. But, if you look at the culprit, Apple devices have recently surpassed Android for the highest data usage per device (3.8 average GB per month vs 3.1 average GB per month for Android).

According to Cisco, this is a change from the 4 year previous period where Android data usage was higher than other smartphone operating systems. The below chart is what the usage looked like at the end of 2103, just as a comparison to how it looks now (above). Android phones use 2.2GB of data each month on average So, if you have lots of iPhone users, make sure to keep monitoring usage!

Also, if you have questions about saving your company money through the auditing, optimizing, or managing of wireless services, please click here to contact The Bill Police.

Still Protecting Your Wireless Rights…

Mar 25 2016

Haven’t looked at Buyback Programs Recently? Its worth a peek..

Haven’t looked at Buyback Programs Recently? It’s worth a peek…..

Do you have wireless devices that are no longer used? You can get dollars to return your devices to organizations that specialize in paying cold hard cash for your outdated equipment. Many Clients have been able to turn unused devices into cash in their pockets, and depending on your device types and quality, you may be able to cash in big!

Frequently, the buybacks will provide:

Cash compensation (the newer the device, the more valuable)
Safe and environmentally sound disposal of devices
Guaranteed secure “wipe” of devices insuring no critical or confidential data is left on recycled devices.

Many of our Clients have leveraged these programs and earned decent bucks back to help cover new or replacement equipment expense.

Often your carrier has an Affiliate Program with a buyback option or simply search in your browser for “Buyback Wireless” if you want to handle on your own. The buy backs will typically need to know what types of devices you have and how many (there will be restrictions on the conditions of the devices) and they will provide a written quote usually good for 30 days.

If you would like to learn more about renegotiating your wireless contract, be sure to request our free guide Save Without Switching! Get your Wireless Cheat Sheet. Simply click here to download your copy today.

Also, if you have questions about saving your company money through the auditing, optimizing, or managing of wireless services, please click here to contact The Bill Police.

Still Protecting Your Wireless Rights…

Mar 22 2016

Big Data: What is it, Why Does it Matter?

We love talking about Big Data because that’s what we do: all day every day. we’re pretty much the nerd super heroes of the wireless billing world.

What is Big Data, you say? Wikipedia says Big Data is a term for Data Sets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. And does this apply to Wireless bills, you ask? (do you really need to ask that – have you looked at your bill recently?) Indeed it does. Let’s look at how we at BPI view and use Big Data.

Billing data provides lots and lots and LOTs of billing data to review, analyze and act on (as you can see from the dude above getting pummeled by all the data). If you are not sure how many choices one has regarding wireless, visit our recent blog on the gargantuan options here.

Here’s a few tips on how to use Wireless Big Data to your benefit:

Data needs to be taken from the unorganized, unprioritized raw form into some more structured and manageable format. This can be done by putting raw data into table and/or database formats. You can do this on your own, but we at BPI have patented software and methodology to put the data into an easy format for analysis.
Next you need to analyze the data: sort what is meaningful from the extra noise and get some valuable trends to create efficiencies in your organization. An example of this would be to identify all the users who have more than one device: do they need several devices or is one at the bottom of a swimming pool sucking up resources while not being used?
Finally, you’ll want to turn these trends into either increased productivity or decreased cost. What are those users who have more than one device costing you? Do they need all those devices or can they be consolidated into one device? (thereby saving you money). Can you have a shared pool of devices for specific use only when the need arises?

Wikipedia concludes its Big Data Definition by stating: Additionally, Accuracy in Big Data may lead to more confident decision making, and better decisions can result in greater operational efficiency, cost reduction and reduced risk.

In other words, once the data is in a manageable format to identify trends, these are the kinds of results you can expect:

This is why we love Big Data so much: it provide BIG RETURNS!

Also, if you have questions about saving your company money through the auditing, optimizing, or managing of wireless services, please click here to contact The Bill Police.

Still Protecting Your Wireless Rights…

Mar 20 2016

Data Black hole users: A primer on what Clients are doing to monitor and reduce exceptional data usage:

There’s one in every company. The person who just can’t seem to stop watching every video on the internet that they find. I mean, how many times can you Post_091715 honestly watch the “Charlie Bit My Finger” video?

Tip #1: Provide a Mobile Device Policy. Bill Police has templates, but you can create your own policy that sets expectations for minutes, data and text usage per month (compare these to corporate averages) as well as how the device is intended to be used (not as a replacement for their home Cable Provider or for Netflix).

Tip #2 Address the usage: You can call them into the office for “a talk.” Gently explain to them that their data usage is out of line (provide examples if possible) and how it is costing the company to pay data overages.

Tip #3: Set A Limit

This tip will only work if you have the time and are willing to follow through on your limits. A couple of ideas to start- the employee has to reimburse the company, they have a data limit placed on their phone, or in the case of a multiple-offender, they are addressed for misuse of company property.

Tip #4: Suggest Apps

Give them suggestions on apps that can help them keep track of their phone minutes, texts, and data usage. A few popular ones for data are My Data Manager and Data Usage. For phone and text usage, carriers often have options for turning on alerts to phones, contact your representative to ask about your options.

Tip #5: Auto-Update on Cellular = Off and use WiFi

This goes for all employees, but make sure all phones only auto-update when connected to a WiFi network. This saves A LOT of unnecessary data usage and most apps will survive the maybe 2-hour wait until your employee gets back to the office.

Also, if you have questions about saving your company money through the auditing, optimizing, or managing of wireless services, please click here to contact The Bill Police.

Still Protecting Your Wireless Rights…

Kae Zulager

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