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There was a cheer as Verizon Communications' announced a 31% profit increase for the third quarter of 2008.  Enterprises should know that these earnings came from operating margins of 44.2% on wireless services and continued growth in subscribers. There are a couple of strategies and tips that you can implement today to get control of your spending on wireless services.

What Do These Earnings Mean to Enterprises?

         

Verizon Communications' profit for the third quarter of 2008 increased by 31%. This increase came mainly from its Verizon Wireless business which is a joint venture with Vodafone Group PLC. There are two main trends from the earnings that are significant for enterprises. First, the wireless business continues to add new subscribers with 1.5 million new additions in the third quarter. Second, Verizon posted a wireless operating margin of 44.2%. These achievements contrast sharply with the loss of more than one million access lines in the third quarter. While Verizon's business unit for enterprises grew its revenue by 1.2% wireless is clearly leading the way. 

 

What Do These Earnings Mean to Enterprises?

While it is great to see a company doing well, enterprises should target this lucrative area.  Most enterprises' spending on wireless services is out of control. There are a couple strategies that you can implement to get control of your budget.

1. Create an inventory of wireless devices and reconcile your billing with an updated listing of current employees. If your organization has gone through downsizing, you will find savings in disconnecting services of former employees. 
2. Confirm that all subsidized devices are for employees that are eligible for wireless services.
3. Use the inventory to identify services (text messaging, subscriptions to entertainment/sports websites, e-mail) and other charges (fees for downloaded ringtones, music, and games) that the enterprise should not be paying. 
4. Enforce your policies for the use of wireless devices. If you do not have a policy or it is out of date, this is a great time to meet with senior management to get their buy in on savings through establishing or updating a policy.
5. Promote an awareness campaign that targets unnecessary expenses from out of network peak minute calling, SMS messages and directory assistance. Dialing 411 can cost $1.25 to $3.00 per call. Users can call 1-800-Goog-411 to eliminate this expense.
6. Evaluate opportunities to optimize service plans with pooled plans and be sure that the minutes in the pools are not being forfeited each month. Once again if your organization has downsized, there will probably be extra minutes that are not being consumed each month.   

These are quick tips that organizations can take to reduce their spending on wireless expenses. If you do not have the resources to implement theese programs look to see if you can borrow a resource from another department or look to a provider of wireless mobility expense management. An effective program will pay for itself. Many consultants provide cost savings estimates from a quick evaluation of your billing that you can use to cost justify the program.  

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