Five Questions to Ask about International Connectivity 

The global marketplace requires businesses to work with customers, suppliers, partners and colleagues all around the world. But there's a growing problem with this picture. Traditional GSM mobile networks fail to support global business communications requirements in four key ways : performance, cost, availability and innovation. 

• Performance: Using a mobile device abroad is slow and quality is reduced. 

• Cost: Calling internationally and roaming is expensive. 

• Availability: Users are less available to their international contacts. 

• Innovation: Network structures stand in the way of innovation. 

In a hyper-mobile and globalized economy, businesses that seek competitive advantage need a mobile network designed for their international business patterns. One which enables employees to be as productive abroad as they are at home, which can scale to meet their evolving communications needs, and one they can rely on for high-quality service and operational excellence. 

Checklist 

Use this handy checklist of the five questions you should be asking your mobile service provider to ensure your organization is getting the best and most cost-effective service to match its international business patterns. 

How is mobile traffic routed when users are abroad? 

Traditional operators connect customers via one point of presence (POP) in their home country. That means that all usage for that customer travels via a number of third-party networks, through that single point, regardless of where the customer is located in the world. Forcing traffic to travel long distances this way slows data speeds, impairs voice quality and escalates costs. 

1GLOBAL is different because it has arrangements with top-tier operators around the world. By routing traffic to and from 220 countries through the nearest POP (rather than the one back home), 1GLOBAL reduces the physical distance it has to travel, thereby reducing latency, improving data speeds and voice quality and reducing cost. 

How seamless is switching between networks when a user travels? 

Disruption to network performance when a customer travels internationally can negatively affect business productivity. 

To better manage the user experience internationally, 1GLOBAL has created two patented innovations – the 1GLOBAL eSIM, and the International Mobile Subscriber Identity Broker (IMSI Broker). 

When a user arrives in a country supported by 1GLOBAL, the eSIM communicates with the local network and is automatically switched to a local identity by the IMSI Broker. From that point onwards, the SIM operates just like a local SIM – with local data speeds, local call quality and local costs. Within the growing '1GLOBAL Zone' of supported countries, users are local. 

Can users benefit from additional, local numbers on the same eSIM? 

When an international prospect chooses to call a local provider, or an overseas supplier delays providing an important update, businesses suffer. The value of these lost conversations is much greater than the cost of the call. 

1GLOBAL customers can choose to purchase additional numbers for any country within the '1GLOBAL Zone' – an expanding group of countries that currently includes the UK, US, Germany, Spain, Poland, Australia, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. 

These additional, local numbers are always on and connect to a single voicemail,  all on a single eSIM. Customers can give contacts in the 1GLOBAL Zone a local number, so they are always seen as local by those contacts, no matter where they are in the world. 

It's all handled by a patented innovation called Smart Caller ID, which automatically selects the correct number to display in every scenario. It requires no user interaction, and users simply dial as normal. 

How easy is to get help if users have a problem? 

Most operators have dedicated call centers to support international users. However, 1GLOBAL is different in the sense that it is built to support global users. 

When customers have questions or need help, they simply dial 707 from nearly anywhere in the world to reach award-winning, 24/7 customer services team. 

1GLOBAL provides customer services in eight languages. It has "boots on the ground" in multiple countries. Some customers have experienced first-hand how a forgotten phone on one continent can result in a hand-delivered replacement in another. 

Are you able to offer new innovations and integrations, such as voice and SMS recording? 

1GLOBAL manages, routes and rates all traffic in its core as Internet Protocol (IP) traffic. This enables new commercial and technical innovations, as well as seamless integration with other communication networks. 

One such integration already being used is 1GLOBAL Mobile Recording, which integrates cloud recording into the 1GLOBAL network. This enables businesses to record and store their mobile communications in a secure system. The product is designed to help financial services comply with emerging regulations in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. 

Several new integrations are already planned, including integration with various enterprise Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling networks. 

We offer business mobile connectivity plans for individual professionals who regularly work away from home, and shared mobile plans, suitable for businesses of all sizes.