Could your company’s international call costs escalate post-Brexit?

With the shadow of Brexit beginning to loom over the country, you may be concerned with what will happen to your business once the country breaks away from the European Union.

If your company has already expanded to an international status by taking calls from different businesses from all over the world and plans to continue with them, you may be hit with some brutal post-Brexit roaming charges. It’s time to consider what your safety net is in regards to avoiding these charges and what your future business plan will look like.

Keep a steady head

Before you consider your business plan, remember that these charges will only appear if the UK does not leave the EU on March 2019 without any sort of withdrawal agreement in place. This means that any changes that happen to your data plan will not happen immediately.

In addition to this, it has been said that EU rules concerning roaming charges will continue to apply, so no additional charges will be made until the end of the transition period on 31^st December 2020. Therefore, keep calm and think through your business plan carefully.

Any larger projects may need to be completed before the end of 2020 so that any expensive changes to your business can be dealt with accordingly.

Consider your operator

Though prices may rise after 2020, it is important to take into account what your potential operators may be considering in light of the roaming charges. This will be extremely important should you choose to have additional numbers for your company to use to ring helplines or contact different company departments, as these may cause even more roaming charges.

Many phone companies have stated that they are still keen to maintain roaming availability for the UK. While Vodafone has said it is too soon to assess what the charges may be to Britain’s businesses, other companies such as Three, EE and O2 have said that they aim to continue as usual.

EE has even urged the government to keep putting “consumers at the top of their agenda in the Brexit negotiations to help ensure that UK operators can continue to offer low prices to our customers.” When 2020 comes around, then, be sure to keep an eye on these operators, as they may change their policies once the new roaming rules are in place.

Inadvertent roaming

Keep in mind that if you use any headsets or data usage devices or services, such as Skype, WhatsApp or any sort of social media device that connects to your mobile or business’s data plan, this could add to your roaming charges if you use them to speak to clients abroad. This is known as inadvertent roaming.

The best advice that the government can give on this is that, if the UK leaves without any deal, then any businesses should check their roaming data charges and start considering whether or not they should change providers. It is also wise to learn how to switch off your roaming services and begin to look into Wi-Fi providers instead of using data services.

Also, consider how a range of services from a telecommunications provider like Planet Numbers could help you to trim the expense of your international calls.