Freedom to Roam
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Home Editorial JANUARY 2016 How changes in mobile roaming charges will affect business users CWEurope Will the Paris terror attacks spur France to compromise data protection measures? Freedom to roam The abolition of mobile roaming The 4G network in France: The business charges will benefit European user opportunity businesses, consumers and mobile network operators alike Testing software: It’s time for CIOs to raise their game Inside Taiwan: The engine room of the internet of things Delivering success with DevOps computerweekly.com FLY_DRAGONFLY/ISTOCK CW EDITOR’S COMMENT Computer Weekly HOME 2nd Floor, 3-4a Little Portland Street Home London W1W 7JB General enquiries 020 7186 1400 Editorial EDITORIAL Editor: Karl Flinders Forthcoming freedom from roaming 020 7186 1423 | [email protected] How changes in mobile roaming Editor charges in chief: will Bryan Glick 020affect 7186 business 1424 | [email protected] users charges across Europe will benefit all PRODUCTION WillProduction the Paris editor: terror Claire Cormack 020attacks 7186 1417 spur | [email protected] to compromise data protectionSenior sub-editor: measures? Jason Foster his month, CW Europe looks in-depth at an issue that is set to affect people across all 28 European Union member states – the 020 7186 1420 | [email protected] abolition of mobile roaming charges, set for mid-2017. Sub-editor: Jaime Lee Daniels 020The 7186 4G 1417network | [email protected] in Up to now, most media coverage of mobile roaming charges has centred on the phenomenon known as “bill shock”, oth- France: The business T erwise known as that sinking feeling you get when you return from a vacation to find a much larger mobile phone bill than you user opportunitySALES Sales director: Brent Boswell ever expected. 07584 311889 | [email protected] However, this is not just a consumer issue; it is one that is set to affect enter- Testing software: It’s time for CIOs to prises all over Europe. THE END OF MOBILE ROAMING raise theirPublished game by TechTarget On balance, the changes look set to be a real boon for European business 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466 travellers. We explore some of the likely outcomes for European enterprises, CHARGES LOOKS SET TO BE A Inside Taiwan:www.techtarget.com The such as increased productivity and less stress for employees on the move, and engine room of the REAL BOON FOR UROPEAN internet© 2016 TechTarget of things Inc. No part of this consider whether or not the end of mobile roaming charges will lead to more E publication may be transmitted or reproduced enterprises adopting video-conferencing services or implementing a bring your In any form or by any means without written BUSINESS TRAVELLERS permissionDelivering from success the publisher. TechTarget own device (BYOD) policy. reprints are available through The YGS Group. with DevOps We will also be examining some of the less obvious implications of the About TechTarget new European legislation, such as what it could mean for providers of Wi-Fi networking services and how mobile network operators TechTarget publishes media for information technology professionals. More than 100 might respond. focused websites enable quick access to a deep store of news, advice and analysis about This month’s CW Europe also asks whether November’s terrorist attacks in Paris might compromise data protection as governments the technologies, products and processes attempt to tighten security. n crucial to your job. Our live and virtual events give you direct access to independent expert commentary and advice. At IT Knowledge Alex Scroxton Exchange, our social community, you can get advice and share solutions Networking editor, Computer Weekly with peers and experts. cw europe January 2016 2 MOBILE ROAMING Home Editorial How changes in mobile legislation How changes in mobile roaming charges will affect business users will affect organisations across Europe Will the Paris terror attacks spur France As roaming charges take a hike out of the EU, Alex Scroxton considers the implications for businesses users to compromise data protection measures? The 4G network in t has been a long time coming, but at the end of October 2015 At face value, very little looks set to change, according to Dan France: The business – in a vote overshadowed by the issues surrounding net neu- Howdle, editor-in-chief of broadband and mobile comparison site user opportunity Itrality regulations – the European Parliament finally waved Cable.co.uk, who starts by pointing out that most businesses that through legislation that will put an end to mobile roaming charges can afford to pay to fly their employees around Europe have been Testing software: It’s time for CIOs to in the 28 European Union (EU) member states on 15 June 2017. able to afford roaming costs up to now. raise their game Mobile roaming charges have been a long-standing bugbear for European consumers jetting off to the Mediterranean for their A little less stress, a little less cost Inside Taiwan: The engine room of the holidays in the sun. Barely a summer goes by without a new round But there will be one meaningful difference that will make life internet of things of complaints about the phenomenon, known as “bill shock”. This easier for the number-crunchers back at home. is when a traveller returns home to find a mobile phone bill much “No more will accounts departments have to brave the mire of Delivering success higher than expected – a problem that has got worse in recent business travel plans, add-ons, daily rates, data overages, usage with DevOps years with the advent of 4G networks and data-heavy services. blockages or indeed the myriad differences between EU and But the problems associated with roaming charges are not con- global roaming,” says Howdle. fined to the consumer sphere. With hundreds of thousands of “The same as it is at home is something we can all understand business travellers moving around the EU – who rely on being able and, by that token – in its own way – it empowers business users to access emails, download reports and increasingly use services with a little more freedom and a little less stress,” he adds. such as video-conferencing from anywhere – bill shock can hit the If merely causing your accountants less stress is the aim of the enterprise world as well. So how will the EU’s legal changes affect game, then apparently it’s mission accomplished – but how about the business user? some statistics to show to the auditors? cw europe January 2016 3 MOBILE ROAMING Home Editorial Earlier in 2015, Wi-Fi hotspot aggregator iPass – which controls At Blue Jeans Network, a provider of high-definition enterprise a global network with millions of access points and takes a keen video services, the end of roaming charges is an opportunity for How changes in mobile interest in the use of mobile devices when travelling internation- its business to really let rip in the EU, according to Europe, Middle roaming charges will affect business users ally – produced a Business Traveller Connectivity Cost Index. This East and Africa (Emea) general manager James Campanini. gives some insight into the costs of roaming to businesses today Blue Jeans already sees more than a billion minutes of paid Will the Paris terror – and hence the savings from June 2017. video flowing across its network, and hopes to see a substantial attacks spur France The report claimed the average business traveller consumed uptick with the end of roaming charges. to compromise data protection measures? 760MB of data every day, or around 4.5GB per month, based on Ubiquitous network access across Europe will mean people are an assumed average of six days out of the user’s home country. far more willing to use cloud services, says Campanini. It may The 4G network in Use of Skype for Business, Webex-type services and enterprise France: The business virtual private networks (VPNs) were the biggest data sinks. user opportunity The report revealed that, opting to use a predominantly mobile connection while on a business trip, the average European travel- Testing software: It’s time for CIOs to ling on the continent costs their company anywhere between €77 raise their game and €384 per day, or around €900 per month, even following the introduction of caps on roaming charges in 2012 and their reduc- The average business Inside Taiwan: The traveller in Europe currently engine room of the tion in 2014. internet of things Nevertheless, iPass’s statistics make it very clear that the elimi- costs their company nation of roaming charges represents a substantial cost benefit between €77 and Delivering success for businesses. €384 per day with DevOps Meanwhile, mobile security management provider Wandera CEO Eldar Tuvey claims that as much as 10% of the average total cost of ownership of enterprise mobile devices in the UK is made up of roaming top-ups – and 43% is made up of bill shock events. “The new laws from the EU will, of course, reduce the likelihood of bill shock and the need for roaming top-ups, and will have a dramatic impact on these costs for enterprises whose employees travel in Europe,” he says. ANYABERKUT/ISTOCK cw europe January 2016 4 MOBILE ROAMING Home Editorial even mean more people are tempted to use their own devices for The impact on operators working while abroad, so businesses will need to pay far more Some might expect that European MNOs would be up in arms How changes in mobile than just lip service to mobile device security. at the European Parliament closing off a lucrative revenue roaming charges will affect business users stream – but that may not necessarily be the case, says Jennifer And now for the bad news Kyriakakis, founder and vice-president of marketing at software Will the Paris terror However, even with the cost savings, it is not all good news.