Who Picks Up the Cellular Tab?

It's common for enterprises to pay the bills for wireline telephone services, even when employees make personal calls. But it's just the opposite for mobile phones.

In a survey of 1,023 business users, In-Stat found that a slight majority have employees submit an expense report for business calls made on a personal mobile phone. But the time spent completing reports and reviewing bills ends up costing the company more than if it just paid the entire bill outright, according to In-Stat.

What to do? Fixed-mobile convergence may be a good compromise. By having all calls go through the PBX, organizations can centralize auditing functions without wasting time on expense reports. In addition, Sprint and other carriers are rolling out services that let enterprises better audit employees' mobile usage. --Sean Ginevan, [email protected]