A Texas-based company is using the Internet for businesses and consumers interested in finding out if they are paying too much for their wireless service.
Validas Inc. offers a Web site where customers simply upload their bill online. Patent-pending technology used by Validas does the rest. The company said its software is able to identify billing errors and provides usage reports to show clients how they use their cellphones, which is an important factor in determining whether they are paying for the right voice and data plans.
For a customer with less than 50 accounts, Validas said a report is issued within minutes. For a large company with hundreds of accounts, it may take a couple of hours to get the results.
“There are a lot of things businesses and customers should not be paying for,” said Ed Finegold, who heads up business development and market analysis for Validas. “We take a hard look at a customer’s bill. We do a full analysis and make sure we point the customer to the right plan.”
Validas, which is located in Missouri City, is one of many companies in the United States that has set up shop to help businesses and consumers manage their cellphone accounts.
Validas said that it was able to cut DVD distribution company The New Release/Moviecube’s wireless bill by 20%, for an annual savings of more than $200,000.
With more than 2,200 DVD rental kiosks located in various supermarkets in the United States and Canada and a workforce of 150 armed with mobile phones, the company was paying about $125,000 per month for voice and data wireless services. The monthly bill would be detailed in hundreds of pages.
“It’s not productive to go through and itemize the bills,” said Tracy Terrell, CTO for The New Release/Moviecube. “We were trying to manage 2,300 to 2,400 lines.”
Once Validas analyzed the company’s wireless plans, The New Release/Moviecube officials were shown where they could save money and were given advice in how to reduce wireless data charges at the remote kiosks, which rely on Verizon Wireless’ data network. The analysis uncovered the company was paying for ringtones and other unnecessary downloads employees added to their handsets, Finegold said. The company was also paying for unlimited data usage for each kiosk.
Armed with the information, the company was able to negotiate with its wireless provider separate fees for high-volume kiosks and kiosks with less data usage. Terrell said Verizon Wireless was willing to work with the company to renew the contract.
To ensure customers are paying for the right plan, Validas has created a database that includes rate and usage plans for all the major carriers.
With this information, Finegold said customers, especially businesses, can negotiate better wholesale prices with their wireless provider.
“This changes the interaction between the company and the provider from a sales interaction to a loyalty interaction,” he said.
The company claims on its Web site it has audited almost 11,500 phone bills with a total savings of $2.1 million. It touts the average yearly savings at $500 for customers with one to five phones. Average savings for customers with six to 400 phones is about $11,000.
Finegold said the company has 10 employees and it’s expected to grow. The bulk of the company’s customers are businesses, including companies that have thousands of cellphone accounts.
Wireless management on the rise
As more applications become available and more companies provide workers with wireless devices, bill servicing is going to grow.
“We are just starting to scratch the surface in what the upside of this is,” Finegold said.
Francis Adanza, head of business development and marketing for Global West Communications Inc., agrees. The San Diego-based company was initially started five years ago to help customers transition from one carrier to another. As the company worked with clients, billing became a huge issue. Last year, the company decided to concentrate on helping clients with their bills.
“Businesses don’t have enough time to go through each bill one at a time,” Adanza said. “They either spend a significant amount of time looking at the bill or ignore it, which means they will probably lose money if there are errors.”
Adanza said its clients are small businesses, including construction firms that don’t have information technology departments.
“Businesses are looking to make their life easier,” Adanza said.
Marlethea Burcham, a project manager for Bosa Development in San Diego, has hired Global West to handle its 10 wireless accounts, noting managing just 10 accounts “was a pain.”
