Another possible solution is to purchase individual bundles, often called bolt-ons or passports. These can be applied automatically, or through an internal application system. These products simply provide employees with data roaming and overseas voice services on a case-by-case basis, either indefinitely or day-by-day.
The passport system uses a set price for a certain amount of data roaming, voice calls, or both. This may or may not deliver good value depending on how the price is set and the precise requirements of your organisation. The advantage of this system is that you have greater control of who uses data and voice services, and transparency about what this costs.
The downside of this system is that it can potentially result in significant administrative work. Whoever manages the system, perhaps a facilities or IT team, need to keep track of who is using the passport account and when they are travelling to and from a destination. In the real world, people often neglect to mention when a trip is extended, or can only provide last-minute notice that they will be abroad.
When the system does not work well, there is definite scope for wastage to be incurred. For example, there have been instances where bolt-ons have been added onto a smartphone account for an employee at a rate of £100 or £300 per month, and payment continued for months after that person left the company or ceased to travel abroad regularly. While a well-managed system can deliver savings, it does not take much for this mechanism to get out of kilter. As such the automatic application can prove easier and more effective but only if the right price is obtained at contract negotiation.