How portable global internet connectivity can solve business travellers’ biggest headache
- Forecasts in 2020 suggest advanced connectivity could boost productivity and job creation and lift global gross domestic product by up to US$2 trillion by 2030
- Economic opportunities have stimulated fast development of telecommunication firms eager to provide hyperconnectivity solutions, including Cloud SIM technology
Frequent business travellers have long had to deal with mobile connectivity issues. Their choice is often between having to switch to a SIM card of unknown reliability or paying exorbitant roaming charges.
A 2019 study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found that business travellers expect to be connected throughout their trips, even during flights. Another of its surveys found that only 34 per cent of companies paid for Wi-fi on aeroplanes in 2010, but the number jumped to more than 75 per cent in 2019, Suzanne Neufang, GBTA’s CEO, says.
“The key for lots of business travellers tends to be how well-connected your mobile device is,” she says. “The ability to connect your devices through things like mobile hotspots is very important.”
Non-negotiable necessity today
She says a 2019 travel survey showed 80 per cent of business travellers spent an average of at least one hour a day working using in-room internet at their hotel, while more than half of them spent at least two hours using the hotel internet.
Neufang, a frequent business traveller who has amassed more than 3 million flight miles worldwide, has learned the importance of having a fast and secure internet service while abroad.