The average UK business traveller spends £16.30 on Wi-Fi and roaming charges on each trip, according to research commissioned by Amba Hotels. Hotels and airports are the worst offenders, with some charging up to £17 for 24 hours.
The survey also found that up to seventy percent of business travellers are regularly unable to work efficiently due to slow or unreliable Wi-Fi connections.
UK businesses waste £370m a year on #WiFi for travelling workers — http://t.co/gpMh045kKW Research via @amba_hotels pic.twitter.com/3xDYzzIYQO
— Business Review EU (@BizReviewEurope) February 11, 2015
Twenty percent have been unable to join a work call or videoconferencing meeting, almost a fifth have been late for an important conference or video call, and one in ten have felt the impact on their personal lives after being unable to contact friends and family.
Financial commentator and founder of letssavemoney.com, Sarah Willingham, told Sputnik:
“Fast, free, reliable Wi-Fi is non-negotiable for modern business travellers. With airlines and rail companies investing in Wi-Fi on board and international roaming charges falling dramatically, it’s inexcusable to keep charging extortionate rates for patchy Wi-Fi connections.”
London’s Wi-Fi Among Worst
The overall cost of Wi-Fi to businesses in the UK is £16.30 per trip compared with the US, where is it £9.87 per trip.
London is among the world’s worst cities for rip-off Wi-Fi charges and totally outranked by many other global cities for free access to high quality downloads. Its poor reputation has been confirmed in not one, but three separate reports.
A recent poll of business travellers from 88 countries across the world found that London lags behind New York, Singapore, Bangalore, Barcelona, Hong Kong and Paris in terms of getting online for free.
The BuzzCity poll found that New York was the best city in the world, closely followed by Singapore and Bangalore (both 10%), and Barcelona (8%). London was in 17th position with just 1%.
