Flex increases convenience, decreases costs for travel outside Canada

University of Toronto faculty and staff with corporate cell phones are now enjoying more affordable data roaming rates and fewer administrative hassles when they travel on business for the university.

The U of T telecommunications team in the enterprise infrastructure solutions group launched a new Flex roaming plan for corporate cell phone users in May 2018. Flex ensures best rates are applied to the university’s corporate cell phone account and it reduces the cost of data roaming when faculty and staff travel outside Canada.

The Flex plan provides convenience and cost saving benefits such as:

  • Automatically adds Flex travel rate when travel is detected:
    • If data is turned on outside of Canada, Flex package is automatically added to the account.
  • Eliminates the need to send a request to your business officer or Bell Mobility to install:
    • Automatically set for all U of T corporate account users.
    • Saves administration work because it’s automatic.
  • No need to send in data disputes like before:
    • Staff forget to add a travel pack and then are surprised with a large data usage bill.
    • Required frequent back and forth between user, telecom and Bell to negotiate a lower rate.
  • Saves U of T money:
    • Money can be used elsewhere instead of paying for high data usages.

There are some limitations to Flex:

  • No Flex for cruise ships:
    • These charges are billed directly to the user and are very costly. Do not turn on data on a cruise ship as these charges will not be reversed or reduced. Many ships offer on-board data packages that you can buy. They can be expensed with prior approval.
  • Flex is only for corporate cell phone users approved by your department and paid for by U of T. There are about 4,000 to 5,000 corporate mobile accounts. The program does not apply to employee pricing plans.

While the Flex plan offers you more affordable data roaming rates, the most efficient and cost effective method is still to purchase a SIM card at your destination and add data locally. This is your best option. In some cases, it could cost as little as $20 for a new SIM and data package. You may need to seek prior approval from your business officer or manager.

The U of T corporate plans for mobile devices are provided through Bell Mobility.