Expats Spend More on Their Mobile Phone Bills Than on Food!

Vyke’s National Expat Mobile Phone Survey

Vyke Communications (http://www.vyke.com/) the mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, today releases its qualitative and quantitative national survey regarding the mobile habits of Asian expats within the UK.

The survey demonstrates how technology has completely revolutionised letter writing and how it has made communicating and keeping in touch with friends and family abroad easier than ever. However, the expense of calling and sending text messages was the number one reason why more people prefer other forms of communication such as email and mail.

Demographically identifying the calling and texting habits of expats across the UK, the survey forms part of an extensive consumer marketing campaign and is supported by Indian cricket legend, Sourav Ganguly. Frequently away from home on tour, the international sports star finds Vyke’s VoIP technology cost-effective in keeping close to his family and friends.

Sourav Ganguly, Captain of the Indian Premier Leagues Kolkata Knight Riders, comments, "Travelling globally when playing cricket, keeping in touch with my family back in Kolkata costs a small fortune, but now using Vyke on my phone, my mobile bills have been dramatically reduced".
The survey exposes some stunning mobile habits of Britain’s expat community:

• More male expats are likely to call their friends abroad than their girlfriends.
• For a quarter of people who call abroad, their mobile phone calls and texts can cost over £60 a month.
• The majority of expats aged between 16-24 yrs old spend more on making mobile phone calls than they do on food.
• Women talk more, spending a greater amount on their mobile phone bills than men do.
• Moving abroad doesn't mean cutting off ties. Expats in London value their friendships more with 53% regularly calling their friends, whereas in Wales only 20% call their friends back home.
• 40% of British ethnic communities keep in touch with their families by calls and text.
• Ethnic communities value their friendships abroad more than those here in the UK.

Aaron Powers, Head of Business Development, Vyke Communications, comments, "Expats frequently call their friends and loved ones back home but at exorbitant costs. With Vyke, text costs from their mobiles will be reduced to fractions of a penny, plus they can text abroad for free via the web. As an avid user of Vyke, we’re very pleased to have Sourav flying the Vyke flag.”