Historically, the health service has been widely perceived as ‘lagging behind’ other sectors in terms of its use of technology and business telecommunications as a strategic tool. However, now the government is looking to the business telecommunications and IT sectors to help improve efficiencies and minimise costs.

The soaring costs of the healthcare service in the UK have been well documented, yet the common perception among both healthcare professionals, and the government, has been that it’s better to spend limited resources on vital medical equipment and technology – both of which directly help the patient – rather than expensive telecommunications and IT systems which would aid, among many things, administration and cost efficiency.

Yet, with increasing use of mobile SMS to inform patients of test results and electronic health records, the tide appears to be turning and the government – however belatedly – seems to have come to the realisation that investing in technology and telecommunications may well be the key to securing the NHS’s survival.

Although a staggering 91% of people take their mobile phones with them abroad on holiday, 85% are unsure of exactly how much they are being charged whilst away.

With mobile access to the internet seeing a steep increase in the UK, it is seemingly easy to log on and check back in with friends and family via the web whilst abroad. However, it is important to note that most tariffs are intended for domestic use only.

Consumers planning to travel abroad are advised to contact their telecoms provider to ensure that their mobile device is enabled for international roaming and to discuss the relevant data bolt ons available. Otherwise, accessing the internet via a phone or laptop dongle will most definitely be charged at higher overseas rates.

Most telecoms firms typically charge £4.25 per MB outside of the UK meaning that it is very simple to clock up a large bill over a very short period of time.

As a very general guide, 1MB of data could be simply be used in the following ways:

• Browsing 8 web pages
• Sending or receiving 200 emails without attachments or 10 emails with a simple one page attachment
• Using 15 hours of Satellite Navigation traffic alert service
• Using VoIP for 3 to 4 minutes of call time
• Downloading approximately one minute of medium quality audio or low quality video from a third party
• Downloading 3 mobile phone games (approximately 300KB each) from a third party
• Streaming approximately 35 seconds of TV media

However, there is hope in sight. Rules introduced by the European Commission at the beginning of March now give people the power to control how much they spend on accessing the internet via their mobile phone whilst travelling in other European countries.

Mobile phone operators are now required to contact a user once their data usage is approaching its limit in order to prompt consumers to modify their tariff, if required. It is also possible for users to request for their access to be cut by the mobile phone operator once the bill reaches a certain amount. These changes certainly are not fail proof but they will allow consumers to be further informed and remain in control of their expenditure before it becomes extreme.

APPetite, an innovative new research engine commissioned by Yahoo!, has shown that UK consumers are increasingly interacting with several screens at any given time.

In total, 84% of respondents said that they regularly use two screens at the same time. This result supports the idea that brands wanting to connect with UK consumers need to utilise a variety of platforms to ensure that their campaigns reach a wide audience, in turn leading to greater awareness. Mobile advertising is now thought to be an integral part of all marketing campaigns.

These findings also reveal a need for mobile internet devices to reflect the quality offered by a PC in order to become successful. Mobile phone applications have seen an increase in popularity over the last year and although it seems they are helping to drive this change and support brands, long term engagement with consumers and business users alike is reliant on optimisation of the mobile internet experience.