Through the convergence of Voice and Data brought on by MPLS services,
Data networks now represent most companies' largest telecom expense category.
Interestingly though, a large component of this spend is often ignored when
negotiating WAN networking contracts, according to Alsbridge Inc., a
benchmarking, sourcing and transformation advisory firm. Alsbridge today
announced a new report - The Expensive
Truth about Your International Network Contract- that reveals the truth about the international
network contracts that could vastly reduce network costs for companies.
According to the report, no carrier has the ability to truly be able to
provide enterprises with full end-to end service entirely on their network.
Instead, they purchase these circuits from local in-region PTTs, incumbent
telcos and competitive providers. The telecom carriers have for some time
proffered the notion that the rates charged for these local access loops
represent merely a pass through charge for them. This is hard to believe coming
from a group that charges surcharges for everything from their cost of
collecting and remitting USF to their real estate taxes. That said, even if
they are taken at their word, there is still a large area of potential, and
based on Alsbridge analysis real, cost variance
here.
Carriers with local in region footprint typically have better pricing
than US Domestics in foreign countries. The same holds true for companies like
BT and Orange when we're talking US sites. “If you're about to issue an RFP,
and you've got a fair percentage of international locations, it can be
advantageous to include the local foreign carriers in the bidding,” says Dieter
Thompson, President, Alsbridge. “At minimum, this can help provide a view into
the international local loop pricing.”
“In your networking contract, require that your telecom carrier conduct access
optimization on an annual basis,” advises Alsbridge CEO, Chip Wagner. “Their
network reach in foreign countries is always changing and a year or two later
may allow for shorter more logical loops.” In addition, the more open
international markets see natural price compression from competition much the
same as the US does. The report advises clients to make sure that that install
charges are waived and circuit term minimums of 12 months to avoid missing taking
advantage of these cost savings. Finally, the report advises checking on the
availability of Ethernet Access in international locations. Ethernet
availability is greater in most countries than here in the US and is usually
more cost efficient.
For further details the complete report can be downloaded here: The Expensive Truth About Your International Network Contract.
About
Alsbridge Inc.
Alsbridge is a global consulting firm that helps companies transform and
optimize the way they purchase, manage and leverage technology and business
processes. We have over 175 team members on 4 continents serving
over 200 clients a year including more than 40% of the Fortune 500.
Alsbridge has helped hundreds of companies reduce costs and get more value from
their vendors. Our experienced consultants leverage proprietary tools and
information databases to identify and engage the optimal vendors for your
situation, negotiate best practice terms at fair market prices, and improve the
way you work with your service providers. Alsbridge clients utilize the
most cost effective and value added sources globally for IT infrastructure
services, network carrier services, hardware and software, application support
and development, business processes and cloud services.
EDITORS/WRITERS: Journalists interested in covering the
above topic or interviewing one of our SMEs please contact:
Scott Tims
Office: 214-378-7970 ext. 278
stims@thepointgroup.com
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