How to consolidate telecom vendors across many locations

Step 1. List every vendor at every location

Write down each carrier and platform, what it does, which sites it covers, the monthly cost and the contract end date. Include the small stuff: old copper lines, fax lines, alarm lines and backup circuits. One bill per site is enough to start.

Step 2. Line up the renewal dates

Sort the list by contract end date and notice date. Contracts ending soonest are where you can move first without paying early termination fees. Put every date on one renewal calendar.

Step 3. Find the overlaps

Look for sites paying two vendors for the same thing, lines nobody uses, and services bought one site at a time. Start with the biggest line items.

Step 4. Pick the best carrier for each address

One carrier rarely wins at every site. Get quotes from the carriers that can actually serve each address, then compare price, term, install time and outage credits side by side. Fewer vendors is the goal. One vendor at a bad price is not.

Step 5. Move sites over in waves

Cut over a few sites at a time, starting with the ones whose contracts end first. Keep the old service until the new one is tested, then cancel in writing.

Step 6. Keep one view going forward

Keep one inventory, one renewal calendar, and one place to call when something breaks. Review it every quarter so new sites don't drift back to one-off contracts.

Should you do this yourself or use an advisor?

You can do every step yourself. An advisor like Buckeye Telecom does the inventory, quotes the carriers that can serve each address and handles the cutovers. There's no advisory fee because the carriers pay us, and your rate is the same as going direct.

See how we run multi-site telecom management, or what a telecom advisor for multi-location businesses covers.