Telecom Auditing Practices Page 4
Featured Article and Excerpts from ...
Cut the Cost! A Guide for Telecommunications Expense Management
By Jack Bogle
Improving the telecommunications cost structure can be achieved
through improving the current network set-up, either by negotiating
better rates with the current supplier or
switching to alternative lower
cost providers. While it is important to focus on the actual bill,
Bogle highlights
numerous ways that an organization can reduce its average call price
without necessarily
changing supplier. He suggests that telephone costs be broken down
into the fixed costs for
connection (this includes phone lines and equipment such as
handsets, PBXs and
routers) and variable costs of the calls. "It is the variable costs
of the calls that are a key
problem based on whether a call
is placed from a land line or mobile and whether the call is
received on a land line or mobile. Then there are different rates
for local, intra-state, national
and international calls, to say
nothing of other types of calls such as community calls,
neighborhood calls or calls to
‘900’ numbers. In addition to the call charges, there are access
charges for using a
mobile or line rental charges for the landline, plus ‘41 1’ charges
can be costly too.
And so the list goes on and so does the confusion. "It comes down to
understanding current market pricing for the sorts of calls your
business makes most and where your current pricing
sits in relation to the market. You are then in a stronger position
to negotiate costs with your
supplier. Only when this does not work is it necessary to look at
alternate suppliers." From his
experience, Bogle finds that "one way to compare pricing proposals
is to apply them to the customer's traffic or usage profile. This
can be done by completing a periodic rate comparison
of your service charges, including fixed and variable cost services,
against current market
trends.