Industry: Multiple
Geography: 20+ Countries
Total Combined Spend: $247M
Business Challenge
A "Big Three" IT consulting company assumed telecom, mobile, and IT billing for a number of Global 500 customers and was responsible for reducing costs by 20% or absorbing the difference.
Approach
-Optelcon was engaged as a subject matter expert and introduced to our customers' own clients.
-Optelcon used client billing and contract data to quickly audit, benchmark, and identify above-market pricing opportunities, inefficiencies, and substandard contract terms
Optelcon's team quickly developed a strategy and began negotiating new terms and pricing with each vendor.
-Optelcon filed $10M in disputes and renegotiated new rates, 12-18 months before contract expiration
-Optelcon optimized networks, licenses, and rate plans
Result
-Collected $8M in billing errors
-In total, saved our client's customers over 45% and $150M
-Averted millions in penalties.
Industry: Banking
Geography: Nationwide (500 locations)
Primary Vendor: AT&T
Services: SD-WAN, MPLS, SIP, and POTS
3 Year Contract Value: $50M
Business Challenge
A large national banking institution was eight months away from the end of its telecom contract when AT&T aggressively pushed for an early renewal. The carrier warned that if the client did not sign a new three-year agreement immediately, rates would increase by 85–90% once services rolled to month-to-month pricing.
Despite market prices having fallen more than 40% since the original agreement was signed just two years earlier, AT&T believed the bank had limited options due to the complexity and scale of its nationwide network. As a result, AT&T offered only:
-A 5% incremental discount, and
-A new annual revenue commitment equal to 90% of the bank’s total spend
The proposed terms shifted significant financial risk back to the client and locked in above-market pricing.
Optelcon's Strategy
Optelcon was engaged to independently assess the situation and determine whether the bank truly lacked leverage.
Our team:
-Rapidly analyzed and benchmarked unit costs across all services
-Within a week, used Optelcon’s sourcing platform to generate competitive, multi-vendor pricing
-Identified market alternatives priced 45% lower than AT&T’s current rates
-Identified breaches in the contract that would allow the bank to terminate the contract for cause
-Structured competitive options with 50% lower revenue commitments
-Presented AT&T with credible, executable alternatives—demonstrating real risk of vendor displacement
Armed with verified market data and apparent alternatives, Optelcon shifted the balance of power back to the client.
Results
Facing the possibility of losing a $50M account, AT&T materially improved both pricing and contract terms:
-Reduced revenue commitment from 90% to 65% of spend
-Converted annual commitments into a three-year burn-down commitment, enabling earlier renegotiation
-Reduced unit pricing by 40% moving forward
-Applied a 40% unit cost reduction to the remaining term of the existing contract
-Delivered improved SLAs and additional value-added services
-Provided a dedicated, full-time on-site support team
✅ Total Savings: $20 Million
Industry: Industrial Equipment and Mining
Company Size: Global 500
Number of Mobile Devices: 1200 corporate devices
Challenge
The client was already working with a third-party mobile expense management provider and believed their mobile costs were under control. However, leadership wanted to validate whether additional savings were possible—without disruption or financial risk.
Because Optelcon operates under a risk-free, performance-based model, the client allowed us to review their mobile contracts, billing data, and rate plans with one clear challenge:
Deliver greater savings than their incumbent vendor—or don’t get paid.
Approach
Our work included:
-Detailed analysis of carrier invoices and contract terms
-Identification of over-market rates, misaligned rate plans, and billing errors
-Monthly rate plan optimization based on actual usage
-Carrier renegotiations for rate plans, device pricing, and contract terms
-Formal dispute management to recover billing errors and credits
Optelcon was subsequently retained as the client’s ongoing mobile optimization partner.
Over the course of more than three years, we have renegotiated the client’s mobile contracts three times, continuously capturing additional savings as market pricing declined.
Result
-54% reduction in annual mobile spend
-$1.8 million in recurring annual savings
-Improved pricing transparency and ongoing cost controls
-Continuous, year-over-year savings beyond initial engagement
✅ Significant savings delivered despite an existing cost management provider
Industry: IT Consulting
Network Geography: 24 Countries
Vendors Engaged: 7
Challenge
Although an IT consulting company, they lacked subject-matter expertise in telecom pricing, design, and contracts. We were brought in to help the Consulting company design and negotiate a new global fiber network.
Optelcon Approach
-We used our global network database to identify suitable on-net international carriers.
-Designed networks around vendor capabilities
-Engaged seven international carriers
-Negotiated contracts
-Project managed implementation
-Audited invoices to ensure compliance
Results
-Customer reduced the time and energy required to source a global network by over 90%.
-Customer was able to utilize all on-net vendors, which significantly sped up installation and reduced costs.
✅ 90% time saved, better network design, better pricing
Industry: Banking
Geography: North America
Locations: 550
Annual Telecom Spend: $16.5M
Challenge
The client was locked into a complex AT&T environment with 83 different services, inefficient network architecture, and significant long-term revenue commitments. Pricing was well above market, and contracts were not set to expire for another year.
Optelcon's Approach
-Full contract and invoice audit
-Market benchmarking using live telecom pricing
-Network redesign (MPLS, Voice, SIP consolidation)
-Early-term renegotiation using credible vendor-switch leverage
Results
-$5.4M annual savings (29%) achieved 14 months early
-An additional $2.2M saved due to early execution
-Reduced 3-year commitment from $30.7M to $20.5M
-Converted annual revenue commitments to contract commitments
-Improved SLAs and accelerated SIP & Ethernet upgrades
✅ Total Savings: $16.9M over 3 years
Industry: Nuclear Energy
Geography: 18 Countries
Vendors: Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile
Devices: 6,500+
Total Annual Spend:$20M
Challenge
The client managed a highly fragmented and inefficient global voice and data environment spanning 20+ vendors, resulting in excessive roaming costs, non-optimal rate plans, and overmarket network pricing
Optelcon's Approach
-Analyzed mobile and voice & data network spend across all billing portals
-Benchmarked global voice, data, and roaming against market pricing
-Introduced alternative international wireless carriers
-Leveraged market data to renegotiate mid-term contracts
Results
-$3M/year saved on Verizon Wireless (29%)
-$1.2M in credits, bonuses, and upgrade waivers
-$3.3M saved on Sprint Global Network over 3 years
-Custom international mobile plans saving $640K/year
-Ethernet build-out commitments secured for global locations
✅ Total Savings: 40% and $12.5M+
Industry: Electronics
Geography: 14 Countries
Annual Spend: $3.2M
Challenge
Six months before contract expiration, the incumbent vendor offered a 13% discount to extend the contract for another 3 years. The client suspected savings were being left on the table, but had only 3 weeks to decide.
Optelcon Approach
-Rapid invoice and network configuration analysis
-Immediate market price benchmarking
-Identified Ethernet opportunities replacing costly legacy circuits
-Used competitive market data to renegotiate at executive levels
Results
-Improved vendor offer
-$1.3M total annual contract rate savings (41%) 3.15x additional savings
-Additional $437K/year from network optimization
-Enhanced SLAs and best-practice contract language
✅ Total Savings: 53% and $1.7M/year in less than 3 weeks.
Industry: Banking
Employees: 1,600
Global Offices: 32
Challenge
The client lacked visibility into mobile spend and was constrained by revenue commitments that prevented rate optimization.
Optelcon Approach
-Audited AT&T and Verizon billing portals
-Benchmarked device and plan costs against market rates
-Eliminated revenue commitments
-Restructured rate plans by usage profile
Results
-Reduced average AT&T monthly device cost from $139 → $52 (AT&T)
-Reduced average Verizon monthly device costs from $80 → $52
-Annual spend reduced from $1.2M → $530K
✅ 44% and $2.01M saved over 3 years
