The Numbers Don't Lie: What Two Real Telecom Bills Taught Us About Mid-Market Overspending

Apr 10
3 min read

A follow-up to the #FlipTheBillChallenge

When we launched the #FlipTheBillChallenge in April, we made a bold claim: most mid-sized businesses are silently overpaying for their telecom, mobility, and payment processing services and we could prove it in 72 hours.

We're now proving it, one bill at a time.

This post is a data-driven look at two real telecom audits we've completed since launching the challenge. These are real businesses, real bills, and real savings.

Why Telecom? Why Now?

Of the three categories we audit: Telecom, Mobility, and Payment Processing - telecom is consistently where we find the fastest, cleanest wins. The reason comes down to one market dynamic: the cost of bandwidth has continued to fall, but most contract renewal cycles haven't kept pace.

Providers don't call you when market rates drop. That's not a conspiracy, it's just business. Their incentive is to keep you on your existing rate until you ask. Most businesses never ask.

The result? Companies are paying 2022 and 2023 prices for internet infrastructure in a 2026 market. The gap between what you're paying and what you should be paying has never been wider.

Case Study #1: The 5-Person Consulting Firm

The Setup: A small Northeast-based consulting firm with five employees. Lean operation, no dedicated IT staff. Like most businesses their size, their internet bill was on autopay and hadn't been reviewed in years.

What We Found: After uploading a single month's statement, our audit team benchmarked their circuit against our database of current 2026 market rates for comparable businesses in their area. The gap was immediate and clear.

The Result:

Monthly savings: $104
Savings for the remainder of 2026 (8 months): $832
No provider switch required
No hardware changes
22% savings

This is a company where every dollar matters. $832 back into an operation of five people is meaningful. That's a software subscription, a piece of equipment, or simply margin recaptured from an agreement that was never renegotiated.

The fix wasn't complicated. It was a contract correction, moving them from a legacy rate to a 2026-standard agreement with their existing provider.

Case Study #2: The 20-Person Marine Asset Management Company

The Setup: A 20-person marine asset management firm. Operationally sophisticated in their industry, but like most companies in a specialized field, telecom expense management isn't a core competency (nor should it be).

What We Found: Similar pattern to the consulting firm, but at a larger volume. Their monthly spend on internet services hadn't been benchmarked against the current market in over two years. Legacy pricing was locked in and quietly compounding.

The Result:

Monthly savings: $75
Savings for the remainder of 2026 (8 months): $600
18% savings

For a 20-person firm, $600 recovered in eight months is a real number. Annualized, that's $900 per year that was simply being left on the table.

What These Two Cases Have in Common

These are two very different businesses, different sizes, different industries, different operational profiles. However, their telecom overspending story is nearly identical, and that's the point.

1. Neither company had reviewed their telecom contract in the past 18–24 months. This is the single most predictive factor we've found. If it's been more than 18 months since your last benchmark, assume you're overpaying.

2. The audit took less than 72 hours. From bill upload to savings verdict, both audits were completed within our standard 48–72 hour window. Neither company had to dedicate meaningful internal time to the process.

3. The savings are permanent. This isn't a one-time credit or a promotional rate. These are contract corrections. The savings recur every single month going forward.

The Math Behind "Small" Monthly Savings

$104 a month and $75 a month might not sound like headline numbers. But consider this:

Scenario	Monthly Savings	Annual Savings	3-Year Value
5-person consulting firm	$104	$1,248	$3,744
20-person marine firm	$75	$900	$2,700
Combined	$179	$2,148	$6,444

Now consider that these are two small businesses. For a company with 100, 500, or 2,000 employees, the volume and therefore the leverage scales dramatically. We routinely find five-figure annual savings in mid-market accounts simply because no one had looked at the bill in two years.

Where We Are on the $100,000 Challenge

The #FlipTheBillChallenge goal is to identify and verify $100,000 in savings for our clients within 90 days. Every audit we complete moves the tracker forward. Every referral accelerates the timeline.

We're building real momentum and we're just getting started.

Follow the Live Tracker →

Is Your Telecom Bill Next?

If your company has 50 or more employees and you haven't benchmarked your internet spend against current market rates in the last 18 months, there is a high probability you are overpaying.

The only way to know for certain is to look.

The process is simple: