Carriers have been deploying 5G for the better part of a decade now, pouring hundreds of billions into a technology shift everyone knew was coming. What we didn’t see coming was how hard it would be to turn that into revenue – an expensive setback considering the higher costs of 5G compared to previous generations. The return needs to show up, and the payoff isn’t guaranteed like it always has been. That’s warmed up the seat nicely for enterprise buyers sitting at the negotiation table.
And with one of the strongest carrier negotiation windows of the year coming up in September, the timing couldn’t be better for their Q3 close. Enterprises with contracts up for renewal – even ones that aren’t expiring for a while – have a golden opportunity to lock in lower ratesbecause carriers have the most reason to make a deal happen at the end of each quarter.
They’ve spent their money. Now, let’s save you some. First, let’s look at the situation at hand.
Why 5G Adoption Is Different This Time
For a long time, wireless was a backup – the failover option behind a primary SD-WAN or fiber connection. That’s changing. While wired installation costs have jumped 15% in the last two years, 5G speeds have caught up enough to convince more businesses to take it seriously. In one recent study, over 70% of telecom leaders said they find 5G appealing as an alternative to wired broadband.
Competing on network buildout no longer differentiates one carrier from the next – the coverage exists across providers. The competitive battleground has moved from infrastructure to pricing, terms, and flexibility.
Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity is following a similar arc. It’s increasingly part of the conversation for companies evaluating wireless options, and carriers know it’s another alternative competing for the same budget dollars.
Get five key plays to proactively manage satellite spend →
How Long Will the Negotiation Window Stay Open?
No one can put an exact date on it. Carriers are stuck in a monetization phase that’s already outlasted every previous network generation. That underlying tension won’t resolve soon, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t act.
Right now, carrier sales teams are scrambling to meet quarter-end targets. Companies with contracts approaching renewal would be wise to use that pressure as negotiation fuel. Waiting until a contract is on the verge of expiring – or worse, letting it auto-renew – hands that leverage right back to the carrier.
How Much Can You Save?
That depends on your negotiating power. There’s a big difference between what you’d get on your own versus what’s available in the market, which is why over 60% of businesses are looking to partner with an expert who can guide their 5G plans.
It helps to have real numbers, though. Here are two examples of how Tangoe’s negotiators helped tip the scales.
A financial services firm came to us with contracts up for renewal and 360M annual call minutes as leverage. We ran a competitive RFP across eight carriers and ultimately delivered $6M in annual savings. Three years later, the company came back for round two – saving another $4M+. Total savings topped $10M, and we freed up roughly 800 hours of internal work.
Another example is a shipping and logistics company that was juggling five expiring contracts at once. Our experts benchmarked their rates and negotiated $1.4M in total savings. We also did it three months faster than they would have alone, worth an estimated $182,000 in opportunity cost.
What the Best Negotiators Do
Whether you negotiate solo or with backup, companies that consistently land the best deals tend to do three things differently.
They have market intelligence. They know what other companies are actually paying for comparable services – not list price, and not what their last contract said. This is the single biggest lever in any negotiation. Carriers negotiate differently with someone who can point to real market benchmarks than with someone negotiating off assumptions.
Most procurement teams don’t have this intel simply because carriers don’t make it easy to get. Pricing isn’t published, list rates rarely reflect actual price paid, and final terms shift deal-to-deal – making it hard for even experienced teams to negotiate with a clear picture of what “good” truly looks like.
Learn more about benchmarking costs and negotiating your telecom contracts →
They create competitive tension. A renewal negotiated with only your incumbent carrier rarely gets the best outcome. Running an RFP across multiple carriers – even if you ultimately stay with your current provider – signals that the business is in play. We’ve seen time and againhow this approach drives greater savings compared to single-source negotiations.
They negotiate from a position of patience. The strongest outcomes tend to go to whoever can walk away from the table. Starting the process well before a contract expires is key to keeping leverage on your side.
It’s never a bad idea to find out what you could be leaving on the table. Tangoe tracks $34B in enterprise IT spend – real pricing intelligence to lock in the best rates – and has a team who negotiates roughly 400 enterprise contracts each year.
Ready to see where you have leverage? Talk to us before your next contract deadline.