When you think about telecom costs, your mind probably goes straight to the telco bill. However, the total cost of ownership (TCO) stretches far beyond your monthly statement. If you’re not accounting for it, you’re likely paying through the nose in hidden telco expenses.
No doubt, there’s no single line item for wasted admin time or poor lifecycle oversight — but they’re there, and they add up fast.
Believe it or not, your telco bill might account for just 30 to 40 per cent of your TCO. According to Cisco, the rest is made up of hidden costs, including:
Every unresolved support ticket and every manual process introduces friction that translates directly into spend.
There are also soft costs, like finance teams chasing incomplete data, IT resolving issues that should’ve been automated, or employees waiting weeks for a replacement device.
None of these show up on an invoice, but it’s draining your budget all the same.
When lifecycle management is fragmented, things fall through the cracks. Devices are left in circulation long after they’re supposed to be retired while procurement stalls. Let’s also not forget the delays in security updates.
And with AI-driven threats accelerating, these inefficiencies are financial and security risks. According to Gartner’s 2025 report, AI agents will reduce the time it takes to exploit compromised accounts by 50 percent within two years. Without centralised visibility and control, businesses expose themselves to preventable breaches, especially across mobile fleets.
Regulated industries feel this harder. The burden of compliance without the right tools or oversight becomes a cost centre in itself.
Another source of hidden cost is relying too heavily on a single carrier or its preferred partners. Do this, and your organisation will lose leverage on pricing, contract flexibility, and service quality.
At VoicePlus, we believe in vendor neutrality. Through our multi-vendor strategy, we help you compare options, negotiate better terms, and avoid lock-in. This flexibility leads to real, measurable savings — and gives you more control.
We take an end-to-end approach to telecom expense management (TEM). Our Atrium platform handles everything from procurement to retirement, with built-in automation that reduces admin work and boosts visibility across cost centres.
You see where every dollar goes and why. You’ll also be able to get tools that:
To know your total cost of ownership (TCO), you’ll have to look beyond the telco bill. Getting on top of hidden costs is all about identifying every inefficiency, every delay, every risk that eats into your time, resources, and bottom line.
We can help.
Let’s reduce your Total Cost of Ownership across the entire mobility and telecom lifecycle. Reach out to us for a free consultation, and see how we can help you simplify operations and optimise telco spend.