Local Government telco optimisation: Government pricing is just the start

Jun 22
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

A metropolitan Victorian council engaged us to review its telco environment to ensure it was fit-for-purpose. Like many councils, it already had access to government pricing and an established provider relationship. On paper, everything looked good.

In practice, the environment told a different story.

Mobile and data services had evolved over time across field teams, inspectors, compliance teams, community-facing staff, community facilities and operational services. Plans had been added, changed and inherited. Some were still fit for purpose. Others were oversized, under used or no longer linked to a business need.

This kind of complexity is common in local government environments where service continuity matters, teams operate across wide geographic areas, and procurement decisions need to stand up to scrutiny.

The challenge

The key issue wasn’t access to VTS pricing (the Government-linked telco procurement program). That was already in place.

The issue was whether:

Plans actually matched how services were being used
Pricing structures were correctly applied across the fleet
Billing accurately reflected what had been agreed (no value leakage)
Technologies were modern, secure and most appropriate for requirements
Hardware and procurement strategies matched user needs
Spend could be reduced without introducing operational risk

As is often the case, the challenge was to spot the quiet inefficiency and requirement gaps, spread across the environment.

Our approach

We conducted a detailed, independent review of the council’s telco setup, focusing on real billing and usage across mobile, data and related services.

This included:

Engaging a solid cross-section of council staff and management
Mapping all mobile and data services across teams
Reviewing the technology used and whether it aligned to requirements
Considered future needs for modernising telephony, network and mobility
Assessing network and service suitability against actual and future usage
Mapping future-state needs, including user personas, council growth, AI adoption, security policies and mobility
Identifying over-provisioned, underutilised and redundant services
Benchmarking costs across the market
Reviewing application of government pricing constructs
Validating billing accuracy and configuration

Importantly, recommendations were shaped around operational reality - not just cost.

For councils, the cheapest option is not always the right one. Reliability, coverage and governance remain non negotiable.

The recommendation

Rather than a disruptive overhaul, the recommendation was a targeted optimisation of the existing environment. This included:

Right sizing plans to reflect real world usage
Correcting pricing structures across mobile and data services
Removing or consolidating unnecessary services
Staged adoption of new technologies for network and telephony
Creating a suitable hardware procurement strategy
Consideration of change management

All recommended changes are designed to maintain continuity for field teams and avoid additional burden on internal staff.

The result

The council is set to achieve:

More than $310,000 savings in mobile spend over 12 months
Hundreds of mobile and data services optimised
Reduction of risks associated with ageing technology and hardware
Improved alignment between services and operational needs
Reduced exposure to future price increases
Greater confidence in procurement, billing accuracy and governance

Just as importantly, these results are designed to be achieved without disrupting frontline teams or introducing procurement risk.

Why it matters

Many councils assume that once VTS pricing is in place, telco is already optimised.

In reality, specialised pricing access is only one part of the equation.

Without detailed analysis, service level alignment and billing validation, it’s common for spend to continue drifting upward - even within an existing telco contract.

For council leadership, effective telco optimisation creates a more defensible position: lower cost, stronger governance, and confidence that operational services are properly supported.

And for many councils, the opportunity isn’t a wholesale reset.

It’s making what you already have work properly.