Telecommunications
Telecommunications companies run on network equipment, leased capacity, rights of way and a large number of vendors. They also face tax rules that are unusual because they cover many services and places.
Fairview Audit connects you with a partner firm that can review these areas. The firm does the review. Fairview does not.
Where costs build up
A telecom business buys infrastructure and sells services at the same time. Common cost areas include:
- Contracts with equipment makers, installers and maintenance providers
- Leased capacity, circuits and interconnection with other carriers
- Tower, site, rooftop and facility leases
- Pole attachments, conduit and rights-of-way, where federal rules require utilities to give carriers nondiscriminatory access, subject to limits such as capacity and safety
- Billing, customer care and network software
- Sales and use tax on purchases, and tax collected on services sold
- Utilities and backup power for network sites
- Field vehicles, staffing and contractors
Many of these are priced by volume or usage, which makes the invoice harder to check by eye.
Network businesses also change often. Sites are added, equipment is replaced and capacity is moved between locations. Each change creates a point where a contract, an invoice or a tax treatment can fall out of step with the others, and a review looks at those points.
Supplier contracts
Telecom suppliers often bill for recurring service and usage. Network vendors may have price schedules, service credits and minimum commitments. When services are replaced or retired, the charge for the old service can continue. When a vendor changes a plan, the billing system may not match what was agreed.
A review compares agreements, amendments and invoices. It also looks for charges tied to services that are no longer in use. See Supplier contract compliance for telecommunications. The general category is Supplier contract compliance.
If your concern is the telecom bills your business receives rather than your industry's own vendors, see Telecom.
Sales and use tax
Telecommunications services are often taxed differently from other goods and services. Federal, state and local taxes and fees can layer onto one bill. Rules vary by place and by type of service. [VERIFY: how sales, use and telecom-specific taxes apply in the jurisdictions where you operate]
For a telecom company, there are two sides. On purchases, you may pay tax on equipment and services. On sales, you collect and remit tax to customers in many places. A review looks at how those transactions were treated and whether supporting records agree.
See Sales and use tax for telecommunications and Sales and use tax.
How matching works
Partner firms differ in categories and business sizes served. The detail for telecommunications is not yet published. [CONFIRM: partner industry detail]
- Choose a request path: larger business, smaller business, or not sure or another need. There is no fixed size cut-off. Fairview matches each request by hand.
- Submit the form for that path.
- Your request goes to the matched partner firm, or to Fairview for manual matching.
- You talk with the firm directly. The engagement and any fees are between you and the firm, under its terms.
You stay involved. You provide documents, you review the findings, and you agree on how corrections are raised with each vendor.
Questions about telecom reviews
I am a telecom company. Is this page about my own phone bills?
This page is about the costs of operating a telecom business. Your own carrier bills are covered by the Telecom category.
Can a review cover tax and contracts together?
You can list both in your request. The partner firm will say which it covers. [CONFIRM: a partner firm supplies and approves this statement]
Does Fairview give tax advice?
No. Fairview connects you with partner firms and gives no tax, legal or accounting advice.
Tell us what you need reviewed. We match you by hand with an independent partner firm. You keep your existing vendors.Find out what you are overpaying.