Are you making these 3 big mistakes when choosing a service provider for connectivity?

Often buyers consider data connectivity as nothing more than a commodity. This is primarily due to the fact that the service providers for years have under delivered on true route diversity, pristine customer facing network maps and just plain old customer service. They have trained the commercial buyer into accepting "less than", and subsequently this became the norm in telecom.

Big mistake number 1: Do you follow the same old telco route that's been running up and down the same telephone poles for ages? Then the cable companies followed, ON THE SAME ROUTES, since they just put their stuff on those same poles. The trap here is that you are following traditional central office and cable head-end routes. There is nothing unique or diverse about them; they were built for the masses.

Big mistake number 2: Now try asking those same providers for a pristine fiber map. Not some logical representation that's thrown onto a PowerPoint slide; a true fiber route map on a google map underlay so that you can see exactly where that fiber is going, its splice points, POPS and building entries. If you aren't seeing this then what is being delivered is nothing more than a mystery to you. It will all sound "unique and diverse", but where is the proof? Always ask for this. Always!

Big Mistake number 3: You accept poor customer service. You've been trained to accept it, you are being treated like a commodity so you go ahead and let out a big sigh, throw up your hands and find the lowest price and sign on the dotted line. This is a huge mistake. Be sure to ask to meet your support and account team before you ink anything. Ask to meet with your Account Executive's senior leaders. You deserve great service and bad service does not have to be the norm.