Introduction:

Many public agencies are locked into outdated contracts or overpriced service plans. From fiber to fixed wireless, prices have dropped—but procurement hasn’t caught up. While commercial rates improve, agencies are often stuck paying legacy pricing that no longer reflects the actual value being delivered.

The Problem:

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that over 40% of municipal IT budgets are committed to recurring telecom and connectivity contracts—many of which are not regularly evaluated for savings opportunities(GAO, 2022).

Key challenges include:

• Long-term contracts signed years ago
• No visibility into current market pricing
• No time to evaluate new providers

The Cost:

• Paying 20–40% more than current fair market rates
• Budget inflexibility and contract lock-in
• Opportunity cost—what else could that money support?

The Solution:

First Response ITbenchmarks your connectivity costs against current industry averages and negotiates with providers on your behalf. We don’t change your provider unless needed—you stay in control, we just uncover savings and secure better terms.

Our typical agency client sees:

• 15–30% cost savings
• More favorable service agreements
• Streamlined billing and vendor accountability

Source:

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2022). Technology Management in Local Government(Report No. GAO-22-104480). Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104480