Budget Time Again

With the budget season fast approaching, you may feel like your property operating budgets are in a vice grip. On one side, there is pressure from ever increasing prices; on the other side is constant pressure to decrease expenses.

How much time do you spend on telecommunications in your budget process? Although the revenue and expenses may be small relative to other budget items, they should never be ignored.  The small amount of revenue generates larger-than-expected ROI. When left unattended, small expenses can quickly turn into large expenses in the future.

The CRTC’s Decision 2003-45 establishes the conditions and principles for the provision of telecommunications services to customers located in multi-dwelling units (MDUs). It includes the following financial definitions:

To determine your telecommunication revenue opportunities and expense recovery, first review your existing agreements with the carriers providing services in the building and on the roof.

For more information about expenses, refer to your previous telecommunication building condition audits. If none were performed, contact The Attain Group’s Christine Doyle, Senior Manager, Real Estate Services at christine.doyle@theattaingroup.com,
or (613) 739-9424 x 226.

Reduce Construction Costs:
A Case Study

A government department recently purchased a 40,000 square foot building with an existing telecommunication infrastructure. The Attain Group was hired to perform an audit, which outlined the inventory and condition of the existing cabling and pathway infrastructure.

As a result of the audit, our client was able to reclaim a large portion of the building’s existing telecommunication infrastructure. Through asset reuse, they saved 25% of its total telecommunication construction budget.

Did you Know?

Telecommunications is important to you and your tenants – here’s why

This is a sample of the experts’ predictions for 2012:

• Telecom expenses typically rank in the top 5 among enterprise business expenses.
• According to industry analysts Aberdeen Group, an average of 7 to 12% of telecom service charges are in error. Gartner has similar findings, stating that companies forfeit 10% or more by not auditing telecom invoices on a regular basis.
• Large enterprises may receive as many as 15,000 telecommunications bills in a year.
• As demand for wireless services increases, the pressure increases to contain mobile expenses. Gartner reports that through 2014, more than 80% of corporations will spend at least 15% more than they should on wireless expenses during that time.

(excerpted from the TeleManagement Technologies website)

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