Telecom giants promise “world-class” networks, but their business model thrives on complexity. Hidden fees, long contracts, and opaque service levels keep customers locked in. For startups and mid-sized businesses, this creates frustration and unnecessary expense.
The Pitfalls of the Big Guys
Large providers often bundle unrelated services, bury important terms in fine print, and use jargon to justify high prices. They might push proprietary hardware or push you toward expensive managed services that don’t solve your problems. When something goes wrong, you’re left navigating call centres and ticket systems. In the words of our manifesto, the IT industry’s “dirty secret” is that complexity pays. But only for them.
Smart Alternatives for Startups
Beating the giants doesn’t require massive budgets, just smart choices:
● Demand transparency. Insist on clear, itemised pricing and SLA terms. ● Use multi-carrier solutions. Combine services from different providers to get the best coverage and rates instead of relying on a single telco.
● Leverage software-defined networking. Technologies like SD-WAN intelligently route traffic across multiple links (fibre, LTE, satellite) to maximise performance and lower costs. Our SD-WAN article explains how it works using a taxi vs. GPS analogy. It’s not magic, just smarter networking.
● Avoid vendor lock-in. Choose platforms and hardware that are standards-based so you can switch providers when you need to.
Lessons from the Trenches
When we started Boost, we learned first-hand how the big telcos keep customers trapped. We signed a “special rate” that hid unexpected fees in the fine print, and when the invoice finally arrived, it contained mysterious charges we hadn’t agreed to. We spent hours on hold trying to resolve a billing error, only to be passed from department to department. Those early frustrations cemented our belief that transparency and ownership aren’t optional. They inspired us to build Boost around clear pricing, simple contracts, and a commitment to owning the problem when something goes wrong. Our mission to “unenshittify” the industry comes straight from those painful experiences.
The Boost Difference
Boost was founded to “unenshittify” the IT industry. We keep our offerings simple: managed IT, cybersecurity, connectivity, and automation. Nothing more. Our pricing is transparent and Rand-based, so you aren’t exposed to currency volatility.
We design solutions that use a mix of fibre and wireless connectivity, with SD-WAN for intelligent routing and AIOps for proactive management. And when you need help, you speak to a real person who takes ownership. You don’t have to feed the monsters to get world-class service. That’s the Boost way.
Ready to break free from the big telcos? Contact us today to learn more.
