The Great Telecom Cash Flow Crisis (And why it’s threatening the entire industry)
If you’ve worked in telecom contracting for more than a minute, you already know this story: Crews grind day after day, invoices go out, but the money? Nowhere to be found.
❌ 90–120 day terms.
❌ Clients holding retainage like ransom.
❌ Factoring companies swooping in like vultures to take their cut.
Meanwhile, contractors are left begging banks for loans just to keep payroll going. The work is finished, the fiber is in the ground, the invoices are approved—but the checks don’t come.
This isn’t just a “contractor problem.” It’s a systemic failure that’s threatening the health of the entire telecom industry.
The Race to the Bottom: How Telecom Contractors Are Undermining Their Own Success
Part 2 of 3 in the “Telecom Contractor Survival Series”
Last week, we exposed how prime contractors squeeze their subs with unfair splits, vague directives, and payment delays. This week, we shift focus inward—on a problem contractors bring upon themselves: the race to the bottom on pricing.
The Unsustainable Bidding War
Telecom has become a pricing deathmatch. Subs undercut each other, hoping to land the next build. And while that might win short-term work, it's doing long-term damage—both to their businesses and to the integrity of the industry….