Introduction
This practical and comprehensive masterclass is designed for telecom commercial professionals, procurement and sourcing specialists, pricing managers, finance professionals, network strategy teams, commercial managers, technology executives, and professionals responsible for telecommunications pricing, cost modelling, vendor management, procurement, and commercial negotiations.
The course provides a practical understanding of 5G and emerging 6G commercial architecture, telecom cost structures, vendor pricing models, total cost of ownership, commercial modelling, benchmarking, sourcing, and negotiation.
The programme focuses on translating technical telecom architectures into commercial and financial models, understanding the cost drivers behind RAN, Core, Cloud, Transport, hardware, software, and services, and developing robust pricing models for major telecom network investments.
Particular emphasis is placed on practical pricing and sourcing applications, enabling participants to build should-cost and TCO models, evaluate vendor pricing, normalize commercial offers, structure 5G SA RFPs, benchmark suppliers, conduct scenario and sensitivity analysis, and develop effective negotiation strategies.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the commercial architecture and economics of 5G SA and emerging 6G networks.
- Analyse RAN, Core, Cloud, Transport, hardware, software, and services cost structures.
- Identify the key factors that influence telecom OEM pricing.
- Understand CAPEX, OPEX, lifecycle economics, and total cost of ownership.
- Assess the commercial evolution from 5G to 6G.
- Build practical telecom should-cost and pricing models.
- Develop volume × unit-rate and capacity-based pricing models.
- Analyse hardware, software, licence, and service pricing components.
- Develop five-year and ten-year telecom price and cost curves.
- Apply TCO modelling to telecom network investments.
- Benchmark major telecom vendors and commercial offers.
- Conduct scenario, sensitivity, and what-if analysis.
- Structure commercially effective 5G SA RFPs and BOQs.
- Normalize vendor pricing and compare different commercial proposals.
- Distinguish mandatory, optional, and value-added pricing components.
- Identify key commercial negotiation levers and vendor cost drivers.
- Evaluate volume commitments, price protection, indexation, warranty, and support mechanisms.
- Develop approaches to change requests, rebates, gain-sharing, and commercial incentives.
- Conduct structured final commercial evaluations and vendor comparisons.
- Strengthen commercial decision-making for telecom procurement and sourcing.
Course Outline
Day One - 5G/6G Commercial Architecture, Cost Structure & Economics
- Commercial architecture of modern 5G networks
- 5G Standalone architecture from a commercial perspective
- RAN, Core, Cloud, Transport, and network infrastructure economics
- Hardware, software, licences, and services cost structures
- Key telecom cost drivers and OEM pricing mechanisms
- CAPEX, OPEX, depreciation, and lifecycle economics
- Network investment economics and commercial trade-offs
- Total cost of ownership across the network lifecycle
- Commercial implications of 5G network evolution
- 5G to 6G commercial evolution and emerging cost considerations
Day Two - Telecom Pricing Models, Should-Cost & TCO
- Principles of telecom pricing and commercial cost modelling
- Building a telecom should-cost model
- Volume × unit-rate pricing models
- Capacity-based pricing and network scaling economics
- Hardware, software, licence, and service pricing decomposition
- Recurring and non-recurring cost structures
- Building telecom total cost of ownership models
- Five-year and ten-year price and cost curves
- Vendor cost benchmarking and commercial comparisons
- Scenario, sensitivity, and what-if analysis
Day Three - Vendor Benchmarking, Commercial Analysis & Price Evaluation
- Benchmarking telecom vendor commercial proposals
- Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, and ZTE commercial positioning
- Comparing vendor pricing structures and cost components
- Price normalization across different technical and commercial offers
- Identifying hidden costs and commercial assumptions
- Mandatory versus optional pricing
- Evaluating volume-based discounts and scale economics
- Analysing software, licence, maintenance, and support pricing
- Comparing lifecycle costs and long-term vendor economics
- Practical vendor pricing evaluation and benchmarking exercises
Day Four - 5G SA Sourcing, RFP Design & Commercial Negotiation
- Structuring an effective 5G SA RFP
- Commercial BOQ design and pricing schedules
- Defining pricing requirements and commercial assumptions
- Vendor response structures and bid normalization
- Sourcing strategies for network equipment and services
- Commercial negotiation principles for telecom vendors
- Volume commitments and pricing leverage
- Price protection, indexation, warranty, and support mechanisms
- Change requests, commercial variations, rebates, and gain-sharing
- Developing negotiation strategies and commercial negotiation scenarios
Day Five - Integrated Commercial Evaluation & Telecom Pricing Masterclass
- Building an integrated 5G SA commercial model
- Combining CAPEX, OPEX, licensing, services, and lifecycle costs
- Evaluating vendor proposals using TCO and should-cost models
- Scenario and sensitivity analysis for investment decisions
- Assessing five-year and ten-year commercial outcomes
- Developing final commercial evaluation frameworks
- Identifying negotiation opportunities from pricing analysis
- Integrated telecom sourcing and negotiation case study
- 5G commercial pricing and vendor negotiation masterclass simulation
- Professional review, competency assessment, and final course certification
Why Attend This Course? - Gains & Losses!
Gains
- Develop a strong commercial understanding of 5G SA and emerging 6G economics.
- Improve the ability to understand telecom OEM pricing and cost drivers.
- Strengthen should-cost and TCO modelling capabilities.
- Develop practical pricing models for hardware, software, licences, and services.
- Improve vendor benchmarking and commercial comparison capabilities.
- Strengthen understanding of CAPEX, OPEX, and lifecycle economics.
- Improve the ability to normalize and evaluate vendor proposals.
- Develop stronger RFP and commercial BOQ design capabilities.
- Strengthen telecom sourcing and procurement strategies.
- Improve negotiation preparation and identification of commercial levers.
- Develop stronger approaches to volume commitments, price protection, and indexation.
- Improve management of warranty, support, change requests, rebates, and gain-sharing.
- Strengthen scenario and sensitivity analysis capabilities.
- Support more informed telecom investment and vendor-selection decisions.
- Develop practical commercial skills applicable to 5G network procurement and sourcing.
Potential Losses
Without sufficient capability in telecom pricing, cost modelling, and commercial sourcing, organisations may face:
- Poor understanding of the underlying drivers of OEM pricing.
- Difficulty determining whether vendor prices reflect reasonable cost structures.
- Weak visibility of total network lifecycle costs.
- Inconsistent comparison of competing vendor proposals.
- Overlooking hidden or non-recurring commercial costs.
- Ineffective RFP and BOQ structures.
- Limited ability to benchmark vendor pricing.
- Weak negotiation leverage and missed commercial opportunities.
- Unfavourable volume commitment or pricing arrangements.
- Insufficient protection against future price increases and indexation.
- Poor management of support, warranty, and change-request costs.
- Difficulty evaluating long-term five-year and ten-year commercial outcomes.
- Weak identification of opportunities for rebates and gain-sharing.
- Delayed or inconsistent commercial evaluation of telecom investments.
- Increased exposure to inefficient sourcing and vendor-management decisions.
Conclusion
Over five days, this masterclass provides a comprehensive and practical understanding of telecommunications pricing, cost modelling, vendor benchmarking, sourcing, and negotiation, with a particular focus on 5G SA and the commercial evolution toward 6G.
The programme combines telecom commercial architecture with practical should-cost modelling, TCO analysis, vendor benchmarking, RFP and BOQ development, price normalization, commercial evaluation, and negotiation strategies.
Participants will develop the ability to translate telecom network requirements into commercial models, understand vendor cost structures, compare competing offers, evaluate lifecycle economics, identify negotiation opportunities, and support more robust commercial decisions throughout the telecom sourcing and procurement lifecycle.
Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
1. Who is this course designed for?
Telecom commercial professionals, procurement and sourcing specialists, pricing managers, finance professionals, network strategy teams, commercial managers, technology executives, vendor-management professionals, and professionals responsible for telecom procurement and commercial negotiations.
2. Is the course practical?
Yes. The programme includes practical pricing models, should-cost and TCO exercises, vendor benchmarking, RFP and BOQ development, price normalization, scenario analysis, and integrated sourcing and negotiation exercises.
3. Does the course require a technical telecom background?
A general understanding of telecommunications is beneficial, but the programme focuses primarily on the commercial, financial, pricing, sourcing, and negotiation aspects of telecom networks.
4. Does the course cover 5G Standalone architecture?
Yes. The programme examines 5G SA architecture from a commercial perspective, including RAN, Core, Cloud, Transport, hardware, software, licensing, services, and lifecycle economics.
5. Does the course cover 6G?
Yes. It examines the commercial evolution from 5G toward 6G and considers emerging implications for network economics, investment, cost structures, and vendor pricing.
6. Does the course cover telecom vendor benchmarking?
Yes. The programme covers commercial benchmarking and comparison of major telecom vendors, including Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, and ZTE, while focusing on pricing structures, cost components, normalization, and lifecycle economics.
7. Does the course cover RFP and BOQ design?
Yes. Participants examine how to structure 5G SA RFPs, develop commercial BOQs and pricing schedules, define mandatory and optional pricing, and normalize vendor responses.
8. Does the course cover negotiation?
Yes. It covers telecom-specific negotiation levers, volume commitments, price protection, indexation, warranty, support, change requests, rebates, gain-sharing, and final commercial evaluation.
9. Does the course include pricing and TCO modelling?
Yes. Participants work with should-cost models, volume × unit-rate models, capacity-based pricing, hardware and software decomposition, TCO models, and five-year and ten-year price curves.
10. What is the duration of the course?
Five days, four hours per day, for a total of 20 training hours.
11. Is the course delivered by one trainer?
Yes. The entire training programme is designed to be delivered by one trainer throughout the five days.
