When Price Becomes the Enemy of Performance

Most network purchasing conversations start and end with the monthly recurring charge. In this episode of Go Beyond the Connection, Michael Pittman, CEO and Founder of Connected Solutions Group, LLC, makes the case that this framing is costing enterprises more than they realize. The focus on price vs value in network connectivity is not just a vendor talking point; it is a decision that affects uptime, customer experience, and the ability to scale without friction.

Pittman has spent over two decades helping businesses move past the commodity mindset. CSG operates as a Verizon co-sell partner, handling everything from device configuration and staging to on-site installation, antenna placement, and API-driven project visibility. When hardware gaps arise, CSG manufactures its own through the Katalyst brand. The model is built around one principle: if you want connectivity that performs under pressure, someone has to own the full deployment stack.

Redefining What You Are Actually Buying

The challenge with telecom procurement is that most buyers are comparing monthly line items from carriers who are all offering roughly the same speeds on paper. Pittman’s argument is that the real differentiators are invisible until something goes wrong. Reliable failover. A project manager who knows your site. Proactive support that prevents the three-hour troubleshooting call. These are the things that determine whether connectivity enables your business or interrupts it.

“It is our job to illustrate a tangible value beyond the MRC at the carrier level, demonstrating that by choosing this solution, you are receiving the best overall value.” — Michael Pittman, CEO and Founder, Connected Solutions Group, LLC

CSG bundles deployment, staging, and kitting into a single accountable service. Customers get one point of contact, real-time visibility into every stage of the project through API integrations, and a dedicated project manager who understands their business priorities. That combination, Pittman argues, changes the total cost of ownership conversation in ways that a carrier contract comparison never will.

Wireless-First Is Now Enterprise-Grade

One of the persistent objections to wireless-first strategies is reliability. Pittman addresses this directly. The toolkit has changed. Site surveys and heat mapping now cost a fraction of what they did five years ago. Carriers are funding advanced site services because they want the business. Dual-SIM routers with Smart-SIM failover mean that if a primary connection struggles, the device automatically switches to the best available network without any IT intervention. When paired with SD-WAN path control, the result is fiber-like performance at multi-location scale without the delays and costs of trenching physical lines.

Episode Highlights

• Why chasing the lowest bid often results in higher total cost of ownership over time
• How CSG delivers enterprise-grade wireless through site surveys, external antennas, and dual-SIM failover
• The role of API-driven visibility in making third-party vendors feel like an extension of your internal team
• Why customer experience at every touchpoint, from support calls to invoice formatting, builds the competitive moat that keeps clients loyal
• How fixed wireless combined with SD-WAN delivers reliable primary connectivity for multi-location rollouts

Listen to the full episode to hear Pittman break down the practical steps for evaluating network spend against business outcomes rather than carrier pricing alone. Subscribe to Go Beyond the Connection on your preferred platform and follow the LinkedIn newsletter for new episodes as they publish.