How MSPs Can Add Connectivity Without Becoming a Telecom Company

Connectivity has quietly become one of the most commercially important layers in modern IT environments.

It underpins cloud platforms, hosted voice, cybersecurity tooling, backup strategies, and remote access. Without stable connectivity, everything else an MSP delivers becomes fragile.

And yet, many MSPs still hesitate to add broadband or fibre services directly into their portfolio.

The reason is rarely demand. It is fear of complexity.

Telecoms has historically felt contractual, technical, and operationally messy. Direct carrier relationships, provisioning delays, fragmented billing, and escalation confusion have all contributed to the perception that offering connectivity means becoming a telecom company.

That perception is outdated.

Modern wholesale models allow MSPs to add connectivity cleanly and predictably, without absorbing the operational burden traditionally associated with telecom resale.

The hesitation is understandable

For years, telecom resale required MSPs to step into unfamiliar territory.

It often meant:

• Holding direct contracts with carriers

• Navigating multiple ordering portals

• Managing number porting processes

• Reconciling usage-based billing

• Escalating faults through fragmented support structures

For businesses built around structured managed services and predictable support models, this felt misaligned.

MSPs built their reputation on control and accountability. Traditional telecom models introduced variables outside that control.

So connectivity was either referred out, passed through, or left to the customer to source independently.

The unintended consequence is that MSPs often remain accountable for services they do not own.

Connectivity already impacts your service delivery

Even when an MSP does not formally supply connectivity, they are still responsible for its consequences. Connectivity is foundational to business connectivity resilience, whether it is formally supplied or not.

When a customer’s broadband fails, the MSP receives the call.

When VoIP drops, the MSP is asked to investigate.

When cloud platforms become inaccessible, the MSP is expected to respond.

Connectivity may not sit on your invoice, but it already sits inside your operational risk profile.

Adding connectivity under a structured wholesale model does not increase responsibility. In many cases, it clarifies it. When MSPs formally bundle connectivity and voice together, they simplify accountability and strengthen service cohesion.

Selling connectivity is not the same as operating infrastructure

One of the most common misconceptions is that offering connectivity means running a network.

In reality, modern wholesale connectivity separates infrastructure management from customer ownership.

Under a wholesale model:

• The wholesale provider manages carrier relationships

• Provisioning workflows are centralised

• Escalation paths are defined and controlled

• Network operations remain with infrastructure providers

• Wholesale pricing is structured and predictable

The MSP remains focused on:

• Advising the customer

• Designing the appropriate solution

• Setting retail pricing and margin

• Maintaining the commercial relationship

That distinction removes the need to build internal telecom expertise or operational capability and sits at the heart of how modern wholesale telecoms providers structure their platforms for MSPs.

Abstraction has changed the model entirely

The biggest evolution in wholesale connectivity has been abstraction.

Rather than forcing MSPs to interact with multiple carriers directly, modern platforms aggregate networks and standardise access. Aggregated, carrier-agnostic connectivity models allow MSPs to design solutions without being restricted by a single network footprint.

This typically includes:

• Real-time availability lookups

• Aggregated access across national and alternative networks

• Defined wholesale rate cards

• Streamlined provisioning workflows

• Single-channel escalation

From the MSP’s perspective, connectivity becomes just another managed service line. Access to wholesale full fibre connectivity across multiple networks has made nationwide coverage more achievable than ever.

The complexity still exists, but it is absorbed at the wholesale layer rather than passed downstream.

Commercially, connectivity strengthens the MSP model

Beyond operational simplification, adding connectivity has clear financial and strategic benefits.

Beyond operational simplification, adding connectivity has clear financial and strategic benefits.

Connectivity is:

• Inherently recurring

• Sticky when designed correctly

• Foundational to other services

• Resistant to churn once embedded

When broadband, fibre, or leased lines sit alongside cloud, voice, and security services, the MSP relationship becomes deeper and more durable.

It also removes the risk of another supplier entering the account and expanding their footprint over time.

Owning the connectivity conversation protects your wider service stack.

You do not need telecom engineers to lead infrastructure discussions

The most effective MSPs do not try to compete with carriers at a technical level.

Instead, they:

• Understand how the customer operates

• Identify critical dependencies

• Design proportionate solutions

• Leverage wholesale expertise where needed

Telecom infrastructure remains the responsibility of the network provider. Strategic design and relationship ownership remain with the MSP.

This balance allows MSPs to expand their offering without diluting focus.

The shift is strategic, not technical

Adding connectivity is not about transforming into a telecom company.

It is about recognising that infrastructure ownership strengthens control, margin, and customer retention.

Connectivity already underpins everything else you deliver. Ignoring it does not reduce risk. It reduces influence.

With the right wholesale structure, MSPs can add broadband and fibre services in a way that is commercially aligned, operationally manageable, and strategically sound.

You do not need to operate networks.
You need to design responsibly and own the relationship.

Choosing the right wholesale connectivity partner ensures operational simplicity while protecting margin and control.

Are you ready to partner with Bright Edge?

If you are looking for a wholesale partner that is genuinely invested in your growth, Bright Edge offers the experience, support and foundations to help you scale connectivity and voice with confidence.

Unlock additional revenue from both new and existing clients by removing the operational complexity, focus on selling and servicing customers, while maximising margin across connectivity and voice without adding internal overhead.