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The Role of AI in Mobile Monetization

Publisher IDC
Published Aug 14, 2025
Length 13 Pages
SKU # IDC20314461

Description

This IDC Market Perspective explores how AI and data are reshaping the monetization and operational strategies of communications service providers (CSPs) in the 5G era. With traditional subscription-based models under pressure, CSPs must pivot toward value-centric approaches, where revenue emerges from tailored services, outcome-based offerings, and operational intelligence. This document highlights the strategic imperative for modernizing IT and operations, adopting platform-centric architectures, and embedding AI across the service life cycle, from network automation and customer profiling to intent-based orchestration and SLA assurance.This document also stresses that AI must not remain isolated in technical teams but become an organizational capability supported by cultural change, talent alignment, and governance evolution. The shift requires fast, iterative experimentation, intelligent use of data from networks and users, and the ability to act on insights at scale.“The most important step for CSPs is to stop treating AI as a tool and start treating it as a strategy,” said Alejandro Cadenas, associate vice president of Telco Research at IDC Europe. “Operators that integrate AI into their business models — not just to improve operations but to unlock new monetization pathways through data, automation, and differentiated services — will be the ones to lead the industry’s transformation.”

Table of Contents

13 Pages

Executive Snapshot

New Market Developments and Dynamics

The 5G Monetization Imperative

Rethinking Value Beyond the Subscription-Based Model

Data and AI as Monetization Enablers

The Well-Known Importance of Data and the Lesser-Known Relevance of Operations

The Data-to-Insight-to-Action Pipeline

Step 1: Data Identification and Capture

Step 2: Data Transport and Platform Ingestion

Step 3: Data Processing and AI Model Training

Step 4: Insight Extraction and Business Alignment

Step 5: Insight Deployment into Operations

Step 6: Operational Feedback and System Adaptation

Best Practice: Orange Business

IT Modernization with Operational Continuity

AI Strategy: Focused, Realistic, and Impact Driven

Next-Generation Connectivity as a Strategic Anchor

Advice for the Service Provider

Redefine the Business Model from Subscription Driven to Value Centric, Powered by Data and AI

Invest in Platform-Centric Architecture to Scale AI and Data-Driven Value

Modernize IT and Operations to Enable Data-Driven Execution at Scale

Adopt a Culture of Rapid Experimentation, Enabled by AI and Automation

Build AI Awareness and Competence Across the Organization to Unlock Future Opportunities

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