Author: Jeevithan Muttu, SVP and GM, Device Management at Motive

Mobile operators have spent decades building networks that can identify customers, authenticate devices, control access to services and understand what is happening in real time.

Yet most of that capability is still monetized through one thing: connectivity. That is the missed opportunity.

As subscriber growth becomes harder to sustain and connectivity becomes more difficult to differentiate, operators need new ways to grow. One of the biggest opportunities is already inside the network: turning trusted network capabilities into services customers and enterprises will pay to use.

This is already starting to happen. eSIM, network-based authentication, multi-device services and satellite connectivity are creating new ways for operators to generate value from capabilities they already own.

The question is no longer just how much more traffic the network can carry. It is how much more value operators can create from what the network already knows and can do.

Operators already have more value in the network than they monetize 

Mobile operators have assets few digital businesses can replicate: a direct subscriber relationship, a secure SIM credential, real-time network context and control over connectivity.

Historically, those capabilities have been used primarily to make mobile services work. Now they can do much more.

Operators can use them to simplify eSIM activation, support secure device and number transfers, enable multi-device services, strengthen authentication and create more flexible connectivity offers across terrestrial and satellite networks.

These are not simply technical improvements. They can reduce friction for customers, make new services easier to adopt and create new opportunities to generate revenue.

What connects many of these services is entitlement.  Entitlement determines whether a subscriber and device are eligible for a service and how that service should be activated.

It has long supported services such as VoLTE, VoWiFi and eSIM. Its role is now expanding as operators look to support a broader set of consumer and enterprise services.

Activation is becoming part of the customer experience 

New devices are making activation more complex at exactly the point customers expect it to become simpler. Whether someone is changing phones, activating an eSIM, adding a wearable or connecting through a satellite service, they do not want to understand what is happening behind the scenes.

They expect the service to work and that makes activation part of the customer experience, not simply an operational process. A smooth activation experience can make it easier for a customer to upgrade, add another device or adopt a new service. A poor one can create friction at the very point an operator is trying to grow the relationship.

Operators therefore need to know who is eligible, which device is being used and how the requested service should be activated. Once that capability is in place, connectivity can also be packaged in more flexible ways. Services can be tailored by device, location, customer or use case rather than sold only through a fixed plan.

This is differentiation is becoming increasingly important as terrestrial and satellite connectivity come together. Therefore, the opportunity is not simply to extend coverage. It is to create services that can be activated when they are needed, for the customers and devices that need them, and charged for accordingly.

Identity could become a major new revenue opportunity 

The same principle applies to identity. Digital businesses continue to face fraud, account takeover and friction in authentication journeys. SMS one-time passwords remain widely used, but they are not always the best fit for every customer interaction. The SIM gives operators another trusted signal with SIM-based authentication confirming the relationship between a customer, mobile number and device without requiring another password or code.

For banks, retailers, digital platforms and public services, this can reduce friction while adding another layer of confidence to the transaction. For operators, it creates something more significant: a route into digital identity as a service they can monetize.

Industry initiatives such as CAMARA and GSMA Open Gateway are helping make network capabilities easier for enterprises to consume through common APIs. The commercial model, however, is very different from the traditional mobile business.

Instead of monetizing only access to the network, operators can charge enterprises to use trusted network capabilities when they need them. The same capability can be used repeatedly across thousands or millions of transactions. For operators looking for growth beyond connectivity, that matters.

 The difficult part is turning capability into a service  

Identifying valuable network capabilities is relatively easy. Making them simple to activate, easy for partners to consume and practical to operate across millions of subscribers and devices is harder.  Entitlement brings together the information needed to determine whether a customer and device can use a service and then activate it.  The same capability used today for VoLTE, VoNR and eSIM can also support newer services such as device transfer, multi-device connectivity, identity and network APIs.

The important shift is to stop treating entitlement purely as back-end infrastructure. It increasingly affects how quickly an operator can turn a network capability into a commercial service.  Operators cannot afford to rebuild their activation environment every time a new device, partner or business model appears. They need the ability to introduce new services quickly, without adding unnecessary complexity behind the scenes

The real opportunity is repeatable revenue  

The biggest shift here is commercial, not technical. Operators have traditionally sold connectivity through relatively fixed products: a plan, a bundle, a data allowance or a speed tier. The emerging model is different.

A bank might use a network capability every time it verifies a customer. A subscriber might activate connectivity for a second device only when it is needed. A business application could call a network API millions of times.

In each case, the operator is monetizing a capability or action rather than simply selling another subscription. This model creates the potential for more repeatable revenue from assets operators already own. It also changes how operators should think about the network itself.

The network is no longer only the infrastructure used to deliver a service. Increasingly, its capabilities can become the service.

The shift is already underway  

 Early examples are already visible. eSIM is simplifying device migration. Satellite-to-device services are creating new connectivity options. SIM-based authentication is turning network trust into something enterprises can consume. 

These are different use cases, but they point in the same direction. Operators are beginning to turn capabilities that once sat behind the network into services that can be sold, consumed and monetized in their own right.

The operators that benefit most will be the ones that can turn those capabilities into services customers want and enterprises can actually use. The next phase of mobile growth will not come from connectivity alone. It will come from finding new ways to commercialize what the network already knows and can do.

The question is no longer how much more traffic the network can carry. It is how much more value operators can create from the capabilities they already own.