The global telecommunications industry stands at an inflection point. Either they evolve soon, as many leading Telecommunications providers are already doing, or they lose ground, creating space for new players to emerge.
Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are currently facing a scissor effect of divergence. Data traffic demands are growing exponentially, which demands massive capital expenditures (CapEx) that is projected to reach USD 545.3 billion annually by 2034, while revenue growth remains sluggish and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) stagnates or declines in real terms across major markets like Europe.
Simultaneously, the industry is eroding value due to operational inefficiencies. Fraud costs the sector nearly USD 33 billion annually, and legacy roaming and interconnect settlement systems are ill-equipped to handle the volume and complexity of 5G and IoT traffic. OTT players continue to commoditize the network layer and capture application-level value while leaving telcos to bear the infrastructure costs.
Blockchain, with its fundamental value proposition and emerging verticals such as Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) and validator operations, offers the structural remediation and new revenue opportunities required to address these challenges.
The Macro-Economic State of Global Telecoms
To understand the urgency of blockchain adoption, we must first rigorously analyze the macroeconomic and operational pressures in which modern telcos operate.
The industry is trapped in a cycle of high investment requirements and diminishing returns, which creates an imperative for massive structural renovation.
1. Increasing Capital Expenditure Risk
In 2024, the Global Telecom Service Provider Investment (CapEx) market was valued at approximately USD 335.96 billion. Driven by the relentless demand for 5G Standalone (SA) infrastructure, fiber densification, and preparatory work for 6G, this figure is projected to grow to USD 353.42 billion in 2025 and expand further to USD 545.3 billion by 2034. This growth has an almost CAGR of 4.94%.
This massive capital outlay is the price of admission to remain competitive. Approximately 61% of current investments target 5G infrastructure, with another 29% focused on cloud-native and virtualization strategies. Operators are tasked with building the high-speed rails for the digital economy, yet their ability to monetize this usage is constrained.
Global Telecom CapEx vs. Revenue and ARPU Trends (2024–2025)
| Metric | 2024 Value | 2025/Future Projection | Trend Analysis & Implications |
| Global CapEx | $335.96 Billion | $545.3 Billion (2034) | Increasing CapEx burden driven by 5G SA and Fiber rollout. |
| Mobile ARPU (Europe) | €14.8 | Declining (-5.9%) | European ARPU is shrinking in real terms, lagging significantly behind global peers. |
| Mobile ARPU (USA) | €41.7 | Flat / Saturation | Higher absolute value, but facing saturation; growth is difficult without new services. |
| Revenue Growth | ~3% | ~3% CAGR | Revenue growth is sluggish compared to the explosive growth in data traffic. |
| Fixed Internet Traffic | High Base | +16% Growth | Traffic volume is decoupling from revenue, creating a scissor effect on margins. |
| 5G SA Coverage (EU) | 40% | Lagging | Europe trails North America (91%) and Asia (45%) in standalone 5G, requiring catch-up spend. |
The data indicate a stark regional divergence. While North American operators enjoy a robust ARPU of €41.7, European operators are struggling with an ARPU of just €14.8, a nearly 6% decline in real terms over the last year. Costs are rising to support data volumes that increase by 16% annually, but revenue per unit of data is trending downward.
2. The Revenue Crisis
For over a decade, the telecommunications industry has been losing the battle for the application layer to OTT players. These Companies utilize the infrastructure built by MNOs to deliver services that directly cannibalize telco revenue streams.
OTT services generated $167 billion globally in 2025, doubling from $83 billion in 2019, while telcos struggle to monetize the massive bandwidth these services consume.
A longitudinal study of the industry tells us that while mobile user numbers increased by 83% over a decade, ARPU fell significantly for many operators (e.g., from $22.39 to $13.56 in certain global cohorts) because MNOs failed to monetize the surge in data traffic.
For whom it increased, we observed only a 2% increase to approximately $28 in early 2024, which barely outpaced inflation.
Operators are also expected to lose more than USD 3 billion in SMS messaging revenue globally to OTT channels over the next five years.
If this trend continues, MNOs will remain as utilities that provide connectivity but capture none of the high-margin value generated by the applications running on top of them. To reverse this, telcos must find ways to monetize their unique assets. Their identity, security, and the payment infrastructure.
3. The $40 Billion Fraud
Operational inefficiency and fraud are a massive, controllable cost center. The industry loses $38.95 billion annually to billing fraud alone, and this figure is increasing by 12% year-over-year.
As per the TransUnion 2025 Telecommunication Fraud report, the top fraud vectors are:
- Payment fraud (57% of operators affected)
- New subscriber fraud (53%)
- Identity theft (50%)
Nearly 70% of telecom fraud occurs through online channels that exploit weak KYC processes and fragmented identity systems. Roaming fraud alone is projected to peak at $20.5 billion before declining to $11 billion by 2030, but only if operators implement real-time verification systems.
Structural Challenges in Legacy Telecom Infrastructure
The inability of telcos to address the challenges outlined above is rooted in their legacy technological architecture. The industry relies on centralized, siloed databases and archaic settlement protocols that were designed for the voice era, not the 5G/IoT era.
1. Operational Inefficiencies Drain Capital
120-day roaming settlement cycles tie up billions in working capital through manual reconciliation between operators. These archaic processes create disputes, delay payments, and require extensive back-office support. With mobile network data traffic reaching 188 exabytes per month in Q3 2025 (up 20% YoY), manual settlement systems cannot scale.
2. Security Vulnerabilities Are Escalating
Telecom networks face a 74% increase in cyberattacks, driven by legacy SS7/Diameter protocol flaws and fragmented security systems. The December 2024 Salt Typhoon incident exposed U.S. networks to Chinese espionage via CALEA systems, with vulnerabilities in unpatched routers (some with patches available for seven years) and weak authentication. SK Telecom suffered a breach affecting 27 million users in April 2025, resulting in a $96.9 million fine.
43% of operators lack integrated identity verification systems, creating gaps that fraudsters exploit through SIM swaps and fake credentials.
The Opportunity from Blockchain
The blockchain market in the telecommunications sector is experiencing rapid growth. North America leads with enterprise adoption and regulatory frameworks, while Asia Pacific accelerates through massive 5G/IoT deployments and mobile payment ecosystems in India and China.
| Metric | 2024 | 2030 | 2033 | CAGR |
| Market Size | $1.07B | $7.25B – $71.99B | $34.8B | 30.91% – 84.4% |
| North America Share | 37.4% – 44% | Largest market | Continued dominance | — |
| Asia Pacific Growth | — | Highest CAGR | Fastest expansion | Driven by India/China mobile payments |
By provider segment (2023-2024):
- Application providers: 42.4% market share
- Infrastructure providers: 62.4% in some analyses
- OSS/BSS processes: 50.3% of applications
- Smart contracts: 25.75% of applications
Three converging forces make blockchain essential for telecom:
- IoT Explosion: Connected devices will grow from 16.6 billion (2023) to 40 billion by 2030, requiring secure, automated authentication and data exchange at scales traditional systems cannot support.
- 5G Proliferation: 5G subscriptions reached 2.8 billion in Q3 2025 (one-third of mobile subscriptions), projected to hit 6.4 billion by 2031. 5G’s ultra-low latency and network slicing capabilities demand programmable, automated service management that smart contracts enable.
- Regulatory Pressure: GDPR, eIDAS 2.0, and data sovereignty laws require decentralized identity and privacy-preserving data sharing, which blockchain delivers natively.
How Blockchain Solves Core Telecom Challenges?
1. Fraud Prevention through Immutable Transaction Records
Blockchain’s tamper-proof ledgers create an audit trail for every transaction, blocking fraud at the point of initiation. When a roaming session starts in a Visited Public Mobile Network (VPMN), smart contracts encoded with roaming terms automatically validate authentication credentials against distributed records. Unauthorized access attempts are flagged in real time, eliminating the delay that allows fraudulent calls to complete.
The impact could be a 15-25% reduction in $40 billion annual fraud losses, which translates to $6-10 billion in recovered revenue.
Telefónica and GSMA piloted blockchain-based roaming authentication, demonstrating faster fraud detection than days-long manual reviews.
2. Roaming Settlement from 120 Days to near Real-Time
Smart contracts automate cross-border reconciliation by executing call detail record (CDR) and usage detail record (UDR) exchanges the moment roaming traffic occurs. Payments settle instantly based on pre-programmed rates, eliminating intermediaries and disputes.
The impact could be a 50% reduction in settlement operations costs, thereby freeing up working capital from 120-day cycles.
The ClearX and Deutsche Telekom pilot demonstrated automated inter-carrier settlements, reducing processing time from months to minutes.
3. Identity Management through Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)
Decentralized identity systems give users control over credentials stored on blockchain, shareable via zero-knowledge proofs. Operators verify age, location, or payment status without accessing personal data, meeting GDPR requirements while reducing KYC costs.
The impact could be a 99% fraud reduction in roaming authentication and a 40% reduction in identity fraud overall.
Telefónica’s partnership with GSMA, TMT ID, and Dock Labs enabled privacy-preserving call center authentication via mobile ID wallets, reducing verification time from 90 seconds to near-instant and eliminating OTPs and personal data sharing.
4. Data Privacy through User-Controlled Sharing
Decentralized storage replaces centralized databases vulnerable to breaches. Users grant granular permissions for data sharing via smart contracts, thereby creating audit trails that satisfy regulatory requirements while enabling ethical data monetization.
The impact is on GDPR compliance, breach prevention, and the foundation for new data marketplace revenue.
5. Security through Distributed Consensus Eliminates Single Points of Failure
Blockchain’s distributed architecture removes centralized attack surfaces. Node consensus mechanisms require majority agreement for transaction validation, making network-wide compromises computationally infeasible.
**Impact**: 40% reduction in identity fraud; resilience against nation-state attacks like Salt Typhoon.
6. Network Congestion: Token-Based Resource Allocation
Dynamic spectrum and bandwidth trading via blockchain tokens enables operators to monetize spare capacity in real time. Edge computing resources can be tokenized and allocated based on demand, thereby optimizing network utilization as video traffic accounts for 76% of mobile data (188 EB/month in Q3 2025).
Blockchain Benefits Mapped to Pain Points
| Challenge | Blockchain Solution | Mechanism | Quantified Impact |
| Billing Fraud ($38.95B/year) | Immutable ledgers | Tamper-proof transaction records | 15-25% loss reduction ($6-10B recovered) |
| Roaming Inefficiency (120-day cycles) | Smart contracts | Automated real-time settlements | 50% cost reduction, instant processing |
| Identity Verification (43% lack IDV) | Self-sovereign identity | Decentralized credentials, ZK-proofs | 99% fraud reduction in roaming |
| Data Privacy Breaches | Decentralized storage | User-controlled data sharing | GDPR compliance, breach prevention |
| Security Vulnerabilities (+74% attacks) | Distributed consensus | No single point of failure | 40% reduction in identity fraud |
| Network Congestion (188 EB/month) | Dynamic allocation | Token-based bandwidth trading | 25% efficiency improvement |
New Revenue Streams Beyond Cost Savings
While operational efficiencies deliver billions in savings, blockchain creates entirely new revenue engines for telecom operators.
1. Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks
DePIN opens up the biggest opportunity to Telecom operators with tokenization. Tokenizing network infrastructure to incentivize expansion and monetize spare capacity. The DePIN market is currently valued at $30- $ 50 billion and is projected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2028, according to the World Economic Forum. Total value locked (TVL) increased from $5 billion in mid-2023 to $50 billion by 2030, with more than 1,500 projects deployed by 2025.
How DePIN Works for Telcos:
– Community-deployed infrastructure: Token rewards incentivize users to deploy small cells, WiFi hotspots, or edge nodes, expanding coverage at zero capex to the operator
– Capacity monetization: Idle spectrum, bandwidth, and edge computing are traded on tokenized markets
– Data marketplaces: Anonymized location, traffic, and usage data are sold via blockchain with user consent
DePIN Revenue:
| Project | Model | Annual Revenue | Growth |
| Helium | $20/month mobile plans, WiFi offload ($0.50/GB) | Seven-figure revenue | 100,000+ subscribers |
| Geodnet | High-precision GPS data licensing | $1.7M (2024) | +500% YoY |
| World Mobile | Community AirNodes (100,000 deployed) | Billions of IPDRs processed | Global expansion |
Helium demonstrates the model’s potential: by offloading traffic to community Wi-Fi and charging carriers $0.50/GB, it generates sustainable revenue while offering consumers $20/month unlimited plans, thereby undercutting traditional MNOs.
2. Validator Node Operations: 5-15% Passive Income
Blockchain validation leverages telecom operators’ existing infrastructure—data centers, fiber backbones, 24/7 NOCs—to earn staking rewards across Proof-of-Stake networks. Validators secure blockchain networks by processing transactions and maintaining ledgers, earning yields that exceed traditional telecom capex returns.
Staking Yields by Network (December 2025):
| Network | APY Range | Characteristics | Telecom Involvement |
| Solana | 6-7.5% | High throughput (65,000 TPS), DeFi hub | General validator market |
| Injective | 11.3-12.87% | DeFi-native L1, institutional-grade | Deutsche Telekom (Top-10-Validator) |
| Babylon | ~19% | Bitcoin staking layer | Emerging opportunity |
| Coreum | 28-44% | Enterprise blockchain | High-yield niche |
| NEAR | ~7% | Smart contract platform | Deutsche Telekom (first global telco validator 2024) |
| Polygon | 4-5% | Ethereum scaling, $1.3B+ DeFi TVL | Deutsche Telekom (infrastructure since 2022) |
3. Tokenized Infrastructure Assets
Operators can fractionalize ownership of physical infrastructure—5G towers, spectrum licenses, fiber networks—via security tokens, raising capital from retail and institutional investors while retaining operational control.
Models:
– Liquid Infrastructure: First tokenized telecom assets platform, enabling programmable revenue sharing from network usage
– ICO fundraising: Selling fractional tower ownership to fund 5G expansion without debt
– Yield-bearing tokens: Investors earn passive income from infrastructure cash flows
This model democratizes telecom investment, previously limited to large institutions, while providing operators with patient, on-chain capital.
4. Data Monetization Platforms
Blockchain enables ethical, consent-based data marketplaces in which users control data-sharing permissions and receive compensation. Operators create revenue by:
– Licensing anonymized traffic patterns to urban planners
– Selling location data to retailers (with user opt-in)
– Providing mobility insights to AI/ML enterprises
Smart contracts automate consent management, payments, and regulatory compliance (GDPR, CCPA).
5. Embedded Web3 Services
Operators become Web3 gateways by embedding DeFi, NFTs, and loyalty tokens into existing apps, capturing transaction fees from the $100+ billion crypto economy.
Take The Binary Holdings, for example. They built an Avalanche Layer-1 using Zeeve’s appchain-as-a-service for telco-grade performance and security (ISO 27001, SOC 2, 99.9% uptime SLA).
The Binary Holdings (TBH) gives a glimpse of the revenue potential of Web3-telecom integration across Southeast Asia. They have 169 million users onboarded, 78 million active wallets integrated into telco apps, and 950 million monthly transactions processed.
Read More About The Binary Holdings: See How Blockchain Integration Gave Them New Revenue Opportunities.
Blockchain as Essential Infrastructure
Deutsche Telekom earns multi-million-euro revenues from validation; The Binary Holdings processes 950 million monthly transactions for 169 million users; and Vodafone is embedding blockchain into 5.6 billion SIMs. All these are production revenue streams.
The $34.8 billion blockchain telecom market by 2033 is a huge opportunity for operators to transition from passive bandwidth sellers to active participants in decentralized economies. By running validators, tokenizing infrastructure, automating settlements, and embedding Web3 services, telcos can capture value from the same digital transformation that OTT platforms used to disintermediate them.
With 50 billion IoT devices requiring secure authentication, 7.51 billion 5G subscriptions demanding programmable services, and $40 billion in fraud losses waiting to be eliminated, blockchain infrastructure will be the foundation for telecom’s next 50 years of growth.
The operators who integrate blockchain now will define the industry’s future. Those who delay will fund their competitors’ innovations.
If you’re a Telecom player ready to integrate blockchain with your operations, Zeeve can help you tap into the market with enterprise-grade infrastructure. The best of the best Telecom players choose Zeeve. Let you be the next!
