- Swisscom says operators need to build the commercial foundations for 6G now by developing differentiated connectivity and network slicing on 5G SA
- Singtel predicts operators will move beyond traditional voice, SMS and data models, potentially toward metering and monetizing AI tokens
- Ericsson expects 6G monetization to include integrated sensing, distributed computing, AI, positioning and outcome-based offers
ERICSSON OSS/BSS SUMMIT 2026, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – If operators want to make money from 6G, they may need to spend less time worrying about the "6G" label and more time figuring out how to sell capabilities that are already emerging with 5G standalone (SA). That's according to a panel discussion based around an uncomfortable reality: 5G still has not produced the wave of new revenue streams that operators expected.
Despite lagging 5G monetization Philipp Bichsel, EVP of mobile network and services at Swisscom, told summit attendees that the promised commercial opportunity depends on 5G SA, which is only now being exploited.
"I think it's still too early to say that 5G has not delivered its promises because honestly, we are just now starting to monetize 5G SA, and the big promise of 5G comes with the SA," Bichsel said.
However, he warned the room not to repeat the transition from non-standalone (NSA) 5G to SA when 6G arrives. "When it comes to the question, what should we do differently when we go into 6G? I would say let's don't think about an NSA version of 6G. Let's go directly into a full 6G version," Bichsel argued.
More importantly, operators shouldn't wait for 6G to start building its commercial model, he added. "If you don't invest time now to develop the market for standalone and network slicing and all of these use cases, then you will have a disappointment also after the launch of 6G," Bichsel said.
Stop selling bigger pipes
The bigger monetization challenge is figuring out exactly what operators can charge for beyond conventional connectivity. Bichsel said operators' existing pricing models aren't well suited to the next generation of services.
"Today we mostly still sell big pipes, and the main differentiating factors that many operators use in their portfolios today, including Swisscom, is still downlink speed and roaming volume, and these just don't work anymore," he said. Instead, he pointed toward tightly integrated services such as security and much more tailored connectivity. One example would be connectivity optimized for customers who routinely use Microsoft Teams while traveling, he added.
Singtel is already pushing in that direction. Yeen Chin Chan, senior director of mobile service engineering at Singtel, described its consumer offering as having three 5G performance tiers, with the higher levels incorporating capabilities such as radio slicing, security and enhanced quality of service.
He said 6G could allow Singtel to "further widen the differentiation between the tiers" and potentially introduce additional tiers. But the potential charging models go considerably further. He also raised the possibility of operators eventually monetizing AI consumption alongside connectivity.
“SMS, voice, data is slowly becoming irrelevant, right, and tokens may be the next thing that we need to be able to monetize,” Chan said. Rather than forcing consumers to maintain multiple standalone AI subscriptions, Chan said operators could bundle AI services into their plans. “If we were to package this into a plan, this means that our plan will go much higher value,” he said.
Machines become customers of the network
With 6G, one of the biggest changes could be who, or what, actually buys connectivity. Bichsel expects an increasing portion of operator connections to come from machines rather than humans. Those machines could eventually request network capabilities for themselves instead of sitting on static service plans.
"The machines will want to negotiate proposed requirements with your network on a very frequent basis, daily or several times a day," Bichsel said.
For example, a drone sitting on the ground doesn't need the same network performance as one conducting a mission-critical flight. That could allow the drone to request guaranteed uplink performance when it needs it, while the operator dynamically adjusts the price depending on network conditions and demand.
Robert Morrison, head of monetization at Ericsson, foresees economic growth similarly shifting toward machines even if humans remain a massive 6G subscriber base.
"I think the economic value and the area of growth will be machine-based connections," Morrison said.
For Ericsson, that opportunity could eventually bring multiple 6G capabilities together. Morrison said integrated sensing and connectivity, ubiquitous networks, and distributed computing and AI are three areas that could build on 5G SA capabilities. "I think 6G will really become an enterprise play for many of those services," Morrison said.
BSS needs to change before 6G arrives
However, none of the above will work if operators' charging and business systems can't accommodate far more dynamic products, noted session moderator Andy Hicks, senior principal analyst at GlobalData.
Swisscom, for example, has started what Bichsel described as a "full-blown BSS transformation," moving from roughly 70 to 80 systems toward one SaaS application by 2031.
Bichsel noted that today's sales and support systems were built to serve humans, not autonomous machines. He sees network APIs as both a near-term revenue opportunity and potentially a future way of exposing network capabilities directly to machines.
Meanwhile, Singtel's Chan laid out three priorities operators could tackle now: moving from static network configurations toward offer-driven models; integrating AI across OSS and BSS so customer intent can translate into fulfillment and assurance; and building the ability to "meter, control and monetize tokens."
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