Telco Energy Platforms: The Next Growth Curve for Connectivity Players

Telco Energy Platforms: The Next Growth Curve for Connectivity Players

Telco energy platforms are emerging as the next growth engine, and telco energy platforms align utilities, HEPs and networks to turn connectivity into everyday household value.

Yesterday, telecom revenue rode on voice/SMS, handset subsidies and controlled distribution. Average revenue per user (ARPU) was strong, churn was low, and growth predictable. Today, connectivity is a commodity: OTTs captured messaging and voice (GSMA context), hyperscalers took the software margin, 5G/standards raise CAPEX, and PSTN fraud erodes trust. Result: flat ARPU and thin paths to growth. 

Tomorrow’s curve forms in energy digitalization. Utilities need digital relationships with prosumers and flexible demand; ENTSO‑E and exchanges like EPEX SPOT send the price signals that make flexibility real. Home Energy Platforms (HEPs) orchestrate HEMS, dynamic tariffs, EV charging and heat pumps. Telcos hold assets OTTs don’t: verified identity, lawful rails, carrier billing, edge/QoS and universal reach. 

Evidence in market. In Japan, KDDI’s au Denki scaled energy retail from a mobile base. In Spain, MasOrange uses telco channels to bundle energy. In Germany, Deutsche Telekom’s Comfortcharge extends EV charging linked to core infrastructure. 

Playbook for growth.

• Trust & Identity Rails: branded/verified calling for outages and demand response; consented login tied to a line/number.

• HEP‑as‑a‑Service: white‑label “Energy OS” with partners—Kraken, Kaluza, EnergyHub—monetized per connected home plus a share of flexibility value.

• Connectivity + Energy bundles: broadband + HEMS + dynamic tariffs + EV/heat‑pump financing to lift ARPU and reduce churn.

• Data to outcomes: publish three numbers quarterly—€ per home saved (avg), kWh shifted (total), and retention. 

Operating model shifts. Telcos orchestrate the ecosystem rather than copy OTTs. Adopt open standards so devices “just work”: Matter (onboarding), OpenADR (automated DR), OCPP (EVSE), and DLMS/COSEM (meters/DER). Run privacy‑by‑design aligned with GDPR and cybersecurity baselines (NIST CSF). 

90‑day country pilot. Pick one segment (e.g., EV owners). Co‑brand with a utility, bundle dynamic tariffs, and ship a white‑label HEP inside the telco app with verified alerts. Run two real events in month one (overnight smart charging; evening peak pre‑heat), then publish savings, shifted kWh and retention with customer quotes. 

Why this works. Households get one app, lower bills and fewer worries; utilities cut peaks with happier customers; telcos turn daily engagement into new margin. That is how connectivity starts paying for itself—by becoming the trusted rail for energy automation at home. 

Telco energy platforms: a 90‑day blueprint for ARPU lift

Start narrow, prove savings on real bills, expand devices and partners—keep standards open and the promise simple.