With Red Hat, Mavenir has announced an integrated AI platform for telecom operators to monetize from AI services by means of token-based consumption plans.
It is well to be noted that the platform is designed to enable operators to provide AI services such as mobile data plans and charging usage based on tokens via current customer billing systems. Mavenir said operators will still have control when it comes to pricing, service-level contracts, and the models that fundamentally support the interactions with AI.
As per Mavenir, integrated AI platform for telecom operators is compatible with three operating models. They may employ it to deliver custom-branded AI services to subscribers, provide an AI infrastructure foundation for AI grid deployments, or offer managed AI features to enterprise customers on a token-based consumption basis.
Notably, the system is built on Red Hat AI and Kubernetes infrastructure via Red Hat OpenShift. The architecture is built to offer operators a versatile, sovereignty-centric platform that can run on-premises models as well as custom small language models when it comes to routine workloads, remarks Mavenir.
In addition to this, the platform also provides policy-controlled access to external frontier AI models for operations that require advanced logic or multi-modal abilities. Mavenir says operators can choose which model is taking which demand, who is paying for it, and how it is going to be billed.
Mavenir says token-based AI consumption goes on to act as familiar data-usage models, which implies that operators can make use of standard billing and service management systems so as to establish new revenue streams from AI. AI token plans that are monthly and enterprise quotas as well as SLA-backed AI service tiers could go on to open a new layer of monetization on top of connectivity, it said.
The combined AI platform integrates the AI software platform from Mavenir with enterprise Kubernetes along with the AI capabilities of Red Hat, running on verified hardware from third-party partners. The platform boasts intelligent model routing, token optimization, AI platform-as-a-service as well as MLOps capabilities, billing integration, token charging, closed-loop service assurance, and zero-trust identity controls as well as AI-specific security.
When it comes to enterprise customers, the platform allows operators to provide fee-based access to AI models, compute resources, and AI tools as value-added services. Operators can make use of it as the compute and AI fabric for network-embedded AI applications as well as third-party workloads to deploy an AI grid.
Operators can also use the platform to offer AI-powered products directly to subscribers, such as AI assistant plans charged by token consumption and AI-enhanced network services as well as operator-branded AI apps.
Mavenir says the platform is intended to promote new AI revenue streams, foreseeable AI economics, data privacy, and contract SLAs for operator-managed AI services, as well as enterprise-grade security. The company will present the platform at DTW Ignite 2026 on 23-25 June.
Let’s be honest – with the rise of AI services, telecom companies are looking for ways to get more than just connectivity revenue. Token-based billing would enable operators to bundle AI services in a conventional commercial model, leveraging prevailing client relationships, billing platforms, and service level agreements.
The announcement also marks an overall change in AI infrastructure. By integrating on-premises models with independent data controls and limited access to frontier models, operators can become AI service providers for consumers and enterprises as well as network-embedded applications and not just connectivity providers.