How telecom and utility companies can sell data to AI companies

Telecom and utility operators run some of the largest ticketing operations in any industry. Every outage, fault and service call produces a ticket that records the symptom, the diagnosis, the fix and the time it took, often linked to a field work order and a customer conversation.

That is strong material for AI agents that troubleshoot and resolve problems. The customer records next to it are among the most regulated in the United States, so the line between operational data and customer data decides almost every deal.

What telecom and utility data do AI companies buy?

AI companies buy telecom and utility data that shows problems being diagnosed and resolved. Network and field records carry the least customer data and the most operational value.

Our guide to selling support tickets covers the support side in detail, and support ticket data sets out what buyers check.

Who buys telecom and utility data?

No buyer whose terms are public publishes a telecom or utility price or program. Buyers of operational records fit best. Appen licenses decision and escalation records from support desk, ITSM, CRM and messaging tools and covers extraction and anonymization at no cost to the seller. micro1 asks for support tickets and engineering documentation and publishes tiers starting at $100,000 to $500,000.

If your contact center runs as a separate business, our page for call centers covers Mercor's published call center range. A free data valuation applies the market to your archive.

What do CPNI rules allow a carrier to license?

CPNI rules allow a carrier to license aggregate data, but not individually identifiable CPNI without customer approval. Under 47 U.S.C. section 222(c)(1), a carrier that obtains CPNI by providing a telecommunications service may use, disclose or permit access to individually identifiable CPNI only in providing that service or services necessary to it, unless the law requires otherwise or the customer approves.

Section 222(h)(1) defines CPNI as information relating to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location and amount of use of a service, obtained because of the carrier-customer relationship, plus billing information. A trouble ticket that names a customer's circuit, configuration and usage pattern can contain it.

Section 222(c)(3) allows a carrier to use and disclose aggregate customer information, defined in section 222(h)(2) as collective data from which individual customer identities and characteristics have been removed. A local exchange carrier that does so must make the same aggregate information available to others on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms on request. Under the FCC's rule at 47 CFR 64.2007(b), uses and disclosures of individually identifiable CPNI not otherwise permitted need opt-in approval.

Cable privacy rules apply to cable operators. Under 47 U.S.C. section 551(c)(1), a cable operator shall not disclose personally identifiable information about a subscriber without the subscriber's prior written or electronic consent, subject to listed exceptions, though section 551(a)(2)(A) excludes records of aggregate data that do not identify particular persons.

Broadband and mobile customers are also consumers under state privacy laws. The CCPA lists a consumer's precise geolocation as sensitive personal information at California Civil Code section 1798.140(ae), which covers cell location data linked to a subscriber.

Can a utility sell customer usage data?

A utility in California cannot sell customer usage data. California Public Utilities Code section 8380(b)(1) bars an electrical or gas corporation from sharing, disclosing or otherwise making accessible to any third party a customer's consumption data except as the section provides or with the customer's consent, and section 8380(b)(2) bars selling that data or any other personally identifiable information for any purpose.

Section 8380(f)(1) allows aggregate consumption data to be used for analysis, reporting or program management once all information about a customer's individual identity has been removed. Other states may have their own utility privacy rules, so check each state where you serve customers.

What about grid and network security information?

Grid and network security information should stay out of any package. Under FERC's rule at 18 CFR 388.113, critical electric infrastructure information is information about critical electric infrastructure designated by FERC or the Department of Energy, and a person who receives it must sign a non-disclosure agreement requiring that it be used only for the purpose for which it was requested.

Support call recordings carry recording law too. Federal law at 18 U.S.C. section 2511(2)(d) allows one-party consent, but California Penal Code section 632 requires the consent of all parties to record a confidential communication.

If you hold UK or EU data

UK operators follow the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. Regulation 7(1) requires traffic data to be erased or modified so it ceases to be personal data once it is no longer needed to transmit a communication, and regulation 7(3) allows it to be processed for marketing or value added services only with the subscriber's or user's consent.

Regulation 14(2) allows location data to be processed only where the user or subscriber cannot be identified from it, or where needed for a value added service with consent. A training license is neither, so UK traffic and location data should stay out.

How do you sell telecom and utility data through Sell My Data To AI?

You start with a consultation about your ticketing, field service and support systems and the years they cover. We do not take custody of your raw data. Buyers see redacted samples under a mutual NDA, and full data moves only after you sign a license directly with the buyer.

Every dataset passes our eight-point vetting standard before a buyer sees it, including contract restrictions, the privacy notice in force at collection and a re-identification test on a sample. You approve every buyer, every sample and every license term. Book a consultation to start.