# How telecom and utility companies can sell data to AI companies

URL: https://sellmydatatoai.net/sell-your-data/telecom-and-utilities

Telecom and utility companies can license network trouble tickets, field service records, outage reports, support transcripts and operating procedures to AI companies. No buyer publishes a telecom or utility price range. Customer data is tightly controlled: 47 U.S.C. section 222 limits carriers' use of CPNI without customer approval, and California bars utilities from selling customers' energy consumption data.

## Key takeaways

- AI buyers most want these records from telecom and utility companies: (1) network trouble tickets, NOC logs and incident postmortems, (2) field service work orders with technician notes and resolutions and (3) outage reports and restoration timelines.
- No AI buyer publishes a price range for telecom and utility companies yet, so value depends on volume, years of history, structure and how cleanly the rights can be shown.
- The first rights issue to clear: 47 U.S.C. section 222(c)(1): carriers may use or disclose individually identifiable CPNI only for the service or with customer approval. This page covers 5 more.
- Sellers pay nothing to be assessed. We charge a success fee only when a deal completes, and the fee is agreed in writing before we introduce you to any buyer.

## At a glance

- Records buyers ask for: Network trouble tickets, NOC logs and incident postmortems; Field service work orders with technician notes and resolutions; Outage reports and restoration timelines; Customer support tickets and chat transcripts, de-identified; Engineering standards, maintenance procedures and safety manuals; Training materials for technicians and support agents
- Why buyers want them: Trouble tickets and work orders record diagnosis and repair step by step, which is what agent and support buyers want. Appen licenses decision and escalation records from support desk, ITSM and CRM tools, and micro1 asks for support tickets and engineering documentation.
- Rights issues: 47 U.S.C. section 222(c)(1): carriers may use or disclose individually identifiable CPNI only for the service or with customer approval; FCC rules at 47 CFR 64.2007(b): opt-in approval for uses and disclosures of CPNI not otherwise permitted; Cable operators: 47 U.S.C. section 551(c)(1) requires subscriber consent before disclosing personally identifiable information; Utilities: California Public Utilities Code section 8380 bars selling customers' electricity or gas consumption data; Critical electric infrastructure information under 18 CFR 388.113 may be used only for the purpose it was requested; UK and EU: PECR regulation 7 requires traffic data to be erased or made non-personal once no longer needed

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.

| Record | Typical risk | Our usual recommendation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Engineering standards and procedures | Low if written in-house | License |
| Network trouble tickets and postmortems | Customer and circuit identifiers | De-identify, then license |
| Field work orders | Service addresses | Remove addresses, then license |
| Support tickets and chat transcripts | CPNI and personal information | De-identify carefully or exclude |
| Call detail records and usage data | CPNI or consumption data | Exclude |
| Grid and network infrastructure maps | CEII and security sensitivity | Exclude |

Our guide to [selling support tickets](https://sellmydatatoai.net/guides/sell-support-tickets-for-ai-training) covers the support side in detail, and [support ticket data](https://sellmydatatoai.net/buy-ai-training-data/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](https://sellmydatatoai.net/data-buyers/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](https://sellmydatatoai.net/data-buyers/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](https://sellmydatatoai.net/sell-your-data/call-centers) covers Mercor's published call center range. A [free data valuation](https://sellmydatatoai.net/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)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/222), 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.

## Do cable and broadband privacy rules apply?

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.

> **License the fix, not the customer** The value in a trouble ticket is the symptom, diagnosis and resolution. Strip account numbers, circuit IDs, service addresses, call details and usage before a buyer sees a sample, and keep call detail records and consumption data out entirely. A documented method belongs in your [data manifest](https://sellmydatatoai.net/guides/how-to-build-a-data-manifest).

## 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](https://sellmydatatoai.net/how-we-vet) 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](https://sellmydatatoai.net/book-a-consultation?side=seller) to start.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a telecom carrier sell customer data to AI companies?

A telecom carrier cannot license individually identifiable CPNI without customer approval. Under 47 U.S.C. section 222(c)(1), a carrier may use or disclose it only to provide the service or with the customer's approval, and the FCC's rule at 47 CFR 64.2007(b) requires opt-in approval for other uses. Aggregate data is treated differently, so take independent legal advice first.

### Are network trouble tickets CPNI?

Network trouble tickets can contain CPNI. Section 222(h)(1) defines CPNI to include the technical configuration, type, location and amount of use of a customer's service, which tickets often record. Remove account numbers, circuit IDs and service addresses, or aggregate the records, before licensing. Tickets about network equipment with no customer link carry far less risk.

### Can a utility license smart meter data?

In California, a utility cannot sell customers' electricity or gas consumption data. Public Utilities Code section 8380(b)(2) bars selling it or any other personally identifiable information for any purpose. Section 8380(f)(1) allows aggregate consumption data for analysis, reporting or program management once customer identity is removed. Other states have their own rules.

### What telecom data is safest to license?

Engineering standards, maintenance procedures, training materials and network postmortems with customer identifiers removed are the safest telecom data to license. They show expert diagnosis and repair without CPNI or consumption data. Field work orders follow once service addresses are removed. Call detail records, usage data and infrastructure maps should stay out entirely.

## Sources

- [47 U.S. Code section 222: privacy of customer information](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/222), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2026
- [47 CFR 64.2007: approval required for use of customer proprietary network information](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/64.2007), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2026
- [47 U.S. Code section 551: protection of subscriber privacy](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/551), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2026
- [California Public Utilities Code section 8380](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=8380.&lawCode=PUC), California Legislative Information, accessed November 2026
- [18 CFR 388.113: critical electric infrastructure information](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/18/388.113), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2026
- [California Civil Code section 1798.140: definitions (CCPA)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1798.140.&lawCode=CIV), California Legislative Information, accessed November 2026
- [18 U.S. Code section 2511: interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2511), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2026
- [California Penal Code section 632](https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-pen/part-1/title-15/chapter-1-5/section-632), Justia, accessed November 2026
- [Enterprise data to advance frontier AI](https://www.appen.com/enterprise-data), Appen, accessed November 2026
- [Data partnerships](https://www.micro1.ai/data-partnerships), micro1, accessed November 2026
- [Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, regulation 7: traffic data](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/regulation/7), legislation.gov.uk, accessed November 2026
- [Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, regulation 14: location data other than traffic data](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/regulation/14), legislation.gov.uk, accessed November 2026

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