This paper examines global telecommunications trends. In particular it focuses on Ireland’s telecommunications sector and considers the challenges and opportunities presented during the European Union Digital Decade. The prescient need to transform Ireland’s mobile network operators’ business models to align with the current market conditions and trends is outlined. Worldwide, the increased demands on network operators technological capabilities and cost of rolling out 5G are exceeding the small revenue increases that are made. The conceptual components of a neutral host based 5G business model, such as value creation, value delivery, and value capture are described. The potential of a 5G neutral host business model is described via the hypothetical configuration of an end-to-end 5G ecosystem.