Mathew Oommen, group chief at Jio Platforms told MWC the AI transition is a “generational transformation” that will redefine telecom networks and create entirely new economic opportunities
In sum – what to know
AI reset – The AI era will fundamentally reset telecom economics and create trillions of dollars in new digital businesses.
Infrastructure shift – Telecom networks will become the foundation of an “intelligence economy” supporting AI across sectors such as energy, finance and defense.
Token economy – Jio plans to move beyond connectivity toward token-based services through its proposed Intelligence Grid.
The artificial intelligence era will fundamentally reshape telecom networks, digital infrastructure and economic models, according to Mathew Oommen, group CEO of Jio Platforms, who said the industry must move beyond connectivity toward intelligence-driven platforms and token-based services.
The executive outlined this vision during a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona last week.
Oommen described the AI transition as a “generational transformation” that will redefine telecom networks and create entirely new economic opportunities. “The AI era is not an upgrade cycle. It is completely resetting the economic and the business equation,” Oommen said, noting that AI-driven innovation will create new businesses worth trillions of dollars.
“When you look at the investments that are happening in the world, you will see that this year alone over $3 trillion is going to be put in AI, and about $810 billion is just for a few hyperscalers,” he said.
According to Oommen, this wave of investment signals a transformation comparable to earlier technological revolutions, from mechanized industrial production to the internet era.
Oommen argued that the world is entering what he called the “intelligence economy,” where artificial intelligence becomes embedded across industries and digital systems.
He said both AI infrastructure and telecom infrastructure will evolve significantly, while intelligent endpoints—including devices, sensors, and connected systems—will play a central role in the new ecosystem.
AI will also reshape the way organizations operate, he noted, describing a “functional dismantling of the workforces” as automation and intelligent systems transform business models.
He added that AI technologies will increasingly be embedded into critical economic and national systems, including sectors such as energy, transportation, finance, and national defense.
“For all of these sectors…the foundational layer is going to be the telecom layer, because when you build infrastructure at scale, you will build intelligence at scale,” Oommen said.
The scale of the AI shift, Oommen argued, will go far beyond incremental workforce adjustments. “It is not about just re-skilling,” he said. “It is a complete reset and it is about leveraging the full capability and not incrementalization of the intelligence opportunity.”
Within this transformation, Oommen outlined Jio’s ambition to move beyond traditional telecom services by building what he described as an “intelligence grid.”
A key element of this shift involves a new economic model for telecom services based on tokens. “The telecom currency is going to be rapidly changing from minutes to bytes to tokens,” Oommen said.
According to the executive, Jio intends to become one of the first scalable token services providers, building on its strategy of lowering connectivity costs in India.
Looking ahead, the Indiancompany aims to further improve efficiency. “We are determined to deliver the lowest cost of dollar per token per watt,” Oommen said.
For telecom operators, he said the transformation may bring both uncertainty and opportunity. “It could be big anxiety for some,” Oommen said of the industry’s shift toward AI-driven networks. “But I also believe it is the biggest opportunity.”
