Barcelona, March 4, 2026 (Read): The era of Artificial Intelligence is not just a technology upgrade for the telecom sector, but a complete reset of the economy and business models, said Matthew Oommen, Group CEO of Jio Platforms Limited, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
Addressing the global gathering, Oommen stated that the world is moving beyond the economy of “minutes and bytes” into a new era driven by “tokens and intelligence.”
According to him, the industrial era was based on production, the internet era delivered connectivity and cloud, but the AI era will fundamentally alter the economic equation. “This is not an upgrade cycle; it is a complete reset,” he said, adding that trillion-dollar global investments in AI reflect the seriousness of this transformation.
Speaking about the company’s focus, Oommen described the shift as the biggest opportunity for the telecom industry. He said Jio does not see itself merely as a network provider, but as a builder of an “intelligence grid.” He noted that telecom currency has evolved from minutes to bytes and is now shifting towards tokens. “We do not just want to be the largest token pipe, but the largest token generator,” he said.
Explaining the evolution of telecom economics, he said that earlier revenues were based on voice calling, measured in minutes. This was followed by data consumption, counted in bytes. In the future, it will move to AI tokens, which will include AI computation, model inference, automated decision-making and machine-to-machine interactions as part of intelligent services.
Oommen recalled that Jio made voice services free in India and reduced data prices to as low as 9 cents per GB, enabling digital connectivity to over 52.5 crore users. He said the next goal is to deliver “token-per-watt” at the lowest cost, meaning building intelligence infrastructure at scale at affordable prices.
Referring to an “AI Command Architectural Framework,” he said the future network will not be a collection of separate tools, but a unified and integrated architecture. AI and telecom infrastructure will work together to build systems capable of thinking, coordinating and acting in real time.
He further stated that technology leadership now defines economic leadership, which will eventually shape national leadership. Embedding intelligence across sectors such as energy, transport, finance and security will be essential, and this foundation will rest on telecom infrastructure.
Oommen acknowledged that AI-driven transformation may create concerns for some, but described it as “the biggest opportunity of our lifetime.” He said operators that embrace this change will lead the future economy.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Readhis insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
AI Era Is Full Economic Reset, Says Jio at MWC
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