Jio Platforms’ CEO Oommen calls AI era a ‘reset,’ outlines shift from connectivity to intelligence at MWC 2026 in Spain

Mathew Oommen, Group CEO of Jio Platforms Limited, emphasised that the global technology landscape is undergoing a fundamental reset as artificial intelligence reshapes economies, industries, and digital infrastructure.

“The AI era isn’t an upgrade. It’s a reset,” Oommen said, describing the shift as a generational transformation rather than a routine technology cycle.

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Speaking at the Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Oommen highlighted the transition from basic connectivity to intelligence-driven networks, underscoring the importance of innovation, collaboration, and resilient digital infrastructure in building the next phase of global growth.

‘Intelligence Grid’ Vision

Oommen outlined Jio’s vision to create an “Intelligence Grid,” positioning it as more than just a connectivity pipeline. He said the company aims to become one of the first scalable token service providers as telecom economics evolve.

Referring to global investments in artificial intelligence, Oommen noted that more than USD 3 trillion is expected to be invested in AI this year alone, with around USD 810 billion attributed to a handful of hyperscalers. He called it a structural shift comparable to the move from the industrial age to the internet era.

According to him, AI is set to redefine business models and create trillions of dollars in new economic value. “It is completely resetting the economic and business equation,” he said.

Redefining Infrastructure and Workforce

Oommen highlighted that both AI and telecom infrastructure will undergo significant changes in the intelligence economy. Intelligent endpoints, he said, will become a core pillar of future networks, while AI will be embedded across critical economic and national systems.

He pointed to the large-scale disruption expected in traditional business models and workforce structures as AI becomes integrated into sectors such as energy, transportation, finance, defence, and national security.

“This is not about incremental re-skilling. It is a complete reset and about leveraging the full capability of the intelligence opportunity,” he said.

Technology as Economic Leadership

Oommen argued that technology leadership now defines economic leadership, which in turn underpins national leadership. Embedding intelligence across key sectors, he said, will be essential for countries seeking to maintain global competitiveness.

“For all these vibrant economic sectors, the foundational layer will be telecom. When you build infrastructure at scale, you build intelligence at scale,” he stated.

He also stressed that AI, if deployed responsibly and in coordination with critical resources, could become humanity’s most impactful tool for balancing growth with sustainability.

Shift from Minutes to Tokens

Oommen predicted a rapid shift in telecom economics, saying the industry’s “currency” would evolve from minutes to bytes and eventually to tokens. He said Jio intends to lead in this transformation by offering scalable token-based services at the lowest possible cost per token per watt.

Highlighting Jio’s past disruption in India’s telecom market, he noted that the company had made voice calls free and delivered mobile data at highly affordable rates, citing pricing as low as nine cents per GB.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated the Bharat Pavilion at the Mobile World Congress 2026, one of the world’s leading platforms for technology and telecommunications.

Scindia said that as the world debates the future of connectivity in the “IQ Era,” India stands at the intersection of intelligence and infrastructure, where connectivity meets capability and innovation aligns with inclusion.