In the AI era, the key factor of production for the telecommunications industry is tokens and tokenization, and this will be a core driver of future earnings growth for China Mobile, chairman Chen Zhongyue said at the company’s annual results briefing on March 26. The company is about to enter a new phase of rapid growth in both token usage and traditional internet traffic, he said.
Chen’s comments indicate the mobile giant is entering the “token operations” era, a transformation that is the result of a strategic push across computing power, models, data, applications, and business models.
A comprehensive strategy
On the level of resource allocation, a breakdown of China Mobile’s investment in 2026 shows a clear shift toward computing power and intelligent networks. Li Huidi, deputy general manager, revealed that these two areas will account for over 37% of total capital expenditure this year. While overall capex for 2026 is budgeted to drop 9.5% to 136.6 billion yuan ($19.8 billion), investment in computing networks and intelligent networks will surge by 62.4% and 19.8% respectively, a clear shift toward “new productive forces.” The allocation reflects a decisive pivot toward building computing and AI capabilities, which will provide infrastructure support for large-scale token generation and consumption.
On the supply side, China Mobile is accelerating the construction of an AI production system by building ultra-large intelligent computing clusters (with over 10,000 GPUs/cards) and advancing AI data center (AIDC) hub nodes, including gigawatt-scale computing parks. Its Hong Kong Fo Tan data centre will begin operations in April. It is also scheduling computing power across regions using a “computing network brain” to provide low-latency, high-efficiency computing support for token usage.
In data and models, the company has accumulated over 40 trillion tokens of high-quality datasets and is deploying 50 industry-specific large models. It has also established the Jiutian AI Company and an embodied intelligence innovation center. This shows that China Mobile is moving beyond being merely an infrastructure provider. It aims to become a supplier of high-value data and models — potentially capturing higher value within the token value chain.
On the demand side and commercial loop, China Mobile’s logic is simple: AI agents consume tokens, and tokens in turn drive demand for computing power. This creates a positive feedback loop. Applications drive token consumption, which then stimulates further computing demand. This model has already seen early validation: for example, an offline-promoted “lobster farming” application has reached tens of thousands of customers, while more than 40,000 customers are using China Mobile’s cloud computing services — indicating token consumption is moving from concept to measurable real-world scenarios.
‘Three strengths and one new’
In terms of business structure, China Mobile has positioned computing services as a core growth engine, aiming to double revenue from this segment by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan in 2030, transitioning from a resource provider to a platform operator. Its computing service system spans three areas: data centers, cloud computing services, and cloud-based applications, supported by a “three strengths and one new” strategy.
The first strength is strengthening capabilities, involving accelerating the development of AI data centers, computing power and token capabilities, expanding computing parks, upgrading the computing network brain, and enhancing token operations by integrating high-quality models into its cloud for trusted inference services. The second is strengthening the China Mobile Cloud brand (also known as ECloud), and the third is strengthening its organization by building a specialized computing operations system with a central computing office and regional computing centers.
The “one new” focuses on innovation, continuously innovating business and service models, offering data center, computing power, and token-based services to meet diverse customer needs.
Tokens are positioned as the key growth driver because they have a dual nature: they are both a unit of measurement and a carrier of value. They can precisely measure AI usage while directly translating into computing consumption and revenue. As token usage grows alongside traditional data traffic, China Mobile’s business model will evolve from charging for connectivity to charging for intelligent services—unlocking new growth potential.
Source:
5G and 6G (angmobile)
