Friends who follow the digital industry and communications track can clearly feel that the industry landscape has undergone a massive shift recently. Without exaggeration, the data traffic business we have relied on for over a decade is gradually stepping off center stage. Telecom operators are collectively pivoting to sell Tokens (word units). This is no minor business tweak, but a historic transformation that reshapes the entire communications industry’s track and profit logic. Today we will break down this major trend in full detail.
Let’s start with the harsh industry reality. Anyone who checks mobile plans or operator financial reports can see it clearly: data traffic is no longer profitable. Over the past decade, telecom operators relied on data packages as their core revenue driver. From 3G, 4G to 5G, consumers all purchased GB of mobile data. Now however, household broadband and 5G penetration have reached saturation, while per-unit data prices keep falling year after year. No matter how many short videos users stream or files they download, operators struggle to boost revenue from data services alone. They remain trapped in a "dumb pipe" predicament—merely transmitting data for razor-thin transit fees, with growth hitting a hard ceiling. Transformation has become an unavoidable necessity.
The explosive rise of large AI models in recent years has created brand-new demand: Tokens (word units). For readers new to this term, the concept is easy to grasp. Streaming videos or browsing websites consumes data traffic (Bytes), which handles data transmission. By contrast, AI copywriting, image generation, AI agent office work and enterprise large model inference all consume Tokens (word units). As the unified measurement unit for AI computing, Tokens act like electricity or fuel powering artificial intelligence. China’s National Data Bureau officially standardized the term "word unit" in March 2026. Standardized, priceable and tradable, Tokens serve as the new value metric of the intelligent era.
Official data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology perfectly illustrates this booming market. Daily domestic Token consumption stood at merely 100 billion in early 2024, surging to 140 trillion by March 2026—a thousandfold increase in just two years. Massive volumes of computing tokens are consumed daily by individual users, small and medium enterprises, manufacturing plants and government institutions, driving exponentially growing market demand. With nationwide network infrastructure, intelligent computing hubs and hundreds of millions of users under their control, the three major telecom operators cannot ignore this huge market, making the shift to Token sales a natural strategic move.
Many readers may wonder: what advantages do telecom operators hold over independent computing vendors in the Token business? Frankly speaking, pure computing providers cannot compete with operators on two key fronts.
First, the three operators serve over 1.8 billion mobile subscribers nationwide, plus millions of enterprise and government clients. They boast mature package operation, billing systems and offline service networks built over more than a decade. They can package Tokens into standardized add-ons just like data plans, payable directly via phone bills with extremely low access barriers.
Second, they own national backbone networks, 5G-A edge computing nodes and large-scale intelligent computing clusters, forming an unparalleled integrated network-computing infrastructure. Capable of both data transmission and computing resource scheduling, they cover the full Token lifecycle from production and distribution to consumption, naturally positioning them as core computing infrastructure service providers for the AI era.
May 17, 2026 World Telecommunication & Information Society Day marks a clear watershed for the industry. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom simultaneously announced strategic upgrades, formally adopting a dual development model of Byte-based data traffic + Token-based computing power. Moving beyond pure connectivity providers, all three have fully entered the computing service track, with differentiated nationwide deployment strategies clearly outlined below:
China Telecom: Full-Stack Token Platform Serving Individuals and Enterprises Alike
China Telecom was the first operator to roll out large-scale commercial Token packages nationwide with a steady, comprehensive strategy covering individual users, micro and small enterprises, and large government clients.
For individual users, basic token packs start at 9.9 RMB, containing a minimum of 10 million Tokens, bundled with broadband speed upgrades and network security services as integrated packages.
For enterprises, it launched the Star TokenHub operation platform compatible with hundreds of mainstream large models, resolving high AI inference costs and complex deployment pain points for businesses. Sichuan Telecom recently released its integrated "Smart Cloud Sichuan" Token service, deploying multi-tier intelligent computing nodes across the province to deliver one-stop computing resources for local enterprises and AI practitioners, with extremely fast implementation progress.
China Mobile: Scale-Driven Low-Cost Strategy to Capture Consumer Market
China Mobile’s core strengths lie in its massive user base and heavy investment in computing clusters, adopting an affordable, mass-market strategy to popularize Token awareness rapidly.
Shanghai Mobile launched a budget plan of 400,000 Tokens for just 1 RMB, with monthly individual packages starting at 5.99 RMB; users can purchase tens of millions of Tokens for only 24.99 RMB. It also pioneered AI-eSIM services that link mobile numbers, data traffic and Tokens under one unified billing system for smart hardware, AI gadgets and mobile AI tools, simplifying combined connectivity and computing payments to fit daily consumer habits.
Its self-developed MoMA model platform integrates more than 300 large AI models. Leveraging large-scale intelligent computing resources to cut per-unit costs, it prioritizes volume pricing to dominate the consumer Token market.
China Unicom: Tiered Packages Tailored for Developers
China Unicom segmented its Token offerings into three clear product lines: basic computing token packs, exclusive development packs for coding, and integrated communication-computing bundles, with tiered volumes of 6 million, 12 million and 18 million Tokens available. This segmentation precisely differentiates casual AI users from programmers and development teams.
Integrated bundles combine mobile phone bills, gigabit broadband, cloud desktops and AI Tokens, marketed to physical stores, e-commerce merchants and small studios to lower the overall AI adoption cost for small businesses, granting it strong advantages in sinking markets.
Many readers may ask: how will the coexistence of data traffic and Token services impact ordinary consumers and enterprises? We break down the practical effects in plain language for two groups:
For individual users: Mobile phone bills will no longer only include voice, SMS and data charges. A dedicated Token computing recharge entry will be added. Users no longer need to top up third-party platforms separately for AI writing, image generation or intelligent Q&A tools—Tokens can be purchased directly through phone bills. Network speed and computing power are guaranteed in one unified service, eliminating risks of lagging servers or unsafe payments on external platforms.
For enterprises and developers: Operator-provided computing resources offer superior compliance without the need for costly in-house server deployment. Flexible on-demand Token billing and monthly packages support low-latency edge computing for industrial AI, live-streaming digital humans and local intelligent office systems, drastically cutting digital transformation costs and making advanced large model capabilities accessible to small and medium businesses.
Objectively speaking, this shift from selling data traffic to selling Tokens is far more than a survival tactic for telecom operators; it signals a full upgrade of the entire digital economy. The internet era centered on network bandwidth and data volume competition, while the intelligent era will revolve around computing resource supply and Token service capacity. By stepping out of the single "data pipe" role to become comprehensive intelligent infrastructure providers, operators can break the long-standing market perception of low-growth utility enterprises and unlock brand-new revenue growth curves, completely rewriting industry valuation logic.
That said, we should objectively address existing industry challenges rather than only highlighting positive prospects:
- Public awareness of Tokens remains limited, with most ordinary users unable to distinguish between data traffic and word units, requiring sustained operator marketing and education.
- Pricing frameworks and large model compatibility standards vary across operators, and cross-carrier Token interoperability will take time to perfect.
- Massive intelligent computing hub construction requires heavy capital investment with long short-term cost recovery cycles, relying on consistent policy support and stable market demand.
Nevertheless, these are standard growing pains for an emerging industry. They will gradually resolve as computing power gains mainstream adoption and unified industry standards are established.
In closing, we are witnessing a once-in-several-decades business model revolution within the communications sector. The data traffic era is fading, and the Token word unit era has officially arrived. The future will see dual core demands: purchasing data for internet access, plus purchasing Tokens for computing power. Anyone working in communications, AI development, content creation, or simply using daily AI tools must keep up with this integrated network-computing megatrend—computing Tokens will stand as the core hard currency of the digital industry over the next decade.
We will continue tracking new Token package releases, computing platform rollouts and supporting industry policies from the three major operators, delivering in-depth analysis of all updates promptly. Stay tuned to our website for more insights!