MWC Las Vegas 2024: AI, IoT and NTNs support the digital transformation of enterprises

Last month, China’s three major telecoms operators became the first to launch token-based AI plans, packaging AI usage in a way that resembles traditional mobile data bundles, signalling a broader push by operators to commercialise AI, cloud and compute capabilities. This reflects growing interest among operators in monetising AI by moving beyond internal AI efficiencies and towards commercial AI opportunities. The logic is simple – tap the surging interest in AI and put a meter on it – but the concept goes beyond just offering tokens for cash.

From a financial perspective, services beyond traditional core telecoms are now a key component of telco revenue growth. This report looks at how far major operators have progressed with revenues beyond traditional core telecoms, the operators leading in terms of revenue diversification and growth beyond connectivity, and the main trends and drivers of growth.

The SpaceX IPO prospectus frames a total addressable market (TAM) of $28.5 trillion across AI, connectivity and space-enabled infrastructure. The mobile TAM is listed at $740 billion. Starlink is positioning direct-to-device (D2D) as a global connectivity layer spanning consumer mobility, verticals and eventually coverage in urban areas. This raises broader questions for the telecoms industry around spectrum ownership, infrastructure economics, neutral-host models and regulatory oversight. This Insight Spotlight assesses these questions and grounds the TAM for mobile in reality.