Intelligence and Noise

What do social media bans, sovereign AI, and China's AI token economy have in common? They could all reshape the future of telecoms—and that's exactly what Peter Jarich and Tim Hatt discuss in this week's Intelligence & Noise. They unpack the UK's proposed social media ban for under-16s, the growing role of age-verification APIs, Europe's push for sovereign AI, and why China's emerging AI token economy could redefine telecom business models. 00:00 Introduction & connectivity at major events05:20 UK social media ban for under-16s10:00 Device ownership & social media usage trends12:50 Age verification APIs and Open Gateway opportunities16:00 AI regulation, liability & platform responsibility17:30 Orange, VivaTech & Europe's sovereign AI ambitions24:30 What does digital sovereignty really mean?30:50 China's AI token economy explained38:50 DTW Ignite, MWC Shanghai & closing thoughtsHosted by Peter Jarich and Tim Hatt, every week we cover what's moving in mobile, connectivity, and emerging tech and why it matters. Got a topic you want us to cover?Drop it in the comments. And if you're enjoying the show, a rating on your platform of choice goes a long way.

AI, space, and telecoms are colliding faster than the industry can price in. In this episode of Intelligence and Noise from GSMA Intelligence, Peter Jarich and Tim unpack the AI infrastructure boom in China and India, the rise of token-based pricing models, and how telcos are trying to monetise the next wave of compute and connectivity. They also dig into digital sovereignty in Europe, the future of satellite networks, and the hype versus physics behind the SpaceX IPO as the race for global-scale infrastructure intensifies.

00:00 – Introduction and connected devices story
04:38 – AI security and China/India data center investment
07:21 – AI token pricing and monetisation models
09:10 – Telco role in AI infrastructure and revenue opportunity
14:49 – Sovereign cloud, super apps, and Europe’s digital sovereignty push
17:23 – Non-terrestrial networks and satellite compute/control
21:03 – SpaceX IPO, valuation, and TAM debate
25:24 – Investor hype, Elon premium, and business strategy concerns
28:21 – Starlink mobile and addressable market limits
29:49 – Satellite scaling limits and orbital capacity constraints
31:38 – Orbital competition and geopolitical risks
33:08 – MWC Shanghai preview and industry themes
34:19 – DTW Ignite Copenhagen preview
36:19 – GSMA NOVA Napa event and cross-industry collaboration
37:42 – AI grids and future telecom infrastructure models
38:42 – Closing remarks and football chat

Hosted by Peter Jarich and Tim Hatt, every week we cover what's moving in mobile, connectivity, and emerging tech and why it matters. Got a topic you want us to cover?

Drop it in the comments. And if you're enjoying the show, a rating on your platform of choice goes a long way.

SpaceX says their total addressable market is $28.5 trillion. We ran the numbers — and Starlink Mobile's realistic market may be just 5% of that. This week we break it down, plus everything else worth paying attention to in mobile and connectivity.

00:00 Welcome & intro 

01:00 Tour de France & connectivity at major events 

02:44 Network resilience: Somalia & Japan 

09:50 6G & integrated sensing (ISAC) explained 

15:52 SpaceX IPO — breaking down the $28.5T TAM claim 

25:25 World Cup connectivity & what to watch 

31:12 OpenAI's pivot to agentic AI 

36:44 ESG & biodiversity monitoring on telecom towers 

38:16 What's coming next week

Hosted by Peter Jarich and Tim Hatt, every week we cover what's moving in mobile, connectivity, and emerging tech and why it matters.

Got a topic you want us to cover? Drop it in the comments. And if you're enjoying the show, a rating on your platform of choice goes a long way

In the inaugural episode of Intelligence & Noise from GSMA Intelligence's Peter Jarich and Tim Hatt cut through the noise on the biggest stories shaping the telecoms and tech industry in the first half of 2026.

From AI monetisation and the rise of tokens as a service, to sovereign cloud becoming a genuine competitive edge for mobile operators  plus why quantum computing deserves more attention than it's getting.

Topics covered: 

00:00 – Welcome to Intelligence & Noise 

04:30 – The 5 big themes of 2026 so far 

14:37 – How AI deployments are shifting from cost-cutting to monetisation 

18:50 – Chinese operators bundling AI tokens and what it means globally 

22:00 – Sovereignty as a competitive differentiator for telcos 

28:30 – The hyperscaler CapEx boom and what it signals 

29:33 – Why only 7% of IoT devices are quantum safe