Forget cellular data: China’s telecoms giants are selling AI token plans

For years, mobile carriers have billed users by the gigabyte. Now, China’s telecoms giants are seeking to monetise the Artificial Intelligence boom by introducing a new unit of measurement to monthly bills: the AI token.On Sunday, China-telecom" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="15182" data-entity-type="organization">China Telecom unveiled nationwide, token-based pricing packages aimed at a range of customers – from casual users to developers and businesses – according to information listed on the company’s app.Consumer packages, tailored for everyday tasks, start at 9.9 yuan (US$1.45) per month for 10 million tokens and increase in price and volume to 49.9 yuan for 80 million tokens. Business packages, which support coding and AI agent deployment, range from 39.9 yuan to 299.9 yuan per month, with token allowances from 15 million to 250 million.