https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/communications-to-become-intelligent-worlds-nervous-system-tgts-ceo-says

(Yicai) July 7 -- Communications will no longer be just about data transmission, but it will become the nervous system of the intelligent world, capable of information processing, according to the chief executive officer of leading connectivity provider TGT Technology Global. 

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"We believe that the artificial intelligence of the future will have a brain in the cloud, and that every terminal will have its own cerebellum," Henry Zhang, who is also the founder and chairman of TGT, told Yicai after the Mobile World Conference Shanghai. Communications, as the nervous system, will link a small number of "brains" with a vast number of "cerebella," allowing intelligence to flow between them, he noted. 

TGT is a Shanghai-based global connectivity provider that aggregates network resources from more than 350 telecommunications operators in over 200 countries and regions through software, helping Chinese smart hardware and manufacturing companies stay connected as they expand overseas. 

AI now mostly refers to large language models trained centrally in the cloud on massive datasets, while TGT's technical expertise has been on terminal devices and gateways, Zhang said, adding that many internet-of-things scenarios are fragmented, global, and distributed, so edge intelligence should be promoted. 

Edge intelligence refers to the process in which data is collected and analyzed, and insights are delivered close to where it is captured in a network. 

Zhang gave the industrial camera case as an example. Before smart cameras existed, footage was uploaded to the cloud, where algorithms processed it at a later stage. Once cameras became intelligent, defects spotted on a high-speed production line were immediately addressed, with no need for data to travel through the cloud. 

TGT's goal is not only to give terminal devices independent decision-making capability, but also to make the connection between the "brain" and the "cerebellum" intelligent, according to Zhang. "We're linking the intelligence of the brain with the intelligence of the cerebellum to form an integrated solution," he explained. 

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As AI agents move from the cloud to the terminal, the telecoms industry is also redefining the role of the network. Mobile networks are expanding from connecting people with things to connecting intelligence, Wang Tao, vice chairman of Huawei Technologies, said at MWC Shanghai. The sixth-generation network system is similar to an evolving "intelligent life form," with computing power as its "heart" and the network as the "nerve fibers running through the whole body," said Cui Li, chief development officer of ZTE. 

"This isn't something TGT can accomplish alone," Zhang told Yicai. "The company's role is more that of a bridge between operators and terminal application scenarios." 

Underpinning this vision is the connectivity infrastructure TGT has built up over more than a decade. Founded in 2013, the company began layering satellite connectivity on top of its cellular network in 2025. This year, it has deepened its cooperation with satellite operators. 

TGT's revenue mainly comes from device makers who integrate its connectivity capabilities on a platform-as-a-service basis, IoT companies that manage their global devices through TGT's platform on a software-as-a-service basis, and manufacturers of hardware, such as portable Wi-Fi devices and industrial gateways. 

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TGT's clients span sectors, including cross-border travel connectivity, mobile broadband, robotics, connected vehicles, and smart manufacturing, covering both consumer electronics and industrial equipment, such as energy storage and photovoltaic systems, Zhang noted. "The company's foreign business is developing along with the overseas expansion of China's smart manufacturing sector." 

For example, in cross-border travel, TGT Technology connects to online travel agencies and airlines such as Trip, KKday and Expedia, as well as some airlines, which then sell eSIM data plans directly to outbound travelers. More recently, the firm has installed eSIM vending machines in several overseas markets, marking a shift from a purely business-to-business model to a more business-to-customer approach. 

China has overtaken Japan as TGT's largest market, with the number of signed clients in Hong Kong alone surpassing those in Japan, Zhang said. The company's client base and order volume in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative are also continuing to grow. 

TGT connects over 10 million IoT terminals, with connections growing at a compound annual rate of more than 38 percent, according to data disclosed by Zhang. Juniper Research has forecast that global eSIM IoT connections will grow from 22 million in 2023 to 195 million this year.