Josh Watkins is the co-founder and former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of World Mobile and the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Minutes Network. He specializes in applying artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to the global telecommunications sector. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

Josh Watkins developed an interest in technology and entrepreneurship from a young age. He reportedly began coding at 11 years old, launched his first online business at age 12, and subsequently sold the company at 14, which served as a basis for later work with blockchain technology.

Watkins has built a career spanning nearly two decades in the international wholesale voice market. His work has involved consulting for major global telecommunications companies, where he specialized in the application of artificial intelligence.

Watkins is a co-founder of World Mobile Group, a global mobile network that operates on blockchain technology and a sharing economy model. The company's mission is to provide connectivity to underserved regions by enabling individuals and businesses to operate network nodes and earn revenue. He served as the company's Chief Information Officer (CIO) for five years, where he was instrumental in developing its blockchain-based infrastructure.

In November 2023, at the age of 34, Watkins left his position at World Mobile to assume the role of CEO at Minutes Network. The transition was supported by his World Mobile co-founder, Micky Watkins, who noted that the new venture was a project Josh had been developing for several years. Micky Watkins stated, "The new venture is very close to his heart and one he has been wanting to launch for some time. Given the outstanding work at World Mobile, we are confident and comfortable that this is the right time."

As CEO of Minutes Network, Watkins leads a company designed to be the first blockchain-based international voice-calling and wholesale termination service provider. The venture aims to address the complexities and fragmentation of the international wholesale minutes market, an industry that annually terminates over 270 billion minutes of call traffic and generates more than $13 billion in revenue. Watkins described the project as complementary to World Mobile's focus on infrastructure, explaining, "Minutes Network, on the other hand, is purely concerned with terminating international voice traffic... I have the right team and superb industry partners, and we are going to demonstrate to the world how blockchain technologies can transform and democratize large-scale established real-world business, starting with the international minutes’ industry."

Under Watkins' direction, Minutes Network is developing proprietary technologies through its "Mintech" innovations hub. These technologies are intended to enhance profitability for telecommunications operators in the paid-for market, which has seen challenges from free VoIP services. Watkins has stated that the company's model involves monetizing and tokenizing bandwidth to achieve near-zero termination costs, creating a significant structural advantage in the Least Cost Routing (LCR) market. In a press release, he explained the model: "Uniquely, Minutes Network sets its own international termination rates, and we reward all parties in the value-chain including the distributed infrastructure operators, callers and callees.” The company is pursuing patent applications for its intellectual property and is negotiating exclusivity agreements with partners. The initial strategic focus is the $13.25 billion international voice market, with a long-term goal of competing in the broader $300 billion telecommunications market by 2030. ^{[4] [1] [2] [3] [5]}

Interviews

Josh Watkins Discusses Decentralized Telecommunication

On March 29, 2024, Josh Watkins, CEO of Minutes Network, participated in an interview on the Dads Gone Crypto podcast. During the conversation, he outlined the technical structure and operational approach of Minutes Network, a telecommunications platform that integrates blockchain infrastructure with traditional voice calling systems.

Watkins described the project as focusing on the global paid voice market, which he estimated at approximately $251 billion. The platform’s architecture is designed to remove several intermediary layers commonly found in call routing by delivering voice calls directly to mobile applications that embed the company’s Software Development Kit (SDK). According to Watkins, this structure enables reduced termination costs while incorporating real-time call quality assessments through a validation mechanism.

The network infrastructure includes distributed switch and validation nodes, some of which are operated by external participants who stake tokens to run them on what are referred to as Earth nodes. Watkins indicated that this decentralized model is intended to expand network resilience and allow broader participation in its operation.

As part of the distribution model, the SDK is being integrated into existing applications with large user bases. Watkins referred to an ongoing collaboration with an undisclosed application that may offer access to a substantial number of users, potentially exceeding one billion globally.

The token model, as explained in the interview, incorporates supply reduction mechanisms and a structure where network participants, including node operators, callers, and recipients, receive incentives based on usage metrics. Watkins also mentioned that the project is in contact with telecommunications regulators and has initiated steps to file for patents related to its underlying technology.

The interview concluded with Watkins stating that the platform is being developed with the intention of increasing accessibility to voice services while offering alternative infrastructure options to existing telecom models. ^[6]