It's cheaper to use HNT than to buy a sim card for individual devices that need to communicate with a network.
HNT build out expense is low because individuals are paying for equipment to have a stake in network revenue, paid out in HNT tokens.
Users of the network are generating revenue already.
Since the biggest expense of running a telecom network is paying financing costs, that value can instead accrue to token holders and network operators.
This is disruptive technology combined with a disruptive business model. Asymmetric upside vs normal execution risk. Increased probability of a premium buyout by indebted market participants to make the "threat" simply go away.