Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (Indosat), a leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven telecommunications, recently announced that it is set to implement AI-RAN (Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Network) infrastructure in Indonesia, in partnership with Nokia and NVIDIA. This collaboration combines Nokia's advanced 5G Cloud RAN solution with NVIDIA's AI Aerial platform to create a unified computing infrastructure for AI and RAN workloads.
Indosat is the first operator in Southeast Asia and the third globally to establish a commercial AI-RAN network, aiming to improve performance, efficiency, and create new opportunities across various industries. The companies have signed an agreement to develop, test, and deploy the AI-RAN solution, starting with AI inferencing workloads on NVIDIA AI Aerial and later integrating RAN workloads on the same platform.
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Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies will jointly develop, test, and implement the AI-RAN solution, initially focusing on AI inferencing workloads via NVIDIA AI Aerial, followed by integrating RAN workloads on the same platform. Additionally, Indosat, Nokia, and NVIDIA will collaborate with top Indonesian universities and research institutions to drive AI-RAN advancements. This partnership aims to foster AI-driven innovation in telecom applications, offering students and researchers hands-on experience in shaping next-generation, AI-powered networks. Through academic engagement, the initiative seeks to drive breakthroughs in network optimization, spectral efficiency, and energy consumption.
This initiative will enable Indosat to redefine its network capabilities and business strategies. By sharing infrastructure costs across multiple applications, the company can maximize its return on investment (ROI) while unlocking new revenue streams through AI-driven services. The AI-RAN deployment is expected to bring transformative improvements in network performance, efficiency, and energy consumption, setting the foundation for an eventual transition to 6G. The initiative aligns with Indonesia’s national AI strategy, positioning Indosat as both a connectivity provider and an AI service enabler.
Indosat has also established a Sovereign AI Factory in Indonesia to support enterprises, startups, and government entities in developing AI applications across sectors such as healthcare, education, and agriculture. With the new AI-RAN infrastructure, the company plans to cater to AI inferencing demands and strengthen Indonesia’s AI ecosystem, serving over 277 million people. Utilizing the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform and serverless application programming interfaces (APIs), Indosat will enable seamless AI workload distribution across centralized and distributed infrastructure.
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The AI-RAN solution will bring AI capabilities to various applications, with new serverless API capabilities developed with NVIDIA. This will allow Indosat’s AI partners—including Hippocratic.ai, Personal.ai, GoTo, and Accenture—to harness distributed inference engines for AI token scaling, ensuring a more seamless user experience.
Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, emphasized the significance of this collaboration, stating, “By integrating AI into our radio access network, we’re not just improving connectivity; we’re building a nationwide, AI-powered ecosystem that will drive innovation across industries. This aligns perfectly with our mission to connect and empower every Indonesian.”
The deployment will follow a phased approach, beginning with the launch of a 5G AI-RAN lab in Surabaya in early 2025 for joint development, testing, and validation. A small-scale commercial pilot of AI inferencing workloads on NVIDIA AI-RAN infrastructure is scheduled for the second half of 2025, with further expansion planned for 2026.
Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, added, “By combining AI with RAN, we create a foundation for future innovation. Our 5G Cloud RAN platform allows Indosat to transform its network into a multi-purpose computing grid, leveraging AI-accelerated computing for enhanced performance, operational efficiency, automation, and energy optimization.”
Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President of Telecoms at NVIDIA, concluded, “AI-RAN is revolutionizing the telecom sector. Indosat’s vision for a nationwide AI grid, combined with NVIDIA’s expertise in AI and full-stack software and hardware solutions, will accelerate AI adoption and innovation in Indonesia, setting a new standard for telecom operators globally.”
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