Nokia and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) have announced a partnership to modernise Indosat’s nationwide mobile network in Indonesia, pairing a large-scale 5G rollout with plans to embed AI across the operator’s infrastructure.
Under the agreement, Nokia will serve as a key technology partner in deploying advanced 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) technologies. Low-band 5G will be introduced across Indosat’s full network footprint, while mid-band 5G is set to cover roughly 80% of the network over the next three and a half years.
Nokia said the upgrade will improve capacity, performance and coverage, and support consumer and enterprise use cases across public services, industry and digital services.
The organisations are positioning the project as more than a network refresh. Working alongside NVIDIA, Nokia and Indosat plan to build an AI-ready network capable of supporting AI-RAN architecture and an “AI Grid” — a layer intended to distribute both AI and connectivity across the country.
Indosat is combining centralised AI factories with distributed AI-RAN infrastructure, with applications already emerging in government services, healthcare, education, and agriculture, supported by the AI-RAN Innovation Centre in Surabaya.
The three partners have set a near-term milestone of moving from the first AI-RAN call, completed at Mobile World Congress 2026, to field trials in Indonesia by the end of 2026. The collaboration will also feed Nokia’s work on AI algorithms designed to improve spectral efficiency on NVIDIA’s AI-RAN platforms, capabilities expected to feature in the trials.
“The next phase of network evolution will be defined by how well operators combine connectivity, intelligence and scale,” said Justin Hotard, President & CEO at Nokia, describing the deal as part of a broader industry shift toward networks that deliver high performance while supporting new business models.
Vikram Sinha, President Director & CEO of Indosat, maintained that the partnership would strengthen the operator’s readiness for the next phase of digital innovation while supporting more inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
NVIDIA’s Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice-President of Telecommunications, framed the project as a demonstration of a 5G network becoming the platform for intelligence.
As part of the deal, Nokia will supply its Habrok and Pandion radio families, Levante basebands, Centralised RAN, and network management and automation platforms, which the organisation said will improve energy efficiency alongside service innovation.
