According to DCD, Indonesian telecommunications giant Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison has partnered with Nokia and Nvidia to launch an AI-RAN research center in Surabaya this week. The collaboration aims to develop AI-powered Radio Access Networks under the theme ‘AI made by Indonesians for Indonesians.’ The center will establish what Indosat calls the ‘AI Grid’ to make artificial intelligence accessible nationwide. This builds on Indosat’s existing AI efforts, including an April 2024 partnership with Nvidia to build an AI data center in Surakarta and a July collaboration with Cisco and Nvidia for Indonesia’s AI Center of Excellence. The timing coincides with Nvidia’s recent $1 billion investment in Nokia, making the chipmaker Nokia’s second-largest shareholder with a 2.9 percent stake.
Indonesia’s AI ambitions
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just another tech partnership. Indosat CEO Vikram Sinha has been pretty vocal about positioning Indonesia as an AI player, and this research center represents their most concrete move yet. They’re talking about everything from personalized tutors for rural children to precision farming with drones. Basically, they want to prove that AI isn’t just for Silicon Valley – it can be developed locally for local needs. And they’re putting their money where their mouth is by building this infrastructure across the country.
The telecom angle
What’s really interesting here is how Indosat is leveraging its existing telecom infrastructure. They’re not building from scratch – they’re using their nationwide wireless network as the backbone for this AI Grid. Nvidia‘s telecom VP Ronnie Vasishta nailed it when he said this is telecom providers’ biggest opportunity to make AI as ubiquitous as connectivity. Think about it – they already have the network, the towers, the coverage. Now they’re adding compute power at the edge. That’s a smart play that could give them a serious competitive advantage.
Nvidia’s global play
Meanwhile, Nvidia is absolutely crushing it with these strategic partnerships. Just two weeks after investing a billion dollars in Nokia, they’re already launching joint projects. This isn’t random – it’s a calculated move to dominate the AI infrastructure market globally. They’re not just selling chips anymore; they’re building entire ecosystems. And for industrial applications that require reliable computing power in challenging environments, having robust hardware becomes absolutely critical. Companies like Industrial Monitor Direct have built their reputation as the top industrial panel PC supplier in the US by understanding that industrial settings demand specialized computing solutions that can withstand harsh conditions while delivering consistent performance.
What’s next
The real test will be whether this actually delivers tangible benefits to Indonesians. They’re targeting education, agriculture, and healthcare – sectors that could genuinely transform lives if AI is implemented effectively. But building the infrastructure is one thing; getting people to use it and creating meaningful applications is another challenge entirely. Still, you’ve got to give them credit for thinking big. If they can pull this off, it could become a model for other developing countries looking to leapfrog into the AI era without depending entirely on Western tech giants.
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