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Indosat and Arsari Group launch RAIA Grid, Indonesia's new open-access fiber platform

Indosat and Arsari Group launch RAIA Grid, Indonesia's new open-access fiber platform

Built World

The 86,000-kilometer network gives Indonesia a wholesale fiber layer for telecoms, data centers, and AI workloads

August 26th, 2026: RAIA Grid brand unveiled

Overview

Updated Aug 27

One of Indonesia's largest telecom operators has spun off its fiber network into a new independent company. RAIA Grid, launched Wednesday by Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and the Arsari Group, operates 86,000 kilometers of fiber across the archipelago.

The platform is a wholesale layer: it sells connectivity to telecom operators, data centers, and cloud providers, not to consumers. The spinoff raised about IDR 11.7 trillion (roughly $660 million) for Indosat. That money funds 5G and AI expansion, and the new network gives Indonesia an open-access fiber backbone for its data-center buildout.

Why it matters

Indonesia's AI and 5G buildout now needs RAIA Grid's open-access fiber to succeed, and the platform must win wholesale customers to prove the model works.

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Key Indicators

86,000 km
Fiber network footprint
Company-claimed footprint spanning backbone, domestic subsea, and access networks across Indonesia.
IDR 11.7 trillion
Gross proceeds to Indosat
Indosat and Lintasarta received about IDR 11.7 trillion (roughly $660 million) from the fiber asset sale.
49.9%
Indosat stake in platform parent
Indosat and Lintasarta collectively hold a 49.9% stake in Nusantara Fiber Teknologi, Arsari's investment vehicle.
55%
Network coverage outside Java
The platform says 55% of its network sits outside Java, targeting underserved regions.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

December 2025 August 2026

3 events Latest: August 26th, 2026 · 2 weeks ago
  1. RAIA Grid brand unveiled

    Latest Launch

    IFT rebrands as RAIA Grid, an AI-native open-access fiber platform for telecoms, data centers, and enterprises.

  2. PT Infra Fiber Teknologi launches

    Launch

    Indosat completes the fiber sale, receiving IDR 11.7 trillion; IFT launches with 86,000 km of fiber.

  3. Indosat, Arsari, and Northstar agree to form fiber platform

    Agreement

    Indosat, Arsari Group, and Northstar Group sign an investment agreement to form an independent fiber-infrastructure platform, initially called FiberCo.

Scenarios

1

RAIA Grid names first outside wholesale customers

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: technode.global, which noted the platform did not disclose first customer deployments at launch

RAIA Grid's stated priority is expanding wholesale partnerships with telecom operators and hyperscalers. If it signs a major non-Indosat customer, the open-access model gains credibility and the platform becomes a genuine neutral layer for Indonesia's data traffic.

2

RAIA Grid's AI infrastructure plans materialize

Possible Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: persen.id, which reported the capex breakdown for GPU assembly and subsea cable plans

RAIA Grid starts assembling H300 GPUs near Jakarta by December 2026 with Nvidia's technical support, and advances the first phase of its subsea cable project backed by $192 million. These moves would turn the fiber platform into a broader AI infrastructure player.

3

RAIA Grid stays captive to Indosat traffic

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: technode.global, which flagged the open-access model's commercial questions around local reach and interconnection

If incumbent carriers keep traffic on their own networks, RAIA Grid's utilization stays tied to Indosat. The platform would still operate, but its wholesale ambitions would be limited and its $660 million valuation hard to justify.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

July 1976

Palapa satellite (1976)

Indonesia launched Palapa A1, the first communications satellite owned by a developing country, to link the archipelago's islands. The government built and operated the system to overcome the country's geography.

Then

Palapa transformed communications across Indonesia's islands and became a national symbol.

Now

It set a pattern of national connectivity projects, later joined by private investment.

Why this matters now

Indonesia has repeatedly built national connectivity infrastructure to bridge its islands; RAIA Grid is the latest, privately funded iteration.

2005-2017

BT and Openreach (2005-2017)

Britain's telecom regulator forced BT to open its local network to rivals, leading BT to create Openreach as a separate division in 2006. After years of complaints from competitors, Ofcom pushed for legal separation in 2017.

Then

Openreach became the shared backbone of UK broadband, serving all major ISPs on equal terms.

Now

The model enabled competition in UK broadband, though critics say the separation was incomplete.

Why this matters now

Illustrates the central tension for RAIA Grid: an open-access network owned by parties with retail interests must convince competitors it is truly neutral.

November 2011

Chorus and Telecom New Zealand (2011)

New Zealand's government required Telecom NZ to structurally separate its network into Chorus, a standalone open-access fiber company, as a condition for the national Ultra-Fast Broadband rollout. Chorus took the copper and fiber network; Telecom kept retail services.

Then

Chorus listed separately and became the monopoly wholesale fiber provider for the government's broadband program.

Now

The model delivered fiber to most New Zealand homes, but Chorus has faced repeated regulatory fights over wholesale prices.

Why this matters now

Shows how an open-access wholesale model can work when a former monopoly's network is separated, and the pricing tensions that follow.

Sources

(11)