Indosat and Arsari Group launch RAIA Grid, Indonesia's new open-access fiber platform
Built WorldThe 86,000-kilometer network gives Indonesia a wholesale fiber layer for telecoms, data centers, and AI workloads
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Overview
Updated 1 hour agoOne 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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People Involved
Organizations Involved
One of Indonesia's largest telecom operators, formed from the 2022 merger of Indosat and Hutchison 3 Indonesia.
Independent open-access fiber platform operating 86,000 km of fiber across Indonesia.
Indonesian conglomerate with interests in energy, mining, and now digital infrastructure.
Arsari Group's investment vehicle that owns PT Infra Fiber Teknologi.
Will provide technical support for RAIA Grid's planned local assembly of H300 GPUs near Jakarta.
Indosat's AI factory joint venture, which RAIA Grid will connect as part of IOH's AI-native strategy.
Timeline
December 2025 August 2026
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RAIA Grid brand unveiled
Latest LaunchIFT rebrands as RAIA Grid, an AI-native open-access fiber platform for telecoms, data centers, and enterprises.
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PT Infra Fiber Teknologi launches
LaunchIndosat completes the fiber sale, receiving IDR 11.7 trillion; IFT launches with 86,000 km of fiber.
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Indosat, Arsari, and Northstar agree to form fiber platform
AgreementIndosat, Arsari Group, and Northstar Group sign an investment agreement to form an independent fiber-infrastructure platform, initially called FiberCo.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
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.
Palapa transformed communications across Indonesia's islands and became a national symbol.
It set a pattern of national connectivity projects, later joined by private investment.
Indonesia has repeatedly built national connectivity infrastructure to bridge its islands; RAIA Grid is the latest, privately funded iteration.
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.
Openreach became the shared backbone of UK broadband, serving all major ISPs on equal terms.
The model enabled competition in UK broadband, though critics say the separation was incomplete.
Illustrates the central tension for RAIA Grid: an open-access network owned by parties with retail interests must convince competitors it is truly neutral.
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.
Chorus listed separately and became the monopoly wholesale fiber provider for the government's broadband program.
The model delivered fiber to most New Zealand homes, but Chorus has faced repeated regulatory fights over wholesale prices.
Shows how an open-access wholesale model can work when a former monopoly's network is separated, and the pricing tensions that follow.
