Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison plans to extend Vikram Sinha’s term as President Director and CEO for another five years as the Indonesian telecom operator moves into the next phase of its AI-focused transformation. The extension, subject to formal approval at the company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, follows the integration of Indosat Ooredoo and Hutchison 3 Indonesia after their 2022 merger and continued implementation of the company’s North Star AI strategy. The Board of Commissioners also backed Indosat’s ambition to double EBITDA as part of its long-term strategic plan.
Indosat now uses AI across network operations, customer engagement, productivity, and capital allocation while expanding beyond connectivity into sovereign AI infrastructure, cloud services, cybersecurity, and enterprise digitalization. The company’s portfolio includes Sahabat-AI, NeoCloud, GPU Cloud services, and partnerships with technology suppliers including NVIDIA. Indosat is also developing a distributed AI Grid that combines its national telecom network and data center footprint to place AI computing resources closer to developers, enterprises, public institutions, and communities across Indonesia.
The company said Sahabat-AI provides an open AI platform designed around Indonesian languages and cultural context, while its AI-powered Anti-Spam and Scam service detects indications of fraud across SMS and voice services with accuracy above 90%. Indosat is also working with public- and private-sector organizations on AI access, digital skills development, and entrepreneurship programs as it positions its telecom infrastructure as a foundation for Indonesia’s domestic AI ecosystem.
• Leadership: Indosat plans to extend Vikram Sinha’s term as President Director and CEO for five years, subject to AGM approval.
• Financial target: The Board of Commissioners supports the company’s ambition to double EBITDA.
• AI strategy: North Star AI focuses on network operations, customer experience, sovereign AI infrastructure, and new digital businesses.
• Distributed AI infrastructure: Indosat plans to use its national network and data center footprint to deploy AI computing resources closer to users and organizations across Indonesia.
• AI platforms: Sahabat-AI, NeoCloud, and GPU Cloud services form key components of the company’s expanding AI infrastructure portfolio.
• Network operations: Indosat applies AI to network reliability, productivity, capital efficiency, and customer personalization.
• Security: The company reports more than 90% accuracy for its AI-powered Anti-Spam and Scam service across SMS and voice traffic.
“Entering the next transformation phase, with a focus on expanding sovereign AI and realizing the Company’s EBITDA ambitions, the Board of Commissioners continues to put their trust in Vikram Sinha’s leadership. The approval of the Board of Commissioners to extend his term as President Director and Chief Executive Officer for the next five years reflects our belief in his leadership and management in continuing to create long-term value for Indonesia,” said Nezar Patria, President Commissioner of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison.
🌐 Analysis: Indosat’s strategy reflects a broader shift among telecom operators toward combining nationwide fiber, mobile networks, data centers, cloud platforms, and accelerated computing infrastructure to support distributed AI workloads. Its collaboration with NVIDIA, development of GPU Cloud services, and proposed distributed AI Grid place the operator among carriers seeking to monetize network infrastructure through AI compute and sovereign cloud services in addition to traditional connectivity.
