Communications Ministry Pushes Joint Operator Strategy for AI, Citing OTT Lessons
The ministry secretary-general proposes collective negotiation with global AI players per ecosystem stack to avoid operators becoming mere revenue channels.
Communications and Digital Affairs Ministry Secretary-General Ismail called on Indonesian telecom operators to coordinate collectively when negotiating with global AI companies, learning from the over-the-top era in which platforms eroded operator revenues. We will roll out the red carpet for global players, but without coordination operators will only become their business channels and get the crumbs, he said in remarks made 31 October and reported 2 November 2026.
He framed the ministry as orchestrator of a joint business and negotiation model, described as Indonesia Incorporated, across each stack of the AI ecosystem, while stressing that competition between operators remains. The comments come as operators have individually announced foreign AI alliances, including XLSMART's adoption of Tencent technology and Indosat's partnerships, raising questions about data sovereignty and local capability transfer in future AI telco deals.