Indosat, Northstar, Arsari to build fiber infra platform in Indonesia

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, together with Arsari Group and Northstar Group, has signed an agreement to form a joint venture to create a new independent fiber infrastructure platform in Indonesia.

Indosat plans to transfer its fiber assets, valued at around 14.6 trillion rupiah (US$869.87 million), to the new entity, FiberCo, and retain a roughly 45% stake.

The joint venture aims to operate a network spanning over 86,000 kilometers across Indonesia, with 45% coverage in Java, and 55% in other regions.

FiberCo will offer wholesale open-access services to other telecommunications providers.

Indosat said the deal will help fund investments in its 5G rollout and support its focus on core operations.

Citi advised Indosat, while Goldman Sachs advised Northstar Group on the transaction.

🔗 Source: Indosat

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The tower playbook, applied to fiber

Indosat sold 4,200 towers to PT EPID Menara AssetCo for $750 million in 2021, then leased them back 1. It plans FiberCo, an independent open-access fiber platform that Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will form via a joint venture with Arsari Group and Northstar Group, to raise funds while retaining influence through a ~45% stake with likely anchor contracts.
Fiber returns hinge on route density with wholesale pricing. FiberCo plans to place 55% of its network outside Java, yet anchor lease terms with minimums and route use remain unknown, so the plan may fund 5G growth or mainly refinance debt.
In 2023 Mitratel agreed to sell and lease back 997 Indosat towers with a 10 year leaseback 2. FiberCo has not shared contract tenor (length) or indexation (how prices adjust with inflation), which matters for valuing fiber in emerging markets with inflation and currency risk.

Open-access fiber enables edge options

Large cloud providers plus CDNs expanding into non Java regions, where FiberCo plans 55% of its 86,000 km network, could lease capacity for edge nodes with PoPs. That helps gaming with streaming in places Indosat targeted with 5G like Makassar in Sulawesi 3.
Independent ISPs plus enterprise providers could access backbone with metro fiber once under Indosat. Data center developers can anchor sites where FiberCo reaches, but rollout choices need route maps with rival overlap and wholesale prices vs incumbents, undisclosed so far, plus links to subsea landings or hubs.