XLSMART Unveils AI-Powered Vision to Lead Indonesia's Digital Future

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 16 March 2026; 6101 views

XLSMART, Indonesia’s premier telecommunications group, today announced its bold strategic vision to harness artificial intelligence and operational synergy, positioning itself as the engine of Indonesia's digital economy. Formed from the landmark 2025 merger of XL Axiata and Smartfren, XLSMART is leveraging its scale and intelligence to deliver seamless connectivity and innovative digital services across the archipelago.

Speaking at a media briefing, leadership outlined the company's trajectory: serving 73 million subscribers with a 27% market share, powered by a robust infrastructure of 225,000 base stations. XLSMART is aggressively expanding its footprint to meet surging demand for data and next-generation technologies.

A New Era of Intelligent Operations

At the core of XLSMART's transformation is a deep integration of AI into its network and business systems. The company is deploying AI "copilots" across Network Operations Centers, field engineering teams, and customer service functions—revolutionizing everything from fault management to service enablement.

This transformation is powered in close collaboration with Huawei, a long-standing strategic partner. By leveraging Huawei's advanced AI-native platforms, including the industry-leading AUTIN for autonomous operations and SmartCare for comprehensive customer experience insight, XLSMART is accelerating its journey toward zero-wait, zero-touch, zero-trouble intelligent operations.

"This isn't just about automation; it's about transformation," said Pak Shurish. "By embedding AI agents into our operations, we are optimizing investments, reducing costs, and personalizing customer experiences in real time."

Examples of this AI-driven approach include intelligent site optimization to maximize capital efficiency and an AI marketing model that delivers hyper-targeted promotions based on live network and customer behavior data. This fusion of network intelligence and marketing creates a responsive, "two-step agent" capable of engaging users with relevant offers, driving both satisfaction and revenue.

Dual Growth Engines: Users and Digital Services

XLSMART's growth strategy is built on two complementary pillars:

Expanding the User Base and Deepening Engagement – Leveraging AI insights to attract new customers with compelling value and foster lasting loyalty through meaningful platform interactions.
Capturing New Digital Revenue Streams – Targeting high-growth sectors including e-hailing, mobile payments, food delivery, short-form video, and live e-commerce streaming. AI agents play a pivotal role here—enhancing payment security, optimizing logistics, and ensuring premium quality of service for live events and video content.

Operational Excellence Through AI-Powered Convergence

Since the merger, XLSMART has methodically advanced its operational maturity. Following digitization in 2022 and a transition to a DevOps model in 2024, the company completed its full network consolidation in 2025. Now, entering the AIOps era, XLSMART is focused on unifying two legacy network environments into a single, intelligent operational framework.

A centerpiece of this effort is a closed-loop improvement system driven by customer feedback. Insights from NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys are fed directly into AI models, triggering automated network adjustments or proactive field interventions—often before customers perceive an issue.

As Indonesia accelerates toward a fully digital future, XLSMART stands at the forefront, equipped with the technology, infrastructure, and vision to lead.

From Vision to Victory: Pak Shurish Named Digital Visionary by OTF Executive Council

Following an inspiring keynote that laid out XLSMART's bold AI-driven vision for Indonesia's digital future, the stage took on a new significance. In recognition of his exceptional leadership in driving digital transformation, connectivity innovation, and intelligent operations, Pak Shurish Subbramaniam, Chief Technology Officer of XLSMART, was honored with the prestigious 'Digital Visionary Excellence Award' by OTF officials.

The award celebrates Pak Shurish's pivotal role in architecting one of Southeast Asia's most complex telecom mergers, his relentless push for AI-native operations, and his commitment to delivering inclusive, high-quality digital experiences. Under his leadership, XLSMART has not only consolidated two major networks but has also set a new benchmark for how AI can be embedded at the core of telecom infrastructure to drive both business growth and societal impact.