An artistic visualization of the Aalto Zephyr HAPS flight in Kenya. Photo: Aalto

Aalto has signed a new deal with one of the biggest telcos in Asia. It has signed a deal with Telkomsel that will commit to advance Indonesia’s Stratospace ecosystem, to start operations with its Zephyr HAPS (high altitude platform station) vehicle from 2027. Aalto and Telkomsel have agreed a framework to co-operate across commercial, technical and regulatory domains with the aim to enable demonstrations flights in 2027 and full commercial entry-into-service from 2028 onwards. The two companies announced the deal, March. 2.

Zephyr uses solar radiation to power its ascent and descent, as well as persistent flying in the stratosphere. While still in development, in 2025, Zephyr achieved 67 days of continuous flight, which included its operation in Australian airspace and successful connectivity payload testing. As a dual-use technology, Zephyr provides connectivity‐on‐demand and strengthens network resilience.

The two companies will jointly define service requirements and roadmap aspirations: commercial models for B2C and B2B, coverage and availability targets. They will also define and collaborate on technical integration topics: ground network architecture, end-to-end interoperability with existing equipment, antenna configurations and payload capabilities, to end interoperability with existing equipment, antenna configurations and payload capabilities. Finally, the two companies will help shape regulatory and spectrum pathway: future flight approvals and the allocation, use and coexistence of spectrum with terrestrial networks.

“Telkomsel supports the government of Indonesia’s ambition to expand high quality connectivity, including in 3T regions where geography creates deployment challenges. Zephyr is the world-leader in high altitude technology that can complement our existing infrastructure and help reduce connectivity gaps. We are pleased to partner with Aalto as we explore the pathway toward future stratospheric services in Indonesia, quality,” Wong Soon Nam, chief strategy & planning officer, said in a statement.