• KDDI-owned digital telco povo will expand into the Americas and South-east Asia
• povo has already attracted over 1 million subscribers in Japan
• Circles brings cloud-native SaaS, agility and AI‑driven features to the global rollout
• The partnership supports flexible commercial models for telco‑to‑techco transformation

The long-established alliance between Japan’s KDDI and software-as-a-service (SaaS) specialist Circles, which was created back in 2021 to support the Japan-based operator's povo brand, is now set to go global. KDDI Digital Life and Circles have broadened their partnership to export the AI‑powered mobile offering into target markets in the Americas and South-east Asia, under a SaaS‑powered blueprint designed for rapid and repeatable deployment.

Under the new agreement, Circles will replicate the technical, commercial and operational mechanisms that enabled povo’s domestic success – through full‑stack deployment. The strategy targets operators of varying sizes, offering flexible commercial arrangements to help roll out localised versions of povo, complete with AI‑native apps and agile product experimentations.

“As one of Japan’s most well-loved digital telcos, povo has delivered outstanding customer experiences and proven the strength of our data-driven model,” said Tatsuya Hamada, CEO of KDDI Digital Life. “With a clear vision for povo anchored in AI-nisation and hyper-personalisation, our expanded partnership with Circles not only helps us scale globally but also enhances our ability to deliver even more intelligent, personalised and customer-first digital experiences.”

Povo’s  success in Japan has been notable, attracting more than one million subscribers in its first year, with approximately 70 % acquired from outside KDDI’s core base. KDDI began offering povo in March 2021, with its free-to-choose ‘toppings’ (which allowed customers to start with a free base plan and add customised packages, such as voice, data and streaming as and when required), creating a third brand to sit alongside its unlimited-use ‘au’ and the more simplified offering UQ mobile.

A few months later in September 2021, povo 2.0 was launched on Circles’ cloud-native SaaS platform. The new approach enabled agile minimal viable product (MVP)-style feature releases, open application programming interfaces (APIs), code-free configuration and a data lake for rapid iteration based on customer feedback. It is worth noting that the launch was accomplished entirely remotely from Singapore, during the Covid-19 pandemic when international travel was limited.

At the heart of povo’s digital infrastructure lies Circles’ cloud‑native SaaS stack. Designed for dynamic adaptation and scaling, it employs a composable BSS/CRM/MarTech layer orchestrated by AI, which enables micro‑experimentation of products without code changes. Localisation in each market will involve adaptation of AI‑native features: The Xplore innovation engine, which is an in-app developer environment for testing average revenue per user (ARPU) options; and the Xtend SDK, enabling partners to embed connectivity into third‑party apps. The operational model features rapid deployment windows and flexible pricing/licensing designed to accommodate regional operators of various scales. Both parties intend to cooperatively refine this as they launch in different regulatory, competitive and technological environments.

From telco to techco

Incumbent telcos are increasingly seeking transformation into lightweight, cloud‑centric techcos. Platforms like Circles allow service providers to spin up brands in months, rather than years, and respond quickly to consumer demand. Speaking to TelecomTV at the TMForum’s DTW Ignite event last month, Tatsuya Hamada repeated the emphasis on the importance of “AI‑onisation” and hyper‑personalisation, positioning povo as a testbed for broader digital innovation. 

Circles Aspire CEO Sanjay Kaul revealed to TelecomTV that Circles was founded to “Uber-ise” telecom and hand more control to the customer, betting big on being AI native and cloud native. He explained that a platform built for agility, with a composable, code-free setup, and an orchestration layer powered by AI enables a “super app” that combines e-commerce, entertainment and other AI-driven features. 

In markets from Indonesia (Telkomsel) to Mexico (AT&T), Circles has already led SaaS‑powered digital‑brand launches. Its April deal with Prodapt demonstrated its ability to combine cloud‑native software with AI‑driven integration, enabling operators to go live in under four months. This contrasts with traditional telco asset-heavy models, such as Lebara in Europe, which has spent years migrating OSS/BSS stacks to cloud environments, often with mixed success – see One Mobile Virtual Network Operator is going completely virtual.

The global povo expansion comes as operators struggle to compete in Europe and North America, where digital challengers threaten margins, and hyperscalers like AWS and Google are edging into connectivity. Success in new markets could position povo as a leading international digital telco, while providing Circles with much-needed platform scale.

Also speaking to TelecomTV at DTW Ignite this year, Ayesha Rashid, GM and VP for EMEA at Circles, explained how the company is helping regional operators in the Middle East transition to techcos, leveraging the company’s cloud-native, AI-driven platforms and operational expertise. Rashid pointed to successful partnerships, such as the launch of a fully digital mobile brand in Pakistan, and emphasised Circles’ role as both a technology provider and an operator, enabling partners to accelerate digital transformation and deliver new services at scale. 

- Guy Daniels, Director of Content, TelecomTV