Axiata Axis Capital group Jakarta

News Update

Indosat foresees data traffic

surge after network upgrade

Publicly listed cellular operator

PT Indosat is optimistic that it can
reach new heights in data traffic
following the completion of its
network modernization across the
country.

We estimate that our data traffic will surge by more

than 50 percent upon the completion of the
modernization, said Indosat data services product
marketing division head Fidesia Noor.

The data increase hit more than 100 percent

after the modernization in 2012, she told
reporters on Monday.
Indosat has modernized its network over
the last two years, with most of its around
Rp 8 trillion annual capital expenditure
going into the program.

The company concluded modernization of

its network in November last year.
The firm upgraded its network to boost its
data and other services, primarily in 23 big
cities, including Greater Jakarta, Bandung
and Sukabumi (West Java), Semarang
(Central Java), Yogyakarta, Surabaya (East
Java) and Makassar (South Sulawesi).

Indosats data traffic grew by more than

three times to 55,467 terabytes in the first
nine months of last year from only 17,646
terabytes in the same period in 2013.

Revenue from the firms multimedia, data

communication and Internet services rose
by 8.3 percent to Rp 2.6 trillion (US$ 205.4
million) in the January-September period
in 2014 from Rp 2.4 trillion during the same
period in the previous year.

Increases in data traffic have also been enjoyed

by other two major cellular operators, PT XL
Axiata and PT Telekomunikasi Selular
(Telkomsel).
XL Axiata Axis Capital Group Jakarta
Indonesia recorded a 126.7 percent surge in
data traffic from 54,615 terabytes in 2013 to
123,824 terabytes last year. Telkomsels data
traffic posed a 146.1 percent growth in the first
nine months of last year compared with the
same period in 2013.

The skyrocketing data traffic in the country is mainly

driven by the greater number of people with access to
the Internet, particularly those living in big cities.
The reverse trend, meanwhile, was seen in operators
conventional services SMS and calling.
Indosat, for instance, recorded a 1.4 percent and 8.3
percent drop in its revenues from cellular and fixed
telecommunication services, respectively, during the
January-September period last year compared with
the corresponding period in 2013.

Despite a setback in those conventional businesses,

Indosat aims to maintain or gain more subscribers
using its voice service by launching on Monday a highquality voice service, dubbed HD voice.
We do understand the declining trend in voice
service, but we want to focus more on the quality [].
We aim to make HD voice available to all of our
customers as of Feb. 20, said Indosat network
optimization division head Joko Riswadi when asked
about the targets of the newly launched service.

Indosat believed that Indonesians were still keen

on making calls and that they would be even more
so were the voice quality excellent, he went on.

Indonesias almost 250 million-strong population

owns at least one mobile phone per person,
surveys have found, with demand for data services
rapidly emerging to cater to the needs of the rising
middle class in Southeast Asias largest economy.

Indosats shares, which are traded on the bourse

under the code ISAT, rose by 0.13 percent to Rp
3,905 (30.7 US cents) per piece at Mondays close
from Rp 3,900 apiece at the previous closing.
The stocks have slipped almost 3.6 percent so far
this year, underperforming the broader Jakarta
Composite Indexs (JCI) 1.9 percent gain.