Indonesia Mobile Quality Report

Introduction

The mobile market in Indonesia is comprised of several operators, although Telkomsel, Smartfren, Indosat, Three and XL dominate the market with close to 100% of market share. Thus, the network situation for these MNOs acts as a trustworthy barometer of the network situation in the country. A good knowledge of the network situation also allows the customers to perform fully informed decisions. The objective of this report is to provide a summary of the network situation in Indonesia for these five carriers.

This report provides a quick overview of the network situation based on the following KPIs:

• Disconnection time: time that the users of an MNO have had only emergency coverage or no coverage daily in average, in minutes.
• 4G and 5G time: time that the users of an MNO have had 4G and, if deployed, 5G coverage (including 5G NSA and 5G SA).
• 5G penetration and usage: percentage of users that have 5G connectivity and the percentage of time that 5G is actually used.
• Network status in the Common Coverage Area: an analysis of the network status, based on the signal strength and the signal quality, for the areas where all five MNOs provide coverage.
• Call technology usage: percentage of use of each call technology by MNO. This shows which technologies are mainly used by the customers.
• Mobile network latency: percentage of customers on different latency ranks. The ranks are selected according to several performance thresholds.

Summary

Being one of the most populous countries (4th in the world and 3rd in Asia) and one of the most relevant emerging markets globally, currently ranking 16th in terms of nominal GDP and 7th in terms of GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP), Indonesia provides a favorable environment for the expansion of its telecommunications network. Upgrading its networks and fully adopting 5G would enhance the capacity and reach of Indonesian businesses, narrowing the gap with more mature markets.

In Indonesia, the companies Indosat and Three share the telecommunications network because they are part of the same corporate entity. However, it is important to note that despite this association, both companies have different subscription models and payment systems, which can have an impact on their operation and user experience.

Although there have been great efforts to update Indonesia's networks, the data collected by Weplan Analytics shows that, in general, the five main mobile network operators (MNOs) have room for improvement.

Concerning connectivity, the five MNOs have significant disconnection times. Three has the best disconnection time among Indonesian MNOs, with its users having 27 daily minutes of disconnection. On the other hand Indosat, Smartfren, and XL users have an average of 50 daily minutes of disconnection. Telkomsel users experience an average of 68 minutes of disconnection daily. However, it is worth noting that all five operators offer 4G/5G coverage an average of 92% of the time.

In terms of penetration and usage of 5G, the situation in Indonesia is in an early stage, and the percentage of users utilizing this technology is not significant yet. However, it is continuously developing, and there is an expectation to achieve equitable deployment of 5G networks throughout the country by 2025.

Regarding the mobile network situation, it is noteworthy that the five Indonesian operators offer good coverage. Regarding areas of Good or Very good network, Telkomsel leads the list with 49%, followed by XL with 45%, Smartfren with 44%, Three with 36%, and Indosat with 30% of the area being Good or better.

In relation to the distribution of call types made in Indonesia, VoLTE technology is the most prevalent in the country, being used, on average, 74% of the time. The remaining calls are primarily made through 2G (either directly or via CSFB), as a government-backed 3G sunset process already started for most MNOs in 2022.

Finally, in terms of latency, the top five mobile operators have a similar situation, with an average of 80% of measurements having at least good latency and 20% with excellent latency.

The main key figures are as follows:

• The main operators in Indonesia (Indosat, Smartfren, Telkomsel, Three, and XL) provide 4G or 5G coverage at least 89% of the time. Smartfren and Three stand out, offering 4G or 5G coverage at least 94% of the time.
• In Indonesia, calls are primarily made using VoLTE technology, being used on average in 74% of calls.
• On average, 80% of events across all operators have latency that is sufficiently good for a decent experience in all types of usage.

Methodology

In the following pages an in-depth description of each analyzed KPI can be found, including the methodology and rationale behind them. At a more general level, the following paragraph describes the data collection methodology.

At a more general level, Weplan Analytics collects crowdsourced data from more than 200 million devices in 31 countries. For this analysis, 1,312 million measurements collected between march and may 2023 were used.

The following map shows the density of measurements taken throughout the country by Weplan Analytics.

The most relevant insights can be found in the Summary section above. A detailed account of each one comprises the rest of the report below.

As the five aforementioned MNOs serve their networks to other parties (such as VMNOs, due to roaming agreements or as part of emergency coverage) the MNOs have been filtered by the network provider reported in the SIM card.

More details about the methodology can be found here.

Connectivity

Connectivity: Daily disconnection time

The following graphic shows the disconnection time as the average number of minutes that each customer of each MNO experiences disconnections throughout the day. Disconnection time includes moments when a customer has no coverage at all (for example in underground parkings, inside elevators, so far away from a site that connection is not possible...) or moments when a customer only has emergency coverage, that is, the ability to perform only emergency calls. This disconnected time may (and, in most cases, will) be discontinuous, and is the average of the daily disconnection time for all users.

In respect of the disconnection time, Three has the best result, with 27 daily minutes of disconnection. XL follows with 47 minutes per day, Smartfren with 50 minutes per day, Indosat with 55 minutes per day and lastly, Telkomsel with 68 daily minutes of disconnection time.

Connectivity: 4G and 5G time

With the advent of the newer 5G technology older technologies such as 2G and 3G are being turned off to free frequencies. Thus, guaranteeing at least a proper 4G coverage is one of the main goals of MNOs, and for those who already have 4G sorted out, the focus turns to 5G. In the case of Indonesia, although there have been 5G deployments, this network is marginal and the 4G network has still growth and improvement potential, as the 2G and 3G networks provide coverage almost one third of the time.

Regarding the 4G connectivity in Indonesia, Smartfreen stands out from the rest of the operators by offering 4G coverage 95% of the time. Three, in second place, offers 4G coverage 94% of the time. Insodat and XL, in a statistical tie, offers 4G coverage 92% of the time. Telkomsel provide 4G coverage 89% of the time.

5G penetration and usage

The ability of a customer to use the 5G network depends on several factors. First, their device must be 5G compatible. Second, the MNO must have a 5G network. Finally, the client must contract a mobile plan that allows the 5G to be used, as not all MNOs offer full access to the 5G network as part of the regular plans.

Regarding the deployment of 5G in Indonesia, among the top five MNOs, Telkomsel was the first operator to have implemented commercial 5G services in limited areas of the country, followed by Indosat and XL. However, it should be noted that there is not a significant percentage of customers using this technology.

The regulator KOMINFO aims to achieve equitable deployment of 5G networks in the country by 2025. It is expected that by this year, the penetration of 5G will range between 8% and 10%; while by 2030, that percentage will be 20%.

4G and 5G network status

There are two main network performance indicators: signal strength and signal quality. Each technology has its own measurements, but five great categories can be established:

• Very Good: the performance for all network usages will be excellent.
• Good: the performance for all network usages may present occasional difficulties but is overall good.
• Fair: most network-dependent usages (such as calls or data usage) will have a decent or better performance.
• Degraded: network usage will be unstable and unreliable but allows for basic usage such as calls with acceptable quality and very slow data transfer.
• Very Degraded: network usage different from emergency calls is nearly impossible.

There are two ways to establish this value: looking at the percentage of area and looking at the percentage of measurements on each category. Most measurements take place in urban areas, where coverage is better, but in most countries most of the area is not urban, so the percentage of area with a problematic network situation may be different to the percentage of measurements with a problematic network situation.

To ensure a fair comparison between carriers only areas where all MNOs have data have been analyzed. Additionally, since the majority of connections are made on 4G, only this technology has been considered.

The overall network situation in the common coverage area of the analyzed operators in Indonesia, area-wise, is good. Telkomsel has 99% of the area with fair or better coverage. Smartfren and XL have 90% and 88% of the area with this classification, respectively, and finally, Three and Indosat have 73% and 71% of the area classified as at least fair.

Regarding areas with a good or very good network coverage, Telkomsel accounts for 49% of the area classified as such, XL with 45%, Smartfren with 44%, Three with 36% and Indosat with 30% of the area having this classification.

If we look at individual measurements instead of the area, the overall situation is similar. Telkomsel has 82% of measurements being fair or better. Smartfren has 80%, XL has 73%, Three has 64% and finally, Indosat has 62% of measurements classified as such.

If we focus on Good and Very good measurements, Telkomsel has 48% of the Good and Very good measurements, Smartfren has 44%, XL has 40%, Three has 32% and Indosat has 29%.

Call type percentage

Although 2G and 3G are capable of data usage, the advent of 4G and more recently 5G technologies have relegated them to mostly call usage. The absence of 4G-based call technology ensured that 2G and 3G, as the only way to make a phone call, were still relevant. The development of VoLTE (Voice over LTE) calls during the 2010s marked the beginning of the end for these legacy technologies.

However, not all customers can benefit from VoLTE calls. For a customer to use this technology several conditions must be met:

1. Their MNO must provide 4G and VoLTE.
2. They must have a phone capable of performing VoLTE calls.
3. They must have a phone rate that includes VoLTE calls.
4. Their phone must be homologated by the MNO and the manufacturer to perform VoLTE calls.

The fourth condition means that a customer, without changing their phone, can have VoLTE with one MNO but lack it with a different MNO. When a customer connected to 4G without VoLTE capabilities (for any reason) tries to perform a call, a hand-off process to the 2G or 3G network takes place. This process, depending on the method applied, is called CSFB (the most common one) or SRVCC. Aside from those technologies, VoWiFi (Voice over Wi-Fi) is also used when a Wi-Fi network is available.

In Indonesia, VoLTE technology is the most widely used. Smartfren customers are the ones who use this technology the most, accounting for 96% of their calls. As for Indosat and Three, their customers make 79% and 78% of their calls through VoLTE, respectively. Finally, XL and Telkomsel customers make 65% and 50% of their calls through VoLTE, respectively. The remaining calls are mainly made through 2G (either directly or via CSFB).

It is worth noting that the shutdown of the 3G network began in 2022, receiving significant support from the government of the country. On the other hand, the 2G network (either directly or via CSFB) remains relevant, being the second most used technology for calls after VoLTE.

Latency status

Latency is the measurement of how much time it takes for the information to be transmitted between the user and the network. A lower latency means a faster, smoother network experience, whereas a higher latency means that the network experience will not be as good, or even unusable. This makes latency a good indicator of user experience. We have divided latency in four great groups:

• Excellent latency translates to a very smooth user experience, even with the most data-intensive usage, such as gaming or 4K streaming.
• Good latency translates to a good user experience, although gaming may not be as fluid and 4K may present occasional problems.
• Degraded latency translates to a mediocre user experience. Gaming and 4K are either uncomfortable or impossible, videochat may present noticeable lag, messaging with multimedia may take a long time to load and loading a web may be slow.
• Bad latency translates to an essentially unusable network. Only the lightest usage, such as sending messages without multimedia works decently.

The five MNOs present a slightly different latency situation. Smartfren leads this category with 85% of its measurements classified as at least good, Indosat and Three with 84% and 82% respectively. XL and Telkomsel have 76% and 73% of their events classified as at least good.

In relation to the percentage of events with excellent latency, the order remains the same: Indosat leads with 26% of events with excellent latency, followed by Smartfren and Three with 21% and 20% respectively. In last place are XL and Telkomsel, with 17% and 15% of events having excellent latency respectively.