The Ministry Of Communication And Information Will Refarming The 2.3 GHz Radio Frequency Band In Nine Clusters

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo) will start re-farming the 2.3 GHz 2360 – 2390 Mhz Radio Frequency Band in nine clusters in Indonesia.

Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G. Plate stated that the refarming is aimed at improving the quality of digital connectivity through cellular services by allocating the use of radio frequency spectrum efficiently.

"Refarming of the 2.3 GHz radio frequency band is planned to take place nationally with the first step starting on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 and at the latest it will be completed in September 2021," Johnny said in his statement, Thursday, July 15.

The refarming process has been mutually agreed upon by all users of the 2.3 GHz frequency band, including Telkomsel and Smartfren as the Winners of the Selection of 2.3 GHz Frequency Band Users for the Purposes of Organizing Cellular Mobile Networks in 2021.

In addition to the two cellular operators, this refarming will also involve PT Berca Hardayaperkasa as a packet switched-based local fixed network operator (BWA operator) which is also a user of the 2.3 GHz frequency band.

"There are many advantages and benefits for the cellular service user community, especially related to improving the quality of services that can be enjoyed by customers, both 4G and 5G services," said Johnny.

"The radio frequency spectrum can be utilized optimally, so the capacity of the cellular network will also increase so as to be able to keep up with the growth of data traffic which continues to grow rapidly, even at some points when network congestion occurs," he added.

The Ministry of Communication and Information has also prepared technical coordination steps among operators using the 2.3 GHz radio frequency band to avoid harmful interference. In order to support the success of the refarming process, the Ministry of Communication and Information through the Technical Implementation Unit of Radio Frequency Spectrum Monitoring Centers and Workshops also conducts supervision and control in the field during refarming. One of the activities carried out is Frequency Clearance at least twice, before and after refarming.

The transfer of radio frequency bands in each cluster will be carried out when the majority of data traffic conditions are relatively low, namely at 23.00 WIB local time until 02.00 WIB the next day. In general, the technical transfer of the radio frequency band itself only lasts approximately one to two hours.

Furthermore, until 18.00 WIB the next day, network performance monitoring is carried out by BERCA or Smartfren, among others through the drive test mechanism. Thus, it is hoped that it will minimize the potential for interference in the 2.3 GHz radio frequency band.

If the condition of network performance after the transfer of the radio frequency band can be maintained at an adequate level, then the process of transferring the radio frequency band in the cluster can be declared complete. Overall, the Refarming process in a cluster can be completed in less than 24 hours.