XL Axiata And Telkomsel Will Hold 4G Services At 7,904 BTS, This Is The Coverage Area!

Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Johnny G. Plate. (photo: Kemenkominfo)

JAKARTA - The winners of the selection of partners for 4G cellular services at 7,904 Base Transceiver Station (BTS) points in the 3T (Front, Outermost, Disadvantaged) area were won by two Indonesian cellular operators, namely PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) and PT Indonesian Cellular Telecommunications (Telkomsel).

This was conveyed by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Johnny G. Plate and accompanied by the President Director of the Information and Telecommunication Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) Kominfo, Anang Latif. Johnny said that cellular operators that will provide 4G cellular services to all BTS will be divided into 9 areas of cooperation packages.

"The cellular operator selection process has been carried out by the Kominfo Public Service Agency (BLU) in 9 cooperation package areas. The evaluation or selection is based on, first, the 4G cellular services provided are pioneering services in 3T areas that have not yet received 4G service coverage. "The population density in the 3T area is low. Third, the geographical conditions are difficult to reach with limited supporting infrastructure. Because it has been selected, it is the result of the team's evaluation," said Johnny at a press conference in Jakarta, Monday, September 27.

Johnny explained why the Ministry of Communication and Information only chose two cellular operators, while there were still several other cellular operators during the four-month election, and his party prioritized geographical conditions and population density.

"Because this is also related to the networks owned by partners. We can appoint all of them, but if the surrounding networks are not well-available, it will make it difficult for partners. "explained Johnny.

With the selection of cellular operator partners in the 9 cooperation package areas, the preparation process for BTS integration can gradually be carried out and the BTS that has been built can immediately operate to provide 4G cellular services to people in the 3T area.

“The provision of 4G services in the 3T region is the main key for economic growth in the utilization of telecommunications and information connectivity. We hope that there will be opportunities for collaboration in the digital ecosystem between business actors and BAKTI Kominfo in the 9 areas of the cooperation package," said Anang.

The nine areas are:

Sumatra: XL Axiata Nusa Tenggara: Telkomsel Kalimantan: Telkomsel Sulawesi: Telkomsel Maluku: Telkomsel West Papua: Telkomsel West Central Papua: Telkomsel North Central Papua: Telkomsel South East Papua: Telkomsel

The 4G BTS infrastructure development project to be built by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and BAKTI Kominfo is a total of 7,904 4G BTS and is projected to be completed in stages until the end of 2022.

This number fulfills 9,113 villages or sub-districts that are included in the category of 3T areas that have not been reached by 4G signals. A number of 1,209 villages or wards have previously built BTS with 2G technology which has been upgraded to 4G technology.

Johnny revealed that the funds for the BTS construction came from several sources, "The budget for the BTS construction has been carried out by the Financing BAURAN. Some are financed through Universal Service Obligation (USO) funds, some are carried out through pure rupiah funds from the APBN, some are financed from revenue funds. "The state is not a tax in the Ministry of Communication and Informatics sector. I don't know exactly but the cost is very large for the construction of the entire BTS managed by BAKTI Kominfo, totaling 9,113 regions," said Johnny.

Previously, Johnny had also laid the groundwork for the implementation of the 4G BTS infrastructure program in Kelangan Village, Natuna Regency, Riau Islands Province on April 23, 2021. This event marked the start of massive 4G BTS infrastructure development throughout Indonesia.