Indonesia
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Indonesia
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
XL is top for Video, Games and Voice App Experience in Indonesia
Smartphone users on XL enjoyed the best available quality of experience when streaming videos, playing multiplayer mobile games, or using over-the-top (OTT) voice services. As a result, XL is the outright winner of Opensignal's Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience awards in Indonesia.
XL is the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award
With overall download speeds averaging 20.8 Mbps, XL users clocked the fastest Download Speed Experience in Indonesia — 18.2% faster than second-placed Telkomsel and more than double of last-placed Smartfren’s 9.5 Mbps. Our users on XL also saw the biggest improvement in their average download speeds, an increase of 2.1 Mbps (10.9%) since our previous report
Telkomsel has the most consistent experience
When we compare Indonesian operators on measures for the consistency of the experience, Telkomsel wins both the Excellent Consistent and Core Consistent quality awards for the second time in a row in Opensignal mobile experience reports. This indicates Telkomsel users saw the greatest proportion of tests that met the minimum thresholds to support both regular and more demanding mobile applications.
Telkomsel is superior in 4G Coverage Experience
Telkomsel wins the 4G Coverage Experience award with a score of 8.8 on a 10 point scale, ahead of XL and Indosat's scores of 6.5 and 6.4 points, respectively. Opensignal's 4G Coverage Experience analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
It's been more than a year since Indonesia launched 5G services. Opensignal's data shows that although Indonesia's 5G services are still at an early stage, 5G already delivers a significant uplift in mobile experience compared to older 4G and 3G technologies.
However, 5G deployment has been very limited, mainly due to a lack of spectrum, among other factors. And to tackle the spectrum crunch, Indonesian operators are working on using their existing spectrum holdings by repurposing some or all of the spectrum they were using for 3G and/or 4G networks. For example, Telkomsel has successfully upgraded 185 cities/districts from 3G to 4G since March 2022, while XL said that at the end of June 2022, 90.9% of its subscriber base was on 4G, the operator is using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology on the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum for 5G. On the other hand, Smartfren plans to use the new spectrum in Band 40 to increase the capacity and quality of existing services and expand its footprint outside currently operational areas.
Nevertheless, a proportion of Indonesia's population still relies on old 3G network technology. This means Indonesian operators face challenges with switching off 3G networks completely and re-using the 3G spectrum for more efficient 4G and 5G technology. At the beginning of 2022, the government called for Indonesian operators to shut down 3G gradually. But this plan has been under review, given 4G services are still unavailable in some regions. Opensignal's analysis in the past has shown that migrating 3G-only users to 4G and refarming the 3G spectrum will positively impact users' overall mobile experience in Indonesia.
On the other hand, to support the 5G deployment in Indonesia, the Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI, or KemKominfo) recently hosted an auction of 10 MHz (2x5 MHz) spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band to accelerate the development of 5G services in the country, which Telkomsel won. Subsequently, the Indonesian government is also planning to auction new 5G spectrum in the 700 MHz low band once the digital TV switchover (ASO) is completed. Moreover, Indonesia is also preparing to make additional spectrum available for 5G in other bands. The candidates include the 800 MHz band at the coverage layer, 2.3/2.6/3.3/3.5 GHz band at the capacity layer, and 26/28 GHz at the super data layer .
While 5G may be the strategic area of focus for Indonesian operators, 4G continues to play a vital role because that's the network that consumers spend most of their time connected to.
In this report, we've analyzed the overall mobile network experience of all our users in Indonesia on five operators — 3, Indosat, Smartfren, Telkomsel and XL — over the 90 day period starting on August 1, 2022. Along with our national analysis, we've also examined our users' mobile network experience across 10 of Indonesia's major regions. We have used 5G measurements in addition to those from older generations of mobile network technology when determining the overall scores for each award category.
Opensignal's latest analysis of the Indonesian mobile market reveals a two-horse race between Telkomsel and XL in terms of users' mobile network experience. While XL is the outright winner across all three experiential measures — Video Experience, Games Experience and Voice App Experience — and leads in Download Speed Experience. On the other hand, Telkomsel is top regarding the consistent quality of cellular services — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Excellent Consistent Quality — as well as 4G Coverage Experience and Upload Speed Experience. Meanwhile, the 4G only operator, Smartfren is once again the winner of the Availability award.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Our XL users enjoyed the best available experience when streaming videos over mobile networks. As a result, XL is again the outright winner of Opensignal's Video Experience, with 46.5 points (out of 100) — just 0.4 points ahead of Telkomsel.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
XL beats the competition on the quality of experience when it comes to playing multiplayer mobile games in Indonesia. XL is the new winner of Opensignal’s Games Experience award with a score of 67.1 points (out of 100) — a lead of 2.1-2.8 points over Telkomsel and Smartfren. Meanwhile, Indosat and 3 followed behind with scores of 54.6 and 55.2. Since the last report, XL and Telkomsel users have seen their Games Experience improve by 5.8% and 2.1%, respectively, while the experience on Indosat and 3 deteriorated by 8.5% and 18.5%, respectively. Both Indosat’s and 3’s Games Experience scores have declined after the merger.
XL placed in the Fair (65-75) category for Games Experience. This means that most users deemed the experience average; it also indicates that the gameplay experience was generally controllable, with the majority of users noticing a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Meanwhile, Lower scores mean users' experience becomes less enjoyable, marred with increased delays and lack of controllability in gameplay.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
XL comes top in Voice App Experience, with a 2.3 points improvement reported by our users on its network and a decline of 1.8 reported on ex-winner 3's network. As a result, XL is the new outright winner of the Voice App Experience award. Our XL users enjoyed the best available experience when using over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Our Indonesian users have again observed the fastest average download speeds on XL's network. XL is, therefore, the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award, this time with a score of 20.8 Mbps. While our XL users saw the greatest improvement in average download speeds — up by 10.9% since our last report — those on Telkomsel saw their speeds improve by 8.1%. Our users on 3 and Smartfren also saw modest improvements of 5-5.4%, unlike Indosat users, who saw their speeds decline slightly.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
Once again, Telkomsel wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright. Our Telkomsel users reported the fastest average upload speeds in Indonesia — 8.2 Mbps. This score is 7.9% faster than users' upload speeds on second-placed XL and five times faster than those seen on Smartfren.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
Regional Analysis
Looking at the regional Video Experience, the national winner XL is the outright winner in four regions — Banten, Jakarta Raya, Kalimantan and Sumatra — and jointly wins a further two, including Jawa Barat with Telkomsel. Meanwhile, Telkomsel leads the pack for Video Experience in three regions — Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur and Yogyakarta
Telkomsel is ahead of XL in terms of the regional Games Experience. Our Telkomsel users had the outright top mobile multiplayer gaming experience in three regions — Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, and Yogyakarta, while this was the case for XL users in Banten, Jakarta Raya and Jawa Barat. Meanwhile, users on both operators are joint winners for Games Experience in the Sumatra region.
In the regional breakdown of Indonesia's Download Speed Experience, we found that XL users clocked the top download speeds across all 10 regions, including Jawa Tengah, where it jointly wins with Telkomsel. It’s noteworthy that the download speeds of our XL users in Banten, Jakarta Raya, Jawa Barat, Jawa Timur and the Lesser Sunda Islands averaged above 20 Mbps. In contrast, Telkomsel dominated the regional results for Upload Speed Experience, with users experiencing the fastest speeds in eight out of 10 regions.
Regional Analysis Summary: Indonesia, Mobile Network Experience Report, December 2022
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Coverage
3
Indosat
Smartfren
Telkomsel
XL
National Analysis
Indonesia's 4G-only operator Smartfren once again claims the Availability award, as our users on its network continue to spend the highest proportion of time connected to a cellular signal — 98.5%, on average. Meanwhile, 3 is next behind with 96.2%, followed by XL and Indosat, with scores above the 95% mark.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
Telkomsel is the outright winner of the 4G Coverage Experience award with a spectacular score of 8.8 points on a 10 point scale — ahead of XL’s and Indosat's scores of 6.5 and 6.4 points, respectively — which means our Telkomsel users connected to 4G in most locations — 88 out of 100 locations — visited by our Indonesian users on average.
Definitions
4G Coverage Experience measures how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
In simple terms, 4G Coverage Experience measures the mobile coverage experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users — i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. It considers all the areas that Opensignal users visit, the portion of locations that 4G is available to them, and locations that more users visit have higher importance to them.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Regional Analysis
In line with the national results, Indonesia’s 4G only operator Smartfren is the outright winner for Availability in seven regions and a joint winner in other regions, sharing two wins with Telkomsel in Banten and Jakarta Raya, besides that with XL in Sulawesi the capital region of Jakarta Raya and Banten.
Regional Analysis Summary: Indonesia, Mobile Network Experience Report, December 2022
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A-I
- Banten
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J-R
- Jakarta Raya
- Jawa Barat
- Jawa Tengah
- Jawa Timur
- Kalimantan
- Lesser Sunda Islands
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S-Z
- Sulawesi
- Sumatra
- Yogyakarta
in Banten
in Jakarta Raya
in Jawa Barat
in Jawa Tengah
in Jawa Timur
in Kalimantan
in Lesser Sunda Islands
in Sulawesi
in Sumatra
in Yogyakarta
Consistency
National Analysis
Once again, Telkomsel is the winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award. The operator met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming in 67% of users' tests — a noteworthy 8.5 percentage points greater than second-placed XL. Meanwhile, the lowest proportion of users' tests met the recommended performance thresholds on Smartfren — 21.9% on average.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
Like Excellent Consistent Quality, Telkomsel triumphs in Core Consistent Quality for the second time in a row in Opensignal mobile network experience reports, scoring 83.7%. Moreover, Telkomsel is the only Indonesian operator with a score above the 80% mark — ahead of Indosat and XL with 79.7% and 78%, respectively.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience