Indonesian consumers have shown a mixed reaction over major telecommunications operatorsâ plan to roll out 4G before end of the year, with some consumers having no plan to migrate to the network
Indonesian consumers have shown a mixed reaction over major telecommunications operators' plan to roll out 4G before end of the year, with some consumers having no plan to migrate to the network.
Theosa Dinar Swastiningtyas, 25, said she would not migrate to 4G as she already used the Bolt service, which provided a 4G WiFi connection, to cover her need for fast Internet access.
'I don't have any problem with my current situation. I use a 3G SIM card for my smartphone and Bolt for fast Internet access,' she said, adding she had no plan to replace her 3G Telkomsel SIM card with
the 4G one.
Telkomsel, a subsidiary of state-owned telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), launched its commercialized 4G network operating on a 900 MHz frequency last week.
Similar to Theosa, Richo Satria Hutama Putra, 26, said he had no urgent need for super-fast Internet access with 4G.
'I appreciate the operators' move to provide a better service to their customers, but I don't think I have a big problem with 3G Internet speed,' he said.
Richo, who works as a civil servant, said he was also unsure that his smartphone was compatible with a 4G network.
'If migrating to 4G means that I have to buy a new smartphone, then I'll just wait,' he said.
A 27-year-old journalist, Satwika Movementi, said she welcomed the operators' move to roll out 4G and she planned to migrate to 4G as it would help her to work faster.
'However, I don't think I will migrate to 4G in the next three months or so. My current smartphones aren't compatible with 4G and I've found that 4G-ready devices are still quite expensive,' she said.
Satwika expected the government to not only support the operators to roll out the technology, but also ensure that consumers could get affordable smartphones compatible with 4G technology.
In line with the consumers' view, PT Indosat president director Alexander Rusli said on Monday that his firm would officially launch its commercialized 4G this month, but he did not set a specific target.
'There aren't many 4G-ready handsets in this country. We will set our growth in 4G based on the growth in the number of 4G-ready handsets,' he said.
XL director for service management Ongki Kurniawan said his firm would launch its commercialized 4G before end of this month only in a few places.
'We will roll out our 4G only in a handful of areas this month, then we will expand it in line with market demand,' he said.
Director general of post and informatics resources at the Communications and Information Ministry, Muhammad Budi Setiawan, said the government had not set a specific deadline for 4G implementation, but said it was expected to improve gradually.
'We're aware that around 70 percent of the population is still using a 2G network, and around 25 percent are on 3G networks,' he said.
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