A

s four telecommunication operators have concluded their national spectrum refarming program to prepare their networks for a new and improved 4G/LTE network on the 1,800 MHz frequency, the public will not have to wait long until the operators begin running on all cylinders to provide high-speed mobile connection to users.

Following the commercial launch of its 4G/Long Term Evolution (4G/LTE) high-speed internet service in Greater Jakarta two weeks ago, Indosat Ooredoo announced on Monday the activation of its 4G/LTE broadband network.

Indosat Ooredoo CEO Alexander Rusli said that the 4G broadband would serve 21 major cities, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Malang, Bali, Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Balikpapan.

By the end of the year, Alexander said, the operator would expand to 35 cities, including Purwakarta, Medan, Palembang, Batam and Manado.

'€œRight now, our 4G coverage covers 40 million people [...] We aim to add the coverage amount by 5 million users by each month in 2016,'€ he said. Alex added that it had taken two years for his company to modernize its network in preparation for the 4G network. With the new connection, Indosat Ooredoo'€™s users may enjoy 4G broadband with download speeds of up to 185 mbps.

Meanwhile, XL Axiata president director Dian Siswarini said earlier that the company aimed to cover 35 cities by the end of this year.

Dian said that her company would further invest in 4G services in the future to ensure super-fast internet connection nationwide as a way to improve economic productivity.

XL public relations manager Henry Wijayanto said that there had been strong demand since its service launch, with the company further implementing programs aimed at educating the public on 4G usage and understanding.

'€œDemand has been good, that'€™s why we are also still pushing for growth of the digital ecosystem so that our network'€™s quality grows,'€ Henry said.

According to XL Axiata, the 4G service is currently available in 19 cities as of the end of November, with Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok, Surabaya and Bandung being prominent cities in their coverage.

The country'€™s top five mobile operators, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata, 3 Hutchison and Smartfren, launched the trial operation of the 4G service on 1.8GHz networks in selected cities and regions in July as part of the spectrum refarming program carried out since May this year.

Telkomsel aims to cover 14 cities by the end of 2015, with 10 cities currently covered by the operator'€™s 4G services. The operator has achieved 1.4 million users for its 4G network out of its target of 2 million by the end of the year.

The applicaton of 4G/LTE network will improve network capacity and enhance speeds to allow users to enjoy improved smartphone and network performance, as well as faster web browsing and downloads.

Despite the application of the 4G network, the government reminded that the mobile operators needed to draw a clear business development plan to ensure sustainability of their service. Information and Communications Technology Minister Rudiantara said the 4G network upgrade was just the beginning of continued improvement in the country'€™s mobile network.

'€œWe have not fully integrated into 4G. We have merely finished refarming the 1,800 MHz frequency. There'€™s still the 2,100 MHz frequency to be done, but we have yet to begin that'€, Rudiantara said. (dyl)