Based on the company’s annual report, data traffic contributed 53 percent to its 2016 revenue, which was an increase from the 35 percent in 2015.

XL Axiata CEO Dian Siswarini noted that because data contribution had surpassed 50 percent, it signaled the moment that XL must focus mainly on its digital and data services.

With that, it also shows a focus by the operator to sustain its high-value customer base while also nurturing the lower market base with the use of its Axis brand.

Voice revenue reportedly fell faster in 2016, but the company’s balance sheet was bolstered by the large contribution of data.

“From the data we have, we are confident that only real change can only come from data and digital services. That is why we are building the capabilities for data business so that XL can grow substantially in the future,” Dian said on Friday on the sidelines of the company’s shareholders meeting.

Data traffic at the company has significantly risen over the past five years on the back of a surge in the number of smartphone users in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Additionally, XL Axiata chief financial officer Mohammed Adlan bin Ahmad Tajudin elaborated that the increasing digitalization would be carried out with a more simplified way of doing business.

“Data analytics, a shift in business process and a supported digital working culture within XL will be the pillars in which these digitalization efforts will take place,” Adlan said.

Around 30 percent of the company’s capex, which mostly comes from internal cash, this year will be used to modernize its network, which will include measures such as an addition 4,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable.

However, despite the significant growth in data traffic, the company saw its revenue decrease by 7 percent year-on-year in 2016. The operator earned Rp 21.4 trillion in revenue last year, with Rp 376 billion in profit.

The expansion of data capacities will allow XL to extend the outreach of its 4G network, which is currently available in over 100 cities nationwide.

For the year ahead, XL will build more base transceiver stations (BTS), adding 17,000 4G BTS and 16,000 3G BTS. The reason it will continue building 3G BTS is to improve its 3G network coverage for markets outside of Java.

The company had 84,454 BTS as of last year.

Up to 93 percent of XL customers are connected to 2G, while 91 percent are connected to 3G and 53 percent to 4G. The company’s customer smartphone penetration base reached 63 percent in the 2016 financial year, rising from 42 percent in 2015.

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