Telecommunications operator PT Smartfren Telecom launched its 4G service on Wednesday, joining three other operators in providing the latest technology for better data traffic and Internet browsing.

'€œToday, our 4G/LTE is officially commercial across the nation. The launch of this high-speed Internet service is in line with President Joko '€˜Jokowi'€™ Widodo'€™s goal to make the creative industry the backbone of the country'€™s economy,'€ said Franky D. Widjaya, vice chairman of Sinar Mas Group '€” the parent company of Smartfren.

Launched in an event attended by Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara, Industry Minister Saleh Husin and former trade minister Rachmat Gobel, the Smartfren 4G service is dubbed 4G LTE-Advanced.

Smartfren'€™s 4G service would deliver carrier aggregation in 850-megahertz (MHz) and 2,300 MHz frequency bands, making it possible to offer faster 4G Internet than the existing ones, said Djoko Tata Ibrahim, an adviser to Smartfren'€™s board of directors.

In December last year, telecommunications operators PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), PT XL Axiata and PT Indosat launched their commercial 4G/LTE services in 900-MHz frequency band.

The three GSM operators currently offer 4G services in a number of areas, such as Jakarta, Bandung and Lombok.

Smartfren, meanwhile, has wider 4G coverage spanning from Aceh to Kalimantan.

The firm, which is the sole CDMA operator in the country, has signed master agreements with technology companies ZTE and Nokia under contract prices of US$401.98 million and $383.58 million, respectively, to develop LTE network, according to its financial report.

ZTE Indonesia'€™s senior manager for project management office, Vimal Kanagalingam, said that ZTE was partnering with Smartfren to develop a 4G network for the country'€™s eastern region, while Nokia for the western region.

'€œThe number of 4G base stations for the eastern region stands at 3,500 and in the western region will be around 4,500,'€ he said on the sidelines of the launch.

Smartfren'€™s Djoko said that to attract more subscribers, his company would make its 4G services not
only available for its brand Smartfren Andromax but also other mainstream brands through a bundling package.

'€œWe want to go bigger, so we can'€™t solely rely on our device. Anything [devices] that others [operators] use will also be compatible with our 4G service,'€ he said.

Djoko said that in this year alone, Smartfren planned to prepare around 1 million units of 4G-Andromax and expected to have around 30 percent of its subscribers migrate to 4G.

Smartfren previously stated that it aimed to see the number of its subscribers surge to 15 million this year from 11.9 million last year.

The firm also aims for double-digit growth this year, partly driven by its new LTE service.

The company, which is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (IDX) as FREN, saw it net loss surge by 24.7 percent to Rp 815.52 billion ($58.63 million) in the first semester of this year from Rp 653.88 billion on the back of rising foreign exchange (forex) loss.

Its forex loss hit Rp 346.61 billion in the first half of this year, a stark contrast to Rp 83.74 billion in forex gain in the same period last year.

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