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Bolt assures refunds for customers after permit revoked
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The Communications and Information Ministry officially revoked the 2.3 GHz frequency permit of Internux (Bolt), First Media and Jasnita Telekomindo on Dec. 28 because the companies failed to pay frequency fees to operate the 4G LTE network, reported kompas.com. (Shutterstock/File)
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olt has assured that customers do not need to worry about the termination of its 4G LTE service, as customers can claim their remaining balance or unused quota before Jan. 31.
On its official website, bolt.id, Bolt – a mobile internet provider affiliated with Lippo Group – announced that customers could claim their remaining balance or internet quota simply by providing their integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID) number printed on their Bolt card. Bolt Home can also provide their Bolt number.
Bolt has partnered with local telecommunications operator PT Smartfren Telecom to accommodate customers seeking to continue using mobile internet services. The first step is for customers to go to either one of Bolt’s 28 outlets across Greater Jakarta and Medan in North Sumatra. Customers must then undergo a verification process from Bolt.
After customers have completed Bolt’s verification process, Smarfren’s customer service team will help them activate a new Smartfren SIM card.
“For customers who complete the verification process, they can instantly exchange their Bolt card with a Smartfren Now+ prepaid SIM card for free,” Djoko Tata Ibrahim, Smartfren deputy CEO, said in a statement recently.
He said with Smartfren's services, customers can use internet services on a wider scale as Smartfren’s network is available in more than 200 cities across the archipelago.
Previously, the Communications and Information Ministry announced that it had suspended the use of the 2.3 Ghz radio frequency band for internet provider PT First Media and its subsidiary PT Internux (Bolt).
The ministry stated that First Media and Bolt did not fulfill their obligations to the government by the paying license fee for using the 4G spectrum, worth Rp 364.8 billion (US$25.26 million) and Rp 343.5 billion respectively.
Responding to the case, Tulus Abadi, chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, urged Bolt to fulfill its obligations to its customers.
“Bolt must provide refunds for customers and help them migrate to other operators,” he said on Thursday.
The license revocation has evidently affected First Media’s stock price and financial performance. First Media is a publicly listed company on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), traded under the ticker code KBLV.
First Media’s financial performance has slowed significantly. In the third quarter of 2018, it suffered Rp 2.4 trillion in losses, up 184.68 percent from the same period last year of Rp 845.33 billion.
I Gede Nyoman Yetna, IDX director for corporate valuation, said the bourse will continue to monitor the performance of First Media. At present, he said, the company still had other business lines that could support its performance, despite the closing of Bolt’s services.
Nyoman also claimed that First Media had been quite cooperative because it constantly disclosed information that should be known to the public.
On the IDX’s information disclosure, Shinta Melani Paruntu, First Media’s corporate secretary, explained that First Media would focus on maximizing the performance of its other subsidiaries.
First Media’s subsidiaries engage in the telecommunication infrastructure sector, such as in-building solutions, internet provision, news content provision and production house services.
"The company will continue its business activities in the telecommunications sector, as well as incubating businesses related to the technology, media and telecommunications sector,” she said.
