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Jakarta Post

Telcos record surge in data traffic as people stay at home

People have been relying a lot on their internet connection, mostly for daily communication, work and entertainment

Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, March 26, 2020

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Telcos record surge in data traffic as people stay at home

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eople have been relying a lot on their internet connection, mostly for daily communication, work and entertainment. Since the government instructed the public to stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19, the need for internet access has jumped, with people needing to ensure that they can remain connected while staying and working from home.

Since March 15, when the government called on people to work from home (WFH) and practice physical distancing, many day-to-day activities from working to schooling have shifted online. This has led to a surge in demand for digital communication services in the country.

Endita Prima, a university lecturer in Yogyakarta, for example, spends much more time online than usual, as she has been required to provide her student lectures online from home since March 17. She uses the internet primarily to use online teaching and meeting platforms like WebEx, Zoom and Google Hangouts.

“On Tuesday, I used internet data for 100 minutes of online teaching. On Thursday, I used it for a 90-minute online meeting and today, for another 40-minute online meeting,” she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

With online learning expected to continue at least until mid-April, Endita expected her mobile data bill would go up.

Laily Maulida, a lecturer in Surabaya, East Java, also said that her mobile data use surged, as she conducted all learning activities online.

“I need to access Zoom and Google Classroom, as well as YouTube to upload my students' work. I think my [mobile] data bill will double this month,” said Laily. She added that in the last two weeks, she had almost used up her monthly 110-gigabyte mobile data quota, whereas she did not use up her quota during normal use in a single month.

Ifad Maulidi, a banker in Jakarta, also said his data usage had also increased, as he used the internet at home for video conferences with colleagues, submitting his work and completing all work-related activities remotely.

Telecommunications network providers in the country recorded a surge in internet traffic and data communication after the government instructed people to work, study and pray from home.

Mobile operator Telkomsel vice president for corporate communications Denny Abidin said that the company recorded a 5 percent surge in data services after March 15. Meanwhile, traffic on Telkomsel's conventional short message service (SMS) remained stable.

From reviewing the many types of data communication services consumers accessed, Telkomsel saw a rapid rise in the demand for online learning platforms.

“Telkomsel recorded increased traffic in [its] data communication services. This is supported by the increased demand for access to online learning [e-learning] services by 236 percent, communication through instant messaging services by 19 percent and online gaming services by 13 percent,” Denny said on Friday.

Telkomsel also saw a 10.4 percent increase in traffic for cloud computing services. The company also recorded increased traffic for other services, including digital advertising (7.5 percent), streaming services (7.3 percent) and browser services (5.2 percent).

By region, Telkomsel recorded that West Java contributed the most to the surge in internet traffic, followed by Central Java, East Java, central Sumatra and South Sumatra.

Other telecommunications operators like PT XL Axiata also reported increased data traffic. Tri Wahyuningsih, the company's general manager of corporate communications, said that data communication services saw a 15 percent traffic increase from March 16 to 19.

“The most accessed services among consumers is streaming services,” she told the Post on Friday.

As the WFH policy is expected to continue for at least the next 14 days, especially in big cities like Jakarta, telecommunications companies are bracing for surges in data traffic.

“We [Telkomsel] will continue monitoring traffic on telecommunications services and maintain network availability. What we have done so far is to ensure additional capacity to anticipate a surge in communication services, especially for data and digital services,” said Denny.

Telkomsel was ensuring network availability in residential areas as well as vital facilities such as hospitals and government offices.

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