Jakarta, 7 May 2021. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) has prepared telecommunication and data networks to face the long Eid al-Fitr holiday this year. During the one-week holiday period, XL Axiata has made network preparations including increasing capacity up to twice from normal day conditions, optimization in residential areas and tourist destination locations. Network quality improvement is also carried out along land transportation routes in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. In addition, a network engineering scenario has also been prepared in case of traffic jam at a location. Included in this preparation is the deployment of around 40 units of Mobile BTS (MBTS) in various locations which are predicted to experience a surge in traffic.
Director & Chief Technology Officer of XL Axiata, I Gede Darmayusa said, "We have carefully prepared telecommunication and data networks long ago for the needs of this Eid al-Fitr. Even though there is a ban on going home, the traffic is likely to increase significantly like last year's Eid. We estimate that traffic will increase by around 20% on data services. Video/music streaming services, instant messengers, games and social media will dominate. In addition, video conferencing and video call services will increase as a means of staying in touch because many subscribers cannot go home and visit relatives.
Gede added, other network preparations are in the form of regulating internet traffic towards the upstream direction to Malaysia and Australia to 1.5 times and using 2 exchanges of Singapore and Australia. Furthermore, the XL Axiata team has also identified around 800 location points that are centres of community mobility, including shopping centres and tourist sites as well as places of worship. Although there is a ban on going home, network optimization is still being carried out along the Java and Sumatra toll roads, airports, inter-city bus terminals, ferry ports, and train stations.
In addition, XL Axiata continues to ensure network quality in all service areas, including in various cities and areas that have been known as the main destination for homecoming. Although it is likely that it will not be as busy as during Eid al-Fitr before the pandemic, XL Axiata continues to anticipate so that every subscriber need for telecommunication and data services can still be maximally fulfilled. Even traffic diversion or breakdown engineering is still prepared when there is density in an area. Thus, a traffic surge in a location will not cause congestion which can reduce the quality of service to subscribers.
"We have also prepared anticipations if at any time an unexpected accident occurs, such as floods, earthquakes, etc. which are natural disasters or due to technical factors, which have the potential to cause network interruptions. For this reason, our team in the field will be on standby 24 hours during this holiday, as well as a team that continues to monitor network conditions throughout the XL Axiata service area through the XL Axiata service quality monitoring centre - Subscriber Experience and Service Operation Center (CE & SOC) which is at the head office in Jakarta," added Gede.
In the past year, the Eid al-Fitr holidays have significantly increased the use of telecommunication and data services, namely an increase of around 25% on average. From the type of service, the highest increase in traffic was in access to instant messaging services, video calls or video conferencing, social network services, and streaming (games, videos, music, films).
Currently, XL Axiata has 56.02 million subscribers, and is strengthened by more than 147 thousand BTS, including more than 57 thousand 4G BTS. XL Axiata's 4G LTE network continues to be expanded, and currently it has reached more than 458 cities / regencies in various regions in Indonesia. XL Axiata also continues to invest in fiber networks, transmission, backhaul, network modernization, and various other network upgrades to increase stability, network capacity, and data service quality in line with increasing data service traffic.