Jakarta, 5 October 2021. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) has been selected to be one of the government's partner operators in the program to provide 4G cellular services in the 3T (frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped) areas. According to the announcement by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenkominfo), this program is part of the realization of the 4G Universal Service Obligation (USO) network coordinated by the Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI). For XL Axiata, participation in this program is part of XL Axiata's commitment for the 25th anniversary in an effort to "Build a Digital Indonesia".
Director of Technology & Chief Technology Officer of XL Axiata, I Gede Darmayusa said, "There are a total of 132 3T category village points located in seven provinces that we will manage through this USO program. All of these points are in really remote areas; in fact almost all of them are on the border of the Republic of Indonesia with neighbouring countries or international waters. Therefore, we are honoured to have the trust from the government to manage 4G networks and services at these remote points, because this is not only about business, but also about how we are called to participate in strengthening the territorial sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia.”
According to Gede, in this program, XL Axiata is tasked with integrating the 4G USO network infrastructure provided by BAKTI with XL Axiata's core and billing network, including providing end-to-end customer service. The determination of each location point is determined by the government. BAKTI is in charge of providing radio infrastructure and backhaul to the point of integration with cellular operators.
From the list of locations for the USO 4G network to be managed by XL Axiata, some of them are located in the Indian Ocean such as Mentawai (West Sumatra), Nias (North Sumatra), and Banyak Island and Aceh Island (Aceh). Then there are Natuna and Anambas (Riau Islands) far away in the South China Sea. Furthermore, in the waters of the Malacca Strait there are, among others, Jemur Island, Rupat Utama, and Meranti Islands which are included in Riau Province. The other points are in remote villages scattered in Pelalawan (Riau), Singkil (Aceh), Bintan (Riau Islands), Seluma (Bengkulu), and Pesisir Barat (Lampung).
“All networks built in this program are 4G networks and will use vsat and terrestrial connections. All technical aspects of radio and transport network infrastructure development up to the point of interconnection with operators will be handled by BAKTI. For operations, of course we need to wait for the construction of this infrastructure to be completed, so that we can integrate it with our core network, billing and customer service system. According to the information we have received, construction at a number of location points will already be carried out before the end of the year, the rest will be next year," continued Gede.
Commitment to build the 4G networks
By being selected in the tender for managing USO 4G network in Sumatra further strengthens the XL Axiata's commitment to participate in building 4G networks to remote areas. Apart from this USO program, XL Axiata has also confirmed its commitment to the government to build a 4G network to 861 remote villages. In addition, in the previous USO program tender, XL Axiata was also selected to manage hundreds of remote village points spread across various provinces in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, to Papua and West Papua.
XL Axiata management hopes that their participation in providing 4G networks, either through the USO program or independent network expansion, will be able to help eliminate internet access gaps in remote areas in various regions. With the availability of this broadband data service, hopefully it will spur the economy of the local community. In addition, the existence of XL Axiata's 4G cellular service will be able to bridge the surrounding community in accessing information on a par with other regions.