Medan, 26 December 2022. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) continues to strengthen XL Axiata's 4G network in North Sumatra Province, including in tourist areas. Every year, the people of North Sumatra take advantage of the long New Year holiday period by traveling to various regions in the province. The strengthening of this data network is XL Axiata's effort to ensure that services to customers remain optimal during the long holiday season. In North Sumatra Province, XL Axiata's 4G network currently reaches at least 5,300 villages and 347 districts in 30 regencies/cities.
Group Head of XL Axiata for the West Region, Desy Sari Dewi, said, "XL Axiata will continuously strengthen the network to all service areas in North Sumatra in line with the increase in telecommunications and data traffic. This includes strengthening XL Axiata's network to anticipate traffic surges during the long holiday at the turn of the new year. Network strengthening is carried out in the form of capacity building and fiberization. Network strengthening in tourist areas in North Sumatra is also an effort to support the smooth running of the Proud to Travel in Indonesia (BBWI) program that is being promoted by the government.”
In North Sumatra Province, XL Axiata's network infrastructure is currently supported by more than 8,300 BTS, including around 5,300 4G BTS. To anticipate the increase in traffic during the long New Year's Eve holiday, XL Axiata has increased network capacity to twice as much as on regular days. In addition, XL Axiata has also prepared no less than four units of mobile BTS (MBTS) in various locations requiring signal quality support, especially in Medan City. For this reason, the on-site team will be on 24-hour standby during this holiday period, as will a team that continues to monitor network conditions throughout XL Axiata's service area through XL Axiata's service quality monitoring center - the Customer Experience and Service Operation Center (CE&SOC) located at the company's headquarters in Jakarta.
According to Desy, XL Axiata predicts that the increase in data traffic during the New Year holiday in North Sumatra will reach around 2–3 times the average traffic on regular days. Customers will use a variety of data services, especially social media, to share content. Customers are also predicted to access more streaming services for video, music, and games, which require a large capacity.
In terms of location, the highest traffic increase is predicted to come from Medan. Besides being the largest city, it also has the most subscribers in North Sumatra. Around 1,150 4G BTS support services in Medan City. The other areas with the highest traffic have been Deli Serdang Regency and Langkat Regency.
XL Axiata also pays attention to popular tourist areas in North Sumatra, which are usually bustling with people. Some of them are Berastagi, Lake Toba, and Bukit Lawang. In addition, network strengthening is also carried out in urban crowd centers, the Medan-Tebing Tinggi-Parapat toll road, inter-island ports, and airports.