Mobile operator PT XL Axiata says its ongoing 4G LTE rollout programme continues in East Java, with 38 cities/municipalities now covered in 13 administrative districts, including Kota and Kabupaten Madiun, Ponorogo, Magetan, Ngawi, Kota and Kab Blitar, Kota and Kab Kediri, Nganjuk, Trenggalek, Tulungagung and Pacitan. IndoTelko quotes the firm’s vice president for the East Region, Mochamad Imam Mualim, as saying that XL continues to be ‘very aggressive’ in the way it is expanding the coverage area of its LTE network, noting: ‘This policy cannot be separated from the firm’s achievement in terms of customer growth and data traffic. By the end of June 2017, the number of customers using smartphones had increased to about 67% of total customers. Meanwhile, the number of 4G customers has grown to about 40% of total customers’.
For the whole of East Java, XL Axiata has provided nearly 1,900 BTS 4G LTE, and by the end of 2017 is aiming to increase this to approximately 2,200. Of the total XL Axiata customers in East Java around 6.3 million, approximately 68%, are actively utilising data services it says. Furthermore, the number of XL Axiata subscribers using 4G LTE smartphones in the province is also increasing. As at 31 March 2017, 1.9 million customers were using 4G smartphones in East Java.