Indonesian mobile network operator (MNO) XL Axiata has announced the completion of a third trial of fifth-generation technology at its headquarters in Jakarta, demonstrating among other things, the ability of 5G ‘to communicate virtually through a holographic display’. The 5G trials are being supported by Ericsson Indonesia, which is providing the necessary equipment, using a special temporary permit from the Ministry of Communication and Information (MoCI).
IndoTelko notes that as part of its preparations for the advent of the next generation of mobile technologies, XL Axiata is undertaking a widescale fiberisation upgrade programme to ensure it is able to support the data capacity required for 5G. Since 2017 it has been making preparations to support the new ecosystem and estimates that its fiberisation efforts will ultimately increase network transport capacity by more than five times when compared to non-fibre transport equivalents.
Commenting on the developments, XL Axiata Technology Director Yessie D Yosetya, said: ‘We are constantly preparing to adopt 5G technology, which is the most advanced network technology at the moment. Our preparation is very serious in all aspects, and currently we continue to build its ecosystem, especially in adequate data networks. We also carried out a trial again this time to get to know more about various aspects of the technology and its implementation in our network. We hope that many things can be learned from this trial.’
According to Yessie, to date XL Axiata has been deploying fibre in all provincial capitals and major cities in Java, Madura, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and Lombok, especially in cities or areas where strong data growth requires fibre-optic networks. Currently, fibre serves some 30% of base transceiver stations (BTS) – mainly covering the Java region – but its target is that by the end of 2019, 50% of BTS will be connected to fibre networks, increasing to around 60-70% by the end of 2020.