The Indonesian government has already blocked 100.9 million prepaid SIM cards in the 1-31 March 2018 period as mobile phone users failed to re-register their prepaid phone numbers with a valid national identification card (KTP) and family card (KK). Meanwhile, 305 million SIM cards were re-registered during the period (considering many Indonesians use more than one SIM card the figure is higher than the total number of Indonesians).

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American multinational technology company Apple Inc soon has to realize 40 percent of its total USD $44 million worth of investment plans in Indonesia if it wants to keep distributing its iPhone 7 on the Indonesian market. Late last year Apple committed itself to invest a total of USD $44 million in the establishment of innovation centers in Indonesia over the next three years. However, 40 percent of the total is required to be invested in the first year (which is 2017).

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Growing Internet penetration does not only give rise to a thriving online dating business but also to an expanding online gaming industry in Indonesia. Netherlands-based Newzoo, a global market research and predictive analytics firm (with a main focus on the gaming industry), said revenue in Indonesia's online gaming industry rose 77 percent year-on-year (y/y) to USD $321 million in 2015 from USD $181 million in the preceding year. This year the online gaming industry of Indonesia is expected to grow 12 percent (y/y).

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Based on a recent survey conducted by Google, online transactions in Indonesia continue to rise (particularly the purchase of goods through mobile gadgets) despite the nation’s economic slowdown and weak rupiah (which makes imported products more expensive). Henky Prihatna, Google’s Country Head for Indonesia, said the survey shows that Indonesian consumers are increasingly using Internet to purchase consumer goods.

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Indonesia Investments updated the company profile of Indosat in our Indonesian Companies section. Indosat, the third-largest telecommunication operator in Indonesia with approximately 59.7 million cellular subscribers, made headlines in Indonesian newspapers after presidential candidate Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said in a debate on Sunday (22/06) that he would like to see the Indonesian government buy back shares of the company (which had been sold to Qatar Telecom about a decade ago amid financial turmoil).

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Telekomunikasi Indonesia (better known as Telkom) is Indonesia's largest telecommunication and network provider as well as one of the largest companies in Indonesia in terms of market capitalization. The company, majority owned by the Indonesian government, has a dominating market share of between 45 and 50 percent in terms of mobile phone subscribers in Indonesia. It is the parent company of the Telkom Group, which is engaged in a range of businesses that include telecommunication, multimedia, property and financial services.

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In recent years, the telecommunication sector of Indonesia has been a tough arena for mobile phone operators. In terms of voice services, the once highly prospective industry has become more and more saturated over the years. Amid fierce competition tariffs for mobile phone services have been brought down significantly, while a new group of subscribers (from the poorer segments of society) have limited spending capacity. However, with the introduction of the increasingly popular smartphone, there is still room for growth.

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The number of Indonesian Internet users grew 13 percent (year-on-year) to 71.2 million in 2013 according to data provided by the Association of Indonesian Internet Providers (APJII). Overall, Internet penetration in Indonesia now stands at around 28 percent of the country's total population of over 240 million people. The number of Internet users in Indonesia is expected to grow to 107 million in 2014 and 139 million in 2015 based on the Millennium Development Goals. However, the sector needs government support to achieve these numbers.

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According to Indonesia's Ministry of Industry, the import of mobile phones can be reduced by 50 percent within the next three years because of the establishment of new mobile phones factories. It is estimated that Indonesia imports 70 million cellular phones in 2013 as demand for mobile devices is high among the rapidly expanding middle class of Southeast Asia's largest economy. Due to this middle class and size of the total population (over 240 million people), Indonesia contains a lucrative market for telecommunication devices and services.

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In order to raise new funds for business expansion, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) is considering to list its subsidiary Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2014. Through its Telkomsel unit, Telkom is Indonesia’s leading provider of mobile telecommunications and digital data services. The company currently has around 125 million cellular subscribers in a sector where rife competition for cellular subscribers has limited net profits. Telkom, however, is the only Indonesian operator that posts strong growth.

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Erajaya Swasembada, a company engaged in the distribution of mobile phones, vouchers and digital devices in Indonesia, set the ambitious target of opening 250 new outlets in 2018. This target is five times higher than the 50 new outlets the company managed to open in 2017.

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Data and Internet services are now the big engine of growth for the corporate earnings of Indonesia's listed telecommunication and network providers. However, there is only one of such companies that showed great net profit growth in the first half of 2017, to wit Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom). Therefore, Telkom is expected to have raised its market share in the mobile phone market of Indonesia this year.

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A new study conducted by the Better Than Cash Alliance, a partnership consisting of governments, companies, and international organizations, shows Indonesia has now become the world's fastest-growing mobile-commerce market (m-commerce). Growth of online shopping in Southeast Asia's largest economy is attributed to the rising spending power of Indonesia's middle class as well as expanding Internet and smartphone penetration. According to the study, Indonesia's m-commerce market surged 155 percent in 2016.

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Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia's second-largest telecommunication networks and services providers, is expected to post net profit in 2016 after three straight years of net losses. Supported by its new 4G/LTE network - now available in 27 Indonesian cities (and 16 more cities are targeted to be added to this network in 2016) - the company's performance should improve. Moreover, lower US dollar-denominated debt will also contribute positively to Indosat Ooredoo's corporate earnings. At end-2015 the company had 69.7 million mobile phone subscribers.

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The financial performance of Indonesia's listed telecommunication and network providers improved in 2015. Indonesia's three largest listed telecommunication companies Telekomunikasi Indonesia, XL Axiata and Indosat Ooredoo all recorded a better financial performance last year. However, this does not mean all three companies posted net profit. In fact, only Telekomunikasi Indonesia recorded net profit. The other two companies still posted a net loss, albeit their losses were much lower compared to one year earlier. Given that Indonesia's economic growth is expected to accelerate in 2016, these companies should be able to continue growing this year.

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The government of Indonesia targets to see 35 million domestically-produced mobile phones (per year) starting from 2017. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s wireless network is to be upgraded to 4G speeds by the same year (a 4G network is the new necessity for those with smartphones or tablets) although currently the country’s telecommunication operators are still in the middle of building receivers to boost 3G utilization. The government hopes to see a total of USD $4.5 billion investment in the telematics sector.

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Despite sharp competition, slowing profit margins and a saturating voice and SMS services market, Indonesia’s telecommunications industry still has lucrative prospects as there is still room for growth in data services, value-added services and still relatively low smartphone penetration (as well as low Internet penetration). However, of the big three Indonesian telecommunication network and services providers - Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), XL Axiata and Indosat - only Telkom managed to post net profit over 2014.

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Indosat, one of Indonesia's largest telecommunication networks and services provider, has partnered with Novosol, a Singapore headquartered mobile media and advertising company. Indosat will offer Novosol's MoFutbol multimedia mobile magazine to its fifty million plus subscribers at no charge. MoFutbol is a 24x7 magazine videos, photo-stories and real time scrollers. MoFutbol is the first multimedia mobile football service in the Indonesian language. The Mandarin and Malay editions will follow soon.

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