Indonesian market leader Telkomsel has acquired a 30MHz block of 2.3GHz spectrum for IDR1.01 trillion ($75 million).
The operator’s winning bid involves it paying an upfront fee of IDR2 trillion – roughly double the price of the actual bid – as well as an annual licence fee. The initial cost must be presented within ten days of winning the block ahead of its four main rivals.
At the end of Q3 2017, Telkomsel - which is the mobile unit of state operator Telkom Indonesia - had 180 million subscribers, giving it a market share of 44%. Of this total, around 30 million are 3G subscribers.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is selling a further two 10MHz blocks in the 2.1GHz band at auction this week. While Telkomsel cannot participate after winning the 30MHz block, it is likely that its rivals Indosat Ooredoo, XL Axiata and 3 Indonesia will all put in bids.
Indonesia’s 2.1GHZ and 2.3GHZ spectrum auctions were postponed from the originally scheduled June after a delay in issuing the guidelines that would govern the licensing process.
