Indonesia has commenced the auction phase of its 2.3GHz spectrum tender.
A press release issued by the Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI, also known as KemKominfo) confirmed that five operators had applied to bid for spectrum in the 2360MHz-2390MHz range, naming the applicants as Hutchison 3 Indonesia (Tri), Indosat Ooredoo, Smart Telecom (Smartfren), Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) and XL Axiata.
As reported by IndoTelko, applications closed on 17th March 2021, and a shortlist of three operators was drawn up on 14th April, with Smartfren, Telkomsel and XL Axiata making the cut after passing an administrative evaluation. The auction phase was opened on 19th April.
CommsUpdate notes that in December 2020 the MCI concluded a selection process for 2.3GHz spectrum, naming Smartfren, Telkomsel and Tri as the winners.
However, a month later it scrapped this decision and abandoned the process, with KemKominfo head of public relations Ferdinandus Setu describing the decision as “a precautionary and careful step from the MCI to align every part of this selection process with the provisions of laws and regulations relating to acceptance. Non-Tax State (PNBP) within the MCI, especially Government Regulation Number 80 of 2015.”
The process was restarted in March this year.
