Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI, aka KemKominfo) stated that it has completed the refarming of the 2.3GHz band after selling the frequencies at auction in May 2021.
In July this year, Communications Minister Johnny G Plate stated that the ministry would refarm the band between 14th July and 28th September in a bid to make more efficient use of the spectrum, boosting the quality of digital services. Plate noted that this would involve “frequency changes at 15,577 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) and carried out in stages in clusters in various regions.”
TeleGeography listed these clusters as: Riau Islands; Northern Sumatra; Central Java; Northern Sulawesi Banten, DKI Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi; West Java except Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi; East Java including Malang Regency and City, Kediri Regency and City, Blitar Regency and City, and Madiun Regency and City; East Java including the City of Surabaya, the Regency/City of Mojokerto, and the Regency of Sumenep; and Papua, Maluku, and North Maluku.
KemKominfo carried out the refarming process in collaboration with local operators that won the frequencies, Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) and Smart Telecom (Smartfren). Telkomsel won two 10MHz blocks at auction, bidding IDR176.9 billion (US$12.2 million) per block, while Smartfren won one block with an IDR176.5 billion bid. BWA operator Hinet (Berca Hardayaperkasa), which also holds 2.3Ghz spectrum, will also be involved in the process.
