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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Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), the country's second-largest lender by market capitalization, will become the world's first bank that has its own communications satellite. On 28 April 2014, a contract was signed between Arianespace and BRI for the launch of the Indonesian satellite, which will be named BRIsat. The contract signing ceremony took place in Jakarta, and was witnessed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as well as various other high positioned officials.

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Both Indonesia's Ministry of Industry and Trade propose to impose a luxury goods sales tax (PPnBM) of 20 percent on all imported mobile phones. Previously, the Ministry of Industry said the new tax rule - if approved - would only apply to cellular phones with a price tag of at least IDR 5 million (USD $442). Now, however, all imported cell phones will be affected. This new tax policy aims to curb imports of mobile phones (thus impacting positively on the trade balance) and to support the development of a domestic mobile phone industry.

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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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The company profile of Smartfren Telecom has been added to the Indonesian companies section. Smartfren Telecom (FREN), controlled by the Sinar Mas Group, is an Indonesian telecommunication services provider focused on internet services and CDMA-based cellular phone services. Indonesia's telecommunications industry is a highly competitive one which makes it difficult for the smaller companies, such as Smartfren, to survive. Fitch Ratings has repeatedly warned that the company is at risk of default.

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Bakrie Telecom is one of the dozen Indonesian telecommunications operators that provide fixed digital radio cellular telecommunication network and services. The company currently has around 12 million cellular subscribers (mostly prepaid). However, both its operational and financial results are showing a worrying development. In April 2013, Fitch Ratings said that Bakrie Telecom is likely to default on its debt and needs to restructure its USD $380 million senior unsecured bonds due in May 2015.

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Indonesia Investments updated the company profile of XL Axiata. The company is one of Indonesia’s leading cellular service providers, offering various types of telecommunication products and services including Voice, SMS, Data, and other mobile telecommunication services to Indonesians through its extensive network in the country. However, Indonesia's telecommunication market has lost some of its glory as the mobile phone market has become saturated while competition remains rife.

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Not everywhere in Indonesia can you enjoy Internet access. Moreover, in most parts of the country the quality of Internet connectivity is relatively low. Considering that in today’s world Internet access is key to developing any knowledge-based economy (which subsequently triggers social and economic development), it is important that high-quality Internet connectivity is further expanded and improved in Indonesia.

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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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State-controlled telecommunication and network provider Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) managed to post a 12.5 percent year-on-year (y/y) rise in net sales to IDR 97.0 trillion (approx. USD $7.2 billion) in the January-September 2017 period. Meanwhile, the company's net profit rose 21.7 percent (y/y) to IDR 17.9 trillion (approx. USD $1.3 billion) over the same period.

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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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NetApp Indonesia, the local unit of the American multinational storage and data management company, predicts three main information technology (IT) trends in Indonesia in 2017: (1) data becoming the "new currency", (2) new platform models taking over, and (3) cloud computing becoming a key source of corporate growth. Ana Sopia, Country Manager NetApp Indonesia, explained that numerous companies, all over the world, are currently experiencing digital transformation challenges.

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Local and foreign smartphone vendors are eager to assemble 4 Generation long term evolution (4G LTE) smartphones in Indonesia. No less than 26 companies (and brand owners) have established assembly plants in Southeast Asia's largest economy with a combined investment value of USD $600 million since 2015. Of these 26 companies, 14 are local players. The number of foreign smartphone manufacturers in Indonesia is expected to grow as a new government regulation comes into force per 1 January 2017.

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The Gods seemed not in favor of the BRIsat, the satellite of Indonesia's second-largest bank by assets Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). The BRIsat was originally scheduled to be launched on 9 June 2016 (Indonesian timezone). However, due to technical problems and bad weather the launch had to be postponed three times. Finally, on early Sunday (20/06) the satellite was launched by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou (French Guiana), hence ushering in a new era for Indonesia's digital banking industry.

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State-controlled Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Indonesia's largest telecommunication and network provider, plans to launch its Telkom-4 satellite in 2018 through its subsidiary TelkomMetra. The Telkom-4 satellite, which will replace the aging Telkom-1 satellite, is equipped with 49 transponders that will be capable of beaming 100 Gbps mobile broadband across Indonesia, India and Southeast Asia. The USD $200 million satellite is expected to have a life span of 15 years.

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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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