July 24th, 2023, Samuel Tan
In late June, Telkomsel announced the complete upgrade of its wireless mobile telecommunications network across Indonesia – from 3G to 4G/LTE – which the telco said would significantly enhance mobile network performance and internet connectivity for its customers nationwide.
But which telco do most consumers in Indonesia think provides the best network coverage – and are there regional differences across Indonesia’s vast archipelago? Additionally, how likely are consumers who think their current telco does not offer the best mobile coverage in their area to switch providers in the next six months?
Which telcos do Indonesian consumers think provide the best mobile phone network coverage?
Latest research from YouGov Surveys shows that most consumers across Indonesia (57%) say Telkomsel provides the best mobile phone network coverage in the area they live in. Telkomsel enjoys the highest regard, however, in Indonesian cities outside Java island (65%) and in Greater Surabaya (63%), where over three in five consumers say its network coverage is the best.
Indosat Oredoo is the second best-rated telco brand in the country and is the top pick for 15% of all Indonesian consumers. Regionally, Indosat Oredoo enjoys the highest regard in cities in Java outside the Jakarta and Surabaya metropolitan areas, where about one in five consumers (19%) say it offers the best network coverage – but is most poorly regarded in cities outside Java (9%).
XL Axiata comes in third overall – and is the top choice for about a seventh of consumers across regions – but is second most well-regarded in cities outside Java (12%). Meanwhile, 3/Tri (a telco brand under Indosat Oredoo Hutchinson) is fourth best-rated in the country, followed at a distance by Smartfren.
Which telcos have the largest share of customers who think their mobile network coverage is the best?
Most customers, across the top five telcos, think their current primary mobile network provider offers the best coverage in their area.
However, Telkomsel has by far the largest proportion of customers who think so – at over nine in ten (91%). Next most well-regarded among Telkomsel’s customers is XL Axiata, with 4% saying the telco's mobile network coverage is the best option where they live.
XL Axiata has the next largest share of customers who think their current provider offers the best coverage in their area, at almost seven in ten (69%). Following closely are Smartfren and Indosat Ooredoo (both 66%), where two-thirds of each telco’s customers think they offer the best mobile network coverage where they live, ahead of 3/Tri where just over three-fifths (62%) of its customers say the same.
Across all four telco brands, Telkomsel is the next best-rated mobile network provider, followed by XL Axiata and then Indosat Ooredoo (with the exception of customers of these two brands).
How likely are consumers who think their current telco does not provide the best mobile coverage to change their provider in the near future?
Across the top five telcos, most customers who do not think their current mobile network provider offers the best coverage in their area nonetheless say they plan to continue with their existing telco for at least the next 6 months – which suggests that other factors of consideration such as price, connection speed, mobile plan flexibility, customer service and user experience are at play.
More than a third (36%) of Smartfren customers who don’t think their telco provides the best mobile network coverage in their area plan to change to another provider within the next six months – the highest among the top five telcos – ahead of XL Axiata (32%), Telkomsel (30%) and 3/Tri (27%).
At the other end, just a quarter (25%) of such Indosat Ooredoo customers plan to do so – suggesting that the telco, more than its competitors, might be keeping its customers happy with other attractive features beyond a robust mobile network coverage, such as relatively cheaper package plans and larger data / talk time quotas.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online in May 2023, with an online representative sample of 2161 adults in Indonesia (aged 18+ years), using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by gender, age, socioeconomic class, city tier to be representative of the adult online population in Indonesia (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (BPS) population estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
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