Telecom Lead Asia: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia is deploying 100,000 Wi-Fi access points across Indonesia. Cisco is assisting the telecom major.
Over the last six months, PT Telkom has deployed thousands of Wi-Fi access points across Indonesia as it prepares for mobile data traffic to double each year through at least 2016.
This will be the largest Wi-Fi deployment by a telecom service provider in Asia.
According to IDCi, both licensed and unlicensed (Wi-Fi) small cells are seen as key to managing rapidly increasing demand for mobile network access.
As per Cisco Visual Networking Index, mobile data traffic in Indonesia is expected to grow 32 times from 2011 to 2016, with an average per user consumption at 716 megabytes of mobile data traffic per month in 2016, a staggering 2,387 per cent increase from 30 megabytes per month in 2011.
PT Telkom has 8.6 million fixed wire-line customers, 14.2 million fixed wireless customers and 107 million cellular customers.
The Wi-Fi deployment will reinforce PT Telkom as a comprehensive service provider that supplies both fixed and mobile broadband services across Indonesia.
PT will utilize Cisco Service Provider Wi-Fi, a part of Cisco’s Small Cell solution portfolio, to support traffic growth and millions of users with a mobile experience.
The mobile operator’s initial target of deploying 100,000 Wi-Fi access points this year was to offload risk of overpopulated and congested 3G data traffic in malls, airports, and other high-density areas.
In addition, PT is also preparing to enhance broadband service portfolio to offer exciting new mobile broadband services.
“We expect our Wi-Fi network to scale out to 1 million Wi-Fi access points. PT Telkom is the first operator to build such a large Wi-Fi network in Indonesia, and we are confident that our collaboration with industry leaders like Cisco will position PT Telkom as the global leader in mobile broadband and Wi-Fi,” said Badriyanto, executive general manager of the Wireless Broadband Division at PT Telkom.
Indonesia is transforming the Asia region with its plans to grow the economy to compete on a global scale.
“The rise in mobility highlights the country’s vision in using the network as a platform for transformation as industries embrace the next-generation small cell mobile Internet capabilities for business benefits,” said Irving Tan, managing director for Cisco in ASEAN.
