Indosat Ooredoo 4G

Name of Organization / Company: Indosat Ooredoo, Jakarta, Indonesia
Category: Award for the Innovation in Technology Development > Telecommunications Industries

Entry Title: Indosat Ooredoo 4G

Essay:

Indosat Ooredoo operates in Indonesia, one of the largest emerging markets in the world, and through a full range of end- to- end telecommunications services helps its customers to enjoy the internet. In 2018, Indosat Ooredoo continued to focus on end- to- end network enhancement upgrades in order to enable the provision of reliable and affordable connectivity in both populated and rural parts of Indonesia. The network transformation project sought to increase throughput, decrease latency and grow capacity and build Indosat Ooredoo’s 4G capabilities with a view to eventually rolling out 5G capabilities.

Indosat Ooredoo has significantly grown its product portfolio with 4G- services, offering a range of network solutions in ICT Security, cloud computing, enterprise mobility, analytics, IoT and Digital Infrastructure services. Additionally, it has built an ecosystem of partners, creating in- house solutions with adaptable business models and through API and application management invested in open platforms for scale. This combination of initiatives has raised its profile internationally, reflected by its exclusive partnerships with digital industry leaders such as Google, Facebook and Twitter.

Throughout 2018, Indosat continually increased its 4G presence. In 2018, Indosat increased its 4G population coverage from 44% to 80% nationwide, with plans to reach 90% in 2019, furthering a new innovative digital era for Southeast Asia’s biggest digital economy and building an interconnected future with digitally enhanced shops, more online functionality and increased data connectivity.

In line with its objective to strengthen coverage outside Java, in 2018 Indosat delivered seamless 4G coverage in Lampung, Banjarmasin, Makassar and Medan. All of which were met with excellent response from local populations and supported by targeted commercial campaigns.

The main drivers for the 80% 4G population coverage was an ambitious project named 4G Overlay in the latter part of 2018, where 4G capabilities were installed on all of Indosat's radio sites, as well as expansion of capacity on existing 4G sites. At its highest peak, the project reached 1200 sites a week. In addition to improving the network, this project showcased Indosat Ooredoo’s capabilities to deliver a project with such magnitude within a short timeline, providing valuable lessons for future deployments.

One of the biggest challenges in recent years has been to keep up with the exploding demand for data traffic, with the limited spectrum available and limited site density. With the additional 2100 MHz spectrum that Indosat Ooredoo’s acquired at the end of 2017, it has now boosted 4G spectrum use up to 73%, while maintaining service levels in 2G and 3G. It also took advantage of 900 MHz spectrum to increase 4G coverage in rural areas.

In order to maximize spectral efficiency, Indosat Ooredoo has deployed the latest 4G Technology, such as 256 QAM, 4x4MIMO, 2- and 3- Carrier Aggregation and LTE Adv Pro which renders the network one of the most advanced LTE networks in the world.

To highlight its readiness toward 5G, Indosat Ooredoo demonstrated 5G technology showcase trials in November 2018. The speed test reached 22Gbps throughput, the highest among public 5G trials in the country. In addition, several 5G use- cases were demonstrated, such as 3D Augmented Reality, to show the potential advantages of the 5G network.

Indosat Ooredoo is now on the beginning phase of its 3 years transformation, with a strategy to build a competitive video grade network. Having pushed spectrum usage and spectrum efficiency to the maximum by deploying advanced 4G features, it will continue to densify its radio network grid, especially in dense urban area. It is also in progress to significantly increase the reach of fibre connection to more radio sites. Increasing site density and fibre penetration will set up an excellent environment for the future 5G deployment.

Links:

Indosat Ooredoo Demonstrates Innovative 5G Experiences: https://ooredoo.com/en/media/news_view/indosat-ooredoo-demonstrate-innovative-5g-experiences/

Indosat strengthen 4GPlus coverage Outside Java
https://indosatooredoo.com/en/about-indosat/corporate-profile/press-release/indosat-ooredoo-memperluas-jaringan-4g-plus-di-wilayah-sumatera-utara
https://indosatooredoo.com/en/about-indosat/corporate-profile/press-release/ekspansi-jaringan-baru-4g-plus-indosat-ooredoo-menjangkau-seluruh-wilayah-kalimantan-selatan
https://indosatooredoo.com/en/about-indosat/corporate-profile/press-release/ekspansi-jaringan-baru-4g-plus-indosat-ooredoo-menjangkau-seluruh-wilayah-sulawesi-selatan