Page 110 - SAMENA Trends - August-September 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

maintain future-ready digital connectivity infrastructure. encourages developers to integrate robust digital
In addition, it defines transparent, standardized criteria infrastructure from the design and construction stage.
for property ratings, including fiber readiness, in- As for the history behind this publication, TRAI says
building mobile coverage, Wi-Fi coverage, broadband it first notified the Rating of Properties for Digital
speeds and overall user experience The publication Connectivity Regulations, 2024 in October of that year,
also enables buyers, tenants and businesses to make establishing a standardized, collaborative framework
informed decisions based on actual digital connectivity for evaluating digital connectivity infrastructure.
performance, and, importantly for operators, it (August 14, 2025) www.developingtelecoms.com

Indonesia’s three major mobile players, Telkomsel, has surpassed 90 percent across all major islands as
Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and XLSmart formed an of 1H 2025, led by Java at 96.4 percent and Bali & Nusa
alliance to protect customers from hacking and fraud by Tenggara at 95.2 percent. Regions that historically
jointly adopting open telco API protocols. In a statement, lagged, including Sulawesi, Sumatra, Kalimantan,
Indonesia the three noted under the Joint Telco API Alliance and Maluku & North Maluku, have all crossed the 90
percent mark. This milestone stems from coordinated
Initiative they will use unified telco API protocol based
on the open source CAMARA standard. The initiative government action, particularly through the Ministry of
will cover security measures including: checking the Communication and Digital Affairs’ (KOMDIGI) Digital
active status of a number and customer registration; Indonesia Roadmap 2021–2024, and public-private
validating devices via number and network verification; partnerships, Affandy Johan, Industry Analyst at Ookla,
detecting suspicious SIM card activity; and verifying said. The Universal Service Obligation fund, managed
device location within a specific geographic range. by BAKTI, has played a pivotal role in financing projects
CAMARA open APIs, supported by the GSMA Open such as the Palapa Ring fiber network, the SATRIA-1
Gateway initiative, define, develop and publish APIs satellite, and the construction of 6,672 new Base
for developers and is driven by the Linux Foundation. Transceiver Stations to extend coverage in underserved
By early June, some 73 mobile operator groups “3T” regions. Major operators like Telkomsel have
representing almost 80 per cent of global connections complemented these efforts with targeted network
joined the Open Gateway initiative, including all of expansion in commercially challenging areas. In
the operators in China. Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo contrast, 5G deployment remains limited and highly
Hutchison and XLSmart joined in February. urban-focused. Bali & Nusa Tenggara lead with
(September 22, 2025) www.mobileworldlive.com availability jumping from 4.4 percent in 1H 2024 to 17
percent in 1H 2025, driven by rollouts in tourism and
Indonesia’s mobile network performance has improved business hubs. Java and Sumatra have more modest
significantly between Q2 2022 and Q2 2025, according coverage at 6.5 percent and 4.8 percent respectively,
to Ookla’s latest report. Nationwide download speeds while Kalimantan, Maluku & North Maluku, and Papua
climbed from 17.54 Mbps to 30.5 Mbps, while upload & Western New Guinea remain in the low single digits.
speeds rose from 10.32 Mbps to 13.93 Mbps. Even Progress is constrained by limited mid-band spectrum
the lower 10th percentile — representing the worst — currently confined to the 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, and
connections — saw download speeds more than 2.3 GHz bands — high infrastructure costs, and the
double from 2.66 Mbps to 5.69 Mbps, reflecting robustness of existing 4G networks. Operators are
network upgrades that are reaching rural and remote adopting a phased, demand-driven strategy, focusing on
communities, which account for 41 percent of the dense urban and industrial zones. Telkomsel leads with
population. Every region reported faster speeds, with over 2,100 5G sites in 56 cities, while Indosat Ooredoo
Jakarta and Bali topping 41 Mbps. Lower-performing Hutchison is expanding through network sharing.
provinces like North Maluku, as well as remote areas This measured approach is laying the groundwork for
such as Gorontalo and Bangka Belitung Islands, broader adoption as more spectrum becomes available
recorded notable gains, underscoring efforts to close and demand grows.
the digital divide, Ookla report indicated. 4G availability (August 19, 2025) www.telecomlead.co

Kyrgyzstan has decided to nationalize access to be in place from 15 August 2025 to 14 August 2026,
international internet traffic for a year. A presidential the term "temporary" may be open to dispute. In any
decree said the government was "establishing a case, as a number of news organizations have noted,
temporary 100% state monopoly on the supply and it was not clear from the decree whether it can be
Kyrgyzstan provision of international internet traffic on the territory extended – or indeed why it was deemed necessary
of the Kyrgyz Republic”. Given that the monopoly will in the first place No explanation or details were given

110 AUG-SEP 2025