Up to 180 million Indonesian 2G mobile users could be affected by network problems between mid-April and the end of the year, the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulation Body (BRTI) has warned.
The agency has indicated that the process of reallocating 1,800-MHz spectrum held by Telkomsel, XL Axiata, Indosat and 3 Indonesia could lead to service disruptions and other issues, Global Indonesian Voicesreported.
Voice, SMS and data services using GPRS and EDGE modes could all be affected, according to the BRTI. The frequency allocation process will commence before April 14.
The 1,800-MHz band is currently being reallocated for 4G use, but the band is currently being utilized by around 180 million 2G mobile users. The process of reallocating the spectrum could lead to issues for these users.
Currently Telkomsel and XL Axiata each have 22.5MHz of 1,800-MHz spectrum, Indosat is using 20MHz and 3 Indonesia has 10MHz.
A BRTI committee member told Indonesia's Detik.com that the public should be advised of the potential for service disruptions or declines in service quality. He said special efforts would be made to minimize the disruptions.