Indonesia's five largest mobile operators have all launched 1800-MHz LTE services, while a new player has indicated an intention to enter the LTE market.
Telkomsel, PT Indosat, XL Axiata, Hutchison's 3 and Smartfren all recently rolled out 4G services over the band in various cities and regions, the Jakarta Postsaid.
Telkomsel switched on its network in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indosat went live in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, XL held a lunch on the island of Lombok, 3's network has been rolled out to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, while Smartfren activated its network in Batam, Riau Islands.
Mobile operators have been rushing to roll out LTE services in Indonesia after the government opened up use of the 1800-MHz band for 4G.
Telkomsel, XL Axiata and Indosat have already launched LTE over the 900-MHz band. Incumbent Telkomsel already has 620,000 LTE subscribers, while XL Axiata has around 200,000.
The report adds that Berca Hardayaperkasa, a unit of Central Cipta Murdaya, has revealed plans to enter the increasingly crowded 4G market as well. The company is targeting a launch in Bali, Makassar and Pekanbaru in October.
Central Cipta Murdaya has committed up to $150 million to deploy the service in the three cities. The company is ultimately planning to launch in 12 cities outside Java. Berca was originally a Wimax operator, having secured 2300-MHz spectrum in 2009.