Cell Phone Service in Indonesia

Many cell phones nowadays are hearing aid compatible this is a great advantage if you suffer from hearing loss as it allows you to have a clearer conversation and hopefully have no issues with being able to hear the call at the far end.

Whenever you travel internationally, understanding the cell phone options you have is important.  The history of the development of cell phone service in Indonesia and the availability of service can be a real challenge when you are traveling to this region.  Unlike what you might be used to, there are only two cell phone providers in Indonesia.  They are PT Indonesian Satellite Corporation and Excelcomindo Pratama.  The reasons why cell phone service is so far behind the rest of the world lie in events of relatively recent history.

In 1998, cell phone usage was exploding around the world.  That was the time frame that cell phones went from being a luxury used by a few to something as common as a car radio and something that virtually everyone had including children.  But it was in 1998 that Indonesia went through a financial collapse that crippled the nation significantly.  The rupiah, the local currency, lost over 90% of its value and any kind of business expansion was derailed for a long time.

During this same time frame, the Indonesian government put controls on the cell phone industry, capping cell phone rates and making any kind of growth in that business sector virtually impossible.  The outcome was of the nine telecommunications companies in the country at the time, only two survived this period of Indonesian history.  This economic climate also meant that international investors or telecommunications companies who could have come in and provided sophisticated cell phone services avoided Indonesia because it was not feasible to work profitably in this climate.

There is good news about using your cell phone in Indonesia and that is the cost.  The rates for cell phone usage are considerably cheaper whether you use PT Indonesian Satellite Corporation or Excelcomindo Pratama.  The capping of the rates did suppress costs somewhat.  While that system is not as much a factor in Indonesia anymore, the cell phone market simply operates differently in that country that we are used to America.  Also, prepaid SIM cards are commonly used throughout Indonesia.  This gives you more options because by going with a SIM card, you are not locked into one carrier and you have more coverage and cost options.

But even working with one of the two major carriers, your cell phone costs will be noticeably cheaper.  For example, texting is dramatically less expensive in Indonesia.  If you exchange text message with a friend in the United States while in Indonesia, his costs might be $.25 or more each message because of international rates.  But because of the inexpensive pricing structure of Indonesian cell phone services, your cost would be closer to $.05.  The lower costs is one advantage that somewhat makes up for the limited cell phone service in this rapidly developing nation.