Jakarta, December 9, 2024. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) has confirmed that its network is prepared to handle any traffic surges across all services ahead of the extended Christmas and New Year (Nataru) 2025 holidays. XL Axiata forecasts a 10% to 20% increase in traffic compared to regular days.
Customers will use high-capacity digital services more frequently during the extended holiday period, contributing to the traffic increase. Customers are expected to submit a high volume of video or photo content, as well as stream video, music, and games. Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are also likely to gain popularity as customers share their festive memories during Nataru.
I Gede Darmayusa, Director & Chief Technology Officer of XL Axiata, stated, "According to many news sources, people are excited to celebrate and enjoy the coming year-end holiday season. According to a Ministry of Transportation survey, the estimated number of people travelling during the 2024/2025 Nataru period will reach 110.67 million. This will inevitably lead to higher demand for telecommunications and data services. To prepare, XL Axiata has strengthened its data services and is scaling up its network with twice the capacity of normal days to ensure reliable performance in the face of potential traffic spikes."
Gede added that besides the mobile services traffic surge, traffic will also increase in home internet and convergence services, including XL SATU and First Media. XL Axiata anticipates an increase in usage as many individuals would use these services while at home for the holidays.
XL Axiata has implemented a number of network ability measures, including capacity upgrades and optimisations in popular tourist sites as well as along toll and non-toll land transportation routes throughout Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. The network has also been expanded along railway lines, including high-speed trains. The XL Axiata technical team predicts that the large movement of people would be concentrated on the Trans-Java and Trans-Sumatra toll roads, which are expected to see higher volumes of activity.
XL Axiata has also identified cities with high traffic potential, including major tourist destinations, entertainment hubs, and other crowded areas. A comprehensive contingency plan has been developed to address potential congestion, including the deployment of Mobile BTS (MBTS) units at locations predicted to experience significant traffic. Approximately 127 MBTS units have been positioned along toll roads, popular year-end celebration venues, tourist hotspots, and other high-traffic areas.
Popular places to visit, including North Sumatra, Central Java, West Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, and Lombok, are expected to see considerable traffic increases. Traffic is expected to increase in locations with large Christian communities celebrating Christmas, such as North Sulawesi, North Sumatra, and East Nusa Tenggara.
XL Axiata has also planned for unforeseen situations such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, and other incidents that could affect power supply to BTS locations. To address this, a field crew will be on call 24/7 over the Christmas season. Furthermore, the network will be continuously monitored by XL Axiata's Customer Experience and Service Operation Centre (CE&SOC) at its headquarters in Jakarta.
24-hour Customer Service Availability
In addition, XL Axiata's customer service team is prepared to help consumers during the extended holiday period. To guarantee that consumers receive the best possible service, XL Axiata has trained about 500 contact centre and digital care representatives. These services will be offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
XL Axiata has also developed a variety of service channels, both via phone and digital platforms, that customers can access from home. These include the online XL Center, Call Center, and Digital Care Maya services through the myXL and AXISnet apps, as well as other digital channels such as email, Facebook, Instagram, and Live Chat. These services are designed to address customer inquiries, provide solutions, and offer information regarding services, complaints, and product specifications.
Customers can also visit 90 XL Centres in cities around Indonesia, with some remaining open for Christmas and New Year, particularly those in shopping malls. In past years, the amount of clients accessing the call centre and digital care services during long vacations, such as Lebaran and year-end holidays, was actually lower than on regular days.
The most popular customer enquiries are about internet and roaming packages, product/service information, how to activate numbers and cards, and the MyXL and AXISNet apps. For customer convenience, a comprehensive schedule and XL Center locations are available at https://www.xl.co.id/bantuan/xlcenter-lokasi.
XL Axiata serves more than 58.6 million customers nationwide, with over 165,000 BTS, the majority of which are 4G, and a fiber-optic backbone network extending more than 190,000 km. This infrastructure enables a data network that covers most of Indonesia's huge archipelago. XL Axiata continues to invest in fibre, transmission, backhaul, network modernisation, and other enhancements to improve network stability, capacity, and data service quality in response to rising demand for data services.