Jakarta, May 28th 2020. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) recorded an increase in traffic of service usage within the period of Eid al-Fitr 1441 H celebrations. In the period of 18th to 26th of May 2020 Customer Experience & Service Operation Center of XL Axiata recorded a 25% increase in traffic for data services compared to normal days before the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, legacy SMS and conversation services decreased by 20% and 10% compared to normal days before the pandemic.
Act. Chief Technology Officer XL Axiata, I Gede Darmayusa said, “The consumption pattern of telecommunications and data services during this year's EID cannot be separated from the situation and conditions related to the existence of the Covid-19 pandemic which persuaded the Indonesian people to stay and remain at home. Moreover, considering going home is also prohibited, it also affected the habits or routine of the community in filling their vacant days (holidays). For example, the habit of uploading photos or videos of vacation experiences is no longer possible because tourist locations are also closed on average. On the other hand, the friendship and family relation visits (silaturahmi) have virtually been replaced by video calls.”
Gede added by stating that the usage patterns of telecommunications and data services during the Eid al-Fitr in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak as well as showing the way people adapted to the “new normal” conditions. In this case, it is evident that digital technology has become one of the most important tools in facilitating the community to obtain solutions to various problems that occur as a result of the existence of Covid-19. Therefore, it is not surprising that data usage service traffic has increased significantly for various types of services, including those for entertaining purposes.
XL Axiata monitoring center recorded data that four types of data services experienced the highest increase in traffic during the EID period compared to normal days before the Covid-19 pandemic. The four services include Instant Messaging (IM) service of 32%, Video Call services and the like increased by 26%, while Social Network Services experienced an increase of 22% and Streaming services (game, video, music, movie) by 14%. The use of video call services has increased because people have been using it to stay in touch, as a substitute for not going back to their hometown or visiting directly. Meanwhile, map or road route guides services, such as Google Map and Waze were not accessible as much compared to EID last year due to travels between areas and travels to hometown was restricted to the public.
Meanwhile, in terms of location, the highest increase in service traffic nationwide during the EID period compared to normal days before the Covid-19 pandemic, respectively, occurred in East Java by 41%, while in West Java and Central Java by 32%, Sulawesi by 31% and South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan up to 20%. Also, the service traffic in the Greater Jakarta Area increased by 7%. The increase in service traffic within these hot areas is due to the increase in community communication activities in which a number of customers have returned home before the period of the travel ban to go back to hometowns that was set by the government.
The increase in service traffic within the Greater Jakarta area during the Eid-ul-Fitr period this year also shows that many customers in the Greater Jakarta area have not travelled back to their home regions following the government's recommendation. So, during the EID period in the Greater Jakarta area there was a change in pattern, in which there is usually a decrease in service traffic, however, for the 2020 EID period there was an increased in traffic.
"As we predicted, the distribution of areas where traffic increased would change compared to the previous years. Now, the service traffic increases but not at tourist sites or crowded centers that are subscribed to by the community in filling the EID holidays, however, more within residential areas. The increase in traffic from these residential areas are quite significant, which is around 12% to 30% occurring in several residential areas within the scope of the Greater Jakarta Area (Jabodetabek) such as Depok, Bekasi, Bintaro," Gede added.
XL Axiata monitoring data results also showed a fairly low level of customer movement from the Greater Jakarta area to other provinces. This data also confirms the impact of the travel (mudik) ban called for by the government. Noted, there was a sharp decline in the rate of customer movement, from last year which reached 16% that declined to only 6.5% this year.
To ensure network readiness in meeting customers’ needs during this year's EID, XL Axiata has increased network capacity by 2x (two times / twice) compared to normal days/circumstances. Even though there is no more travels to their hometowns, XL Axiata is still preparing to anticipate potential traffic spikes that could happen at any time. For this reason, network monitoring procedures are still carried out to the maximum extent possible. The deployment of mobile BTS is also being prepared to strengthen network quality at locations that need it.