Jakarta, 17 January 2023. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) ensures that the network throughout the Jabodetabek area is ready to face the possibility of a traffic spike during the Chinese New Year and Cap Gomeh holidays which will take place soon. XL Axiata estimates that there will be a spike in data traffic of around 19% compared to normal days. This increase in traffic is predicted to occur in several cities with the largest concentration of Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh celebrations in Kalimantan, such as Pontianak, Singkawang, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Tanjung Selor, Palangkaraya, Banjarbaru, and Kotabaru.
Acting Regional Group Head of XL Axiata for Kalimantan, Horas Lubis, said, "Last year when there was still a pandemic, there was an increase in traffic. Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh, especially in Singkawan, always get a warm welcome from the Chinese community. Thousands of people will come to Pontianak and Singkawang to celebrate these two big days. For this reason, we will prepare an adequate network.”
According to Horas, even though the increase in traffic will not be as big as Eid or ‘Nataru’ and will also be more concentrated in a few cities, XL Axiata is still preparing a larger network capacity. The increase in traffic will mostly occur in data services, while the increase in voice service traffic is expected to be stable. From the type of service, streaming service traffic is generally predicted to increase by around 11%. In addition, services such as Video Calls, Web Browsing, and Instant Messaging (IM) will also experience an increase because usually at this moment many people will convey their greetings.
During the Chinese New Year celebrations, XL Axiata will pay full attention to network quality in several residential areas, crowded centers, such as shopping centers, terminals, and airports. XL Axiata has also prepared three mobile BTS (MBTS) units to ensure network performance in several locations.
XL Axiata's 4G data network in Kalimantan has now reached more than 1,800 villages, 466 districts in 55 cities/regencies spread across five provinces, or more than 75% of Kalimantan's population. The XL Axiata network throughout Kalimantan is supported by a total of more than 9,800 BTS including more than 5,800 4G LTE BTS. This network infrastructure is also supported by inter-regional fiber optic cables. In addition, XL Axiata also continues to implement the 3G shutdown program which is accompanied by a re-farming process from the 3G network to the 4G network, which has now reached 90% of the total BTS. The following details the number of 4G BTS in each province:
Meanwhile, to serve customers who need service support during Chinese New Year celebrations, the XL Axiata customer service team has also been prepared. Customers can contact the call center staff 24 hours a day, via 817, 818, and 838 as well as digital-based service channels namely @myXLCare for Twitter and Facebook Page, live chat at www.xl.co.id, and email [email protected]. For axis card customers, you can also go through @ask_AXIS for Twitter, live chat at www.axis.co.id and email [email protected].