Mobile Data Service in Indonesia

"...we don't need speed, just connect my facebook that's all.... "

The era of mobile network in Indonesia has finally emerge !
Wow ...need sometimes to be here at 2010 while remembering the trial of flexi evdo have been long time forgotten back in 2005!

Start with unpopular and expensive 3G - UMTS/HSDPA by major telco operator in 2006, then the rising of social networking revolution create a new trend, evdo rev B of smart telecom bring more speed and lower price, then the pioner "Telkom" seems had no urge to be wireless as their speedy adsl has become land line PSTN saviour.

As all internet connection hub ended either at astinet(telkom) or Indosat, this two companies will be benefited in anyways, no need to urge once more ! well it might be a big headache for someone who experienced wireless internet abroad, while the local market seems no interest in speed , "just connect me to my YM....."

Back to the headline and this words still haunted me....it was spoken by a young mother at a handphone counter while eye shoping at luxurious blackberry inside a glass box, and surprised by the price. The she moved to a chinese mobile counter ...then finally she bought a dual mode GSM+CDMA with capabilities of Facebook, YM ad tweeter. It makes me wonder then i grab some leaflet from that chinese mobile shop.

What ?!?!?!! only GPRS + CDMA 1x connection available, then i asked that chubby mother obout her choice, then she replied.." well that counter guy shows me how to connect to my FB...then it cost me only 600.000 rupiahs...i don't need speed, just connect my facebook that's all.... "

My mind still wonder with this so called "market research" , how it will impact my career and the company i'm worked in. Back in Korea the trend is WiBro & DMB ...high speed indeed. Then the truth revealed, flexi canceled it's EVDO and focused on cdma 2000 1x with rc3=153.6 kbps and RC4 will be a maximum "brute force" way and the market is flooded with cheap handset with capabilities of mobile messaging and social networking.



Last week i bought one flexichat handset just to answer my curiosity about this handset. It is a ZTE S100 series with better facial make up !! and the facebook is WAP based , you can only read and update status, same goes with tweeter. Flexichat is a wap version of YM and Gtalk . Then i tried it on tracing message at BSS console, it connect as 1x data call. It use same resource as normal 1x datacall. What surprised me that this flexichat services will connect all time , so the WAP server back in jakarta continously send bytes to the handset. In other way NO DORMANT !!....wow....what a waste of resource just for a chat messaging.

Finall word , WIMAX operators which will deploy their services latter this year, please review the market first, so it will not burden your capital flows with lack of market urgency of "HIGH SPEED"


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