Indonesia Prepaid SIM Card

[FireHobbit]

I have done some research on this area on prepaid Indonesia sim card to aid my overseas trip to Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bali, Medan, Java, Batam.

I personally found that the instructions is very confusing and is alot about exploration.

I have used Excelcomindo / XL, Telkomsel, Three (3), Indosat. I found the service and speed of 3 to be the best but the coverage is quite crappy.

Anyone have any reviews or sharing on this area?

 

[FireHobbit]

Operator Name Service Name Tariif (Rp) Fair Usage
Indosat IM3 Broombastis = 200,000 2 GB*
BroomXtra = 150,000 1 GB*
Excelcomindo / XL XL Internet Broadband Fast = 19,000 15 GB*
Extra Fast = 299.000 3 GB*
Telkomsel TelkomFlash Basic = 250,000 500 MB*
Advance = 350,000 1 GB*
Pro = 525,000 2 GB*
Three (3) 3 HSDPA 25,000 500 MB*
35,000 1GB*
50,000 2 GB*
99,000 5 GB*

 

[FireHobbit]

Indonesia has 8 mobile operators, 5 of them operates the GSM/UMTS system, and the rest 3 of them operates CDMA system. The GSM/UMTS system is most widely used, so you will most likely going to get the the GSM/UMTS prepaid card

The big 3, Telkomsel, Indosat and XL Axiata total has 90% of the market share of Indonesia Mobile Subscriber. All of them has national coverage, with Telkomsel has the best coverage, followed by Indosat and XL Axiata. If you plan to travel to rural area of Indonesia, I would suggest you to pick Telkomsel prepaid card: Simpati or Kartu As.

The other 2 GSM/UMTS operators, Hutchinson 3 and AXIS are relatively new. Coverage is limited, even in the big cities. To compensate this, they offer a very cheap price compared to the big 3. But, cheap price is nothing if you don’t have network coverage. You can get them if your itinerary involves mostly staying in the big city

The CDMA operators are Smart-Fren, Esia and Telkom Flexi. The CDMA operator license does not allow national roaming. And they also need CDMA handset, different from GSM/UMTS handset.

 

[FireHobbit]

Data Service & Blackberry
All of the operators above offers prepaid data service and Blackberry Service. Prepaid Blackberry service range from Rp. 50.000 (Hutchinson) to Rp. 90.000 (Telkomsel) per months. Daily and weekly Blackberry Service are also available, and can be activated instantly from the mobile phone.

If you need a dedicated data service to be plugged to your USB modem, Indosat M2 provide such service. As the name suggest, Indosat M2 is subsidiary of Indosat, thus the mobile broadband service also use Indosat GSM/UMTS Network. Pricing range from Rp. 50.000 per month for 125 MB to Rp. 200.000 per month for 2GB quota. They won’t charge you if you exceed the quota, they will just cut your bandwidth from regular 256 Kbps to 64 Kbps. Finding the starter pack is harder, it only generally available in big store or Indosat Customer Service.

 

[FireHobbit]

anyone tried any data plan in Indonesia?

 

[romiel007]

Use SimPati line..good so far

 

[FireHobbit]

Simpati quite expensive.. how is the connection?

 

[FireHobbit]

Back from Batam. The connection on XL is great and stable. Just that can be a bit slow at peak peroid of the day. anyway is cheapest

 

[Hot2002]

Back from Batam. The connection on XL is great and stable. Just that can be a bit slow at peak peroid of the day. anyway is cheapest

Hi,

Where can i buy the SIM card in Batam ??? Thanks

 

[FireHobbit]

You can get them in popular area like the ferry harbour or even at nagoya hill or BCS or Batam Center

 

[gaisemax]

Hi all, will be going to bintan for a few days and need a local sim card. Can recommend some for calls with and without data? Wouldbe great if can advise me where to buy as well. Any at the ferry terminal? Thanks!

 

[critical888]

Sure bro. Hardwarezone travel bazaar look for your Indonesia sim

 

[Erwinlow]

For Bali, which is the best/affordable prepaid data 3g? Will be there for about 5 days

 

[critical888]

For the best coverage, u can consider telekomsel SIMPATI since its the best coverage in indonesia

if coverage not so important, u can consider TRI

 

[Desmond_]

Back from Batam. The connection on XL is great and stable. Just that can be a bit slow at peak peroid of the day. anyway is cheapest

how much is the data plan?

 

[critical888]

TRI sim at hardwarezone travel bazzar (http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/travel-bazaar-346/) is a good choice because, it comes with 1gb data, if you dont finish it this trip, you can finish it next year on your next trip!!!

 

[Steyr69]

Im a bit confused over the data plan sim card.
I was in Batam recently n wanted to get a SIM card for internet.
But the shopkeeper told me the 2GB is only good for internet surfing....cannot make calls/sms.
This makes me confused a little bit.
In addition, the small print at the bottom right shows Rp 10k...but the shopkeeper is asking for 70k.....
In the end I didnt buy.

 

[kitkat2]

Im a bit confused over the data plan sim card.
I was in Batam recently n wanted to get a SIM card for internet.
But the shopkeeper told me the 2GB is only good for internet surfing....cannot make calls/sms.
This makes me confused a little bit.
In addition, the small print at the bottom right shows Rp 10k...but the shopkeeper is asking for 70k.....
In the end I didnt buy.

oops! a classic ripoff. when i was in jakarta for the first time, i paid 40k for a sim. the seller was speaking mandarin so i thought he was honest.

next time, you can PM me if you need a sim for indonesia. you pay me what you used. no intention to make profit, just want to keep the sim alive.

 

[playlove]

Hi all, will be gg to Yogyakarta this fri. Do you think it is advisable to get the data SIM card at the airport or cheaper to get at the convenience stall? Is the price difference huge otherwise will stick to getting the data SIM card at the airport to avoid the hassle of finding a convenience shop there.

Which telco do you guys recommend?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[kitkat2]

Hi all, will be gg to Yogyakarta this fri. Do you think it is advisable to get the data SIM card at the airport or cheaper to get at the convenience stall? Is the price difference huge otherwise will stick to getting the data SIM card at the airport to avoid the hassle of finding a convenience shop there.

Which telco do you guys recommend?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

airport is definitely more expensive. a telkomsel card usually costs less than $1.50, but i have read a forummer paid $5 for a new card. but then again what is $3.50 to singaporeans right?

btw, sim card vendors are everywhere