Indosat traffic jumps 20% on Eid homecoming routes

Indosat's data traffic during the Eid Al-Fitr homecoming season rose by more than 20% from a year earlier, while network downtime fell by 20%.

The largest traffic increases were on routes from Jakarta to West Java, where usage climbed by more than 22%, and from Jakarta to Central Java, where it rose by more than 37%, as millions of subscribers travelled for the holiday.

The figures offer a snapshot of mobile network demand during one of Indonesia's busiest annual travel periods, when large numbers of people leave major cities to return to their hometowns. More than 14 million customers used Indosat's network during the travel season.

Messaging, social media and video streaming were the main drivers of activity, with WhatsApp, TikTok and YouTube recording the biggest increases in usage on the network.

Network measures

To manage the rise in traffic, Indosat monitored 77 homecoming routes spanning about 8,121 kilometres, including 36 toll roads, 31 non-toll roads and 10 railway lines. It also tracked service conditions at 797 points of interest, such as rest areas, stations and tourist destinations.

More than 2,500 engineers were placed on standby at 46 branch offices and 16 emergency posts across Indonesia. According to the company, the teams worked around the clock during the period to maintain service quality.

Indosat said its system used artificial intelligence to monitor network traffic in real time, identify potential congestion and adjust capacity automatically. This enabled it to detect possible traffic bottlenecks more than 60% faster and make proactive changes at 77 strategic points during the season.

The operator added that its 4G and 5G networks were used together, with 4G providing baseline service and 5G handling heavier traffic at busy locations.

Infrastructure build-out

Alongside operational measures, Indosat completed more than 7,000 site capacity upgrades and built more than 1,600 new sites since April 2025. It also deployed more than 75 mobile base transceiver station units on homecoming routes.

That brought its total to 55,000 active sites across more than 420 regencies, according to the company. The scale of the investment reflects the pressure on Indonesian telecoms networks during national holiday peaks, when passenger flows and digital usage rise at the same time.

Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital had projected a national telecommunications traffic increase of up to 40% during the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period. Indosat's own year-on-year increase of more than 20% came as millions of travellers moved across the country.

Desmond Cheung, director and chief technology officer at Indosat, said: "The Eid Al-Fitr homecoming season and return journey is the ultimate test of our network resilience. We are grateful for the trust of more than 14 million customers who relied on Indosat's network during this important mudik period. This achievement reflects our continued efforts in strengthening network quality and reliability across Indonesia, as part of our transformation into an AI-TechCo."

The company described the holiday period as a demanding test for service continuity because of concentrated traffic on intercity routes and at transport hubs. Combined with heavy use of messaging and video applications, the travel surge can create short-term spikes that are difficult to manage without extra network support.

In a second comment, Cheung pointed to customer usage and network investment as measures of the period's significance for the operator.

"For Indosat, this homecoming season is not just about numbers, but about the trust and confidence our customers place in us during moments that matter most. We are encouraged by the millions who relied on our network throughout the mudik period. This serves as a reflection of Indosat's ongoing transformation as an AI-TechCo, as we continue to invest in strengthening network quality and reliability across Indonesia," Cheung said.