JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—Indonesia’s mobile telecommunications industry is being transformed by competition between Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and XLSMART. These are the country’s three largest operators. They vie for high-value customers, expand 5G coverage and improve network quality.

Telkomsel remained the market leader with 156.1 million mobile customers at the end of 2025. Indosat had 93.7 million customers and XLSMART had 73 million after the merger of XL Axiata and Smartfren.

Subscriber numbers reveal only part of the competition. Average revenue per user, financial strength, spectrum ownership and real-world network performance increasingly determine each operator’s position.

Telkomsel led the market with more than twice XLSMART’s subscriber base.

The company recorded a year-end monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rp45,000. It generated Rp109.3 trillion in revenue for 2025. Its net profit reached Rp19.7 trillion, according to Telkomsel’s official performance report.

Indosat ended the year with 93.7 million customers and a fourth-quarter blended ARPU of Rp44,000.

The operator generated Rp56.52 trillion in annual revenue and Rp5.51 trillion in net profit attributable to owners of the parent company.

It also operated 213,898 4G stations and 6,872 5G stations by December 2025, according to Indosat’s audited results.

XLSMART’s fourth-quarter blended ARPU reached Rp44,800, although its full-year average stood at Rp39,500.

The newly merged operator recorded approximately Rp42.5 trillion in revenue. It reported a Rp4.41 trillion annual loss as integration expenses, depreciation and other post-merger costs weighed on its results.

XLSMART has emerged as an aggressive 5G challenger. By February 2026, the company said it had deployed approximately 10,000 BTS supporting 5G services. It also introduced a “blanket coverage” strategy designed to provide broader service across selected cities instead of isolated coverage points.

Ookla named XLSMART Indonesia’s fastest 5G network based on consumer-initiated tests conducted during the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

The operator achieved a speed score of 45.85, with median download and upload speeds of 107.57 Mbps and 29.13 Mbps, respectively, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Awards announcement.

Other independent measurements produced a different leader. Opensignal’s December 2025 report placed Telkomsel first for national 5G download speed, upload speed, availability and coverage experience.

Telkomsel averaged 76.7 Mbps for 5G downloads, compared with 48.2 Mbps for XL and 43.3 Mbps for Indosat.

The difference illustrates how results can vary according to methodology, testing period and geographic sample.

Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Ministry finalized its 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum allocation in July 2026. XLSMART secured 30 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 50 MHz at 2.6 GHz.

Telkomsel obtained 20 MHz and 80 MHz, respectively, while Indosat received 20 MHz and 60 MHz, according to Komdigi.

“We want to ensure this industry operates well and remains financially healthy,” Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Nezar Patria said in July.

The new spectrum gives all three operators additional capacity to expand faster and more stable mobile broadband.

Their next contest will therefore depend not only on who owns the most BTS or customers. It will also depend on who can turn new spectrum into affordable, reliable and widely available 5G services.