The Internet in Indonesia

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 06#4309943

Internet.Much of Indonesia had internet that could be described as, Poor, slow, terrible, or even, a waste of time but the situation is improving rapidly, most populated places having reasonable connection speeds, some suppliers offering very fast internet.Several providers are offering faster speeds with little or no price increase, mobile 4G being available over much of the country.

5G is rolling out, and more suppliers are offering massive or unlimited data packages at very reasonable prices.

Home internet is available from a wide selection of suppliers but you'll find not many places outside large towns and cities offer two options on the same street. Some wireless suppliers have home wifi modems that give you very reasonable speeds.Fast fibre optic connections are now very common.Mobile internet is available from all operators but you will want to check coverage areas before you buy a SIM card. These SIM cards can also be used in portable wifi modems. Telkomsel probably have the best coverage but other suppliers rival them and may be cheaper.If your internet use is emails, news and a bit of minor browsing, one of the mobile packages with a few gigabytes per month quota is likely to be your best option. These small, portable wifi units are tiny so easily fit in your pocket to use at home, the office, or pretty much anywhere else. Units can be purchased from internet service providers or bought separately so any SIM card can be used. If you do that, make sure the modem will handle 4G.

My SIM cards are now with Smartfren. I have one for my main phone, and a portable wifi unit I use with my tablets and computers.

Both have a massive package that was very cheap. The upshot is I never have to care about data when out and about.

You can choose your number from a wide selection with these packages.

If you like the idea, check Smartfren has decent coverage in your area. You might want to note, Indonesia has 'internet sahat' (Healthy internet) that restricts a lot of sites, these mostly being extremist stuff, porn and some way out on the edge political stuff, but some normal sites get caught up in this for no apparent reason.Extremely important - Indonesia has extremely harsh defamation laws and the same level of seriousness on electronic communications that break local laws. NO porn of any sort should be sent by Whatsapp or whatever as you can be prosecuted and the punishments are bad. You can get 6 years for a naked picture if you're found out.All SIM cards must now be registered against your passport or KTP, that meaning any crime associated with your number or IP address is easily traced back to the user.