Want to Change Your SIM Card to 4G this year? Think Again.
I am sure that mobile users in Indonesia especially in the big cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung etc have been made aware of the latest campaign from several providers to come to their service centers to exchange their old SIM Cards to the new 4G cards. These persuasion emphasized on the fast connectivity that promised awesome improvement in mobile experience and features. Bombarding TV commercials and display advertising has showed the the benefits of 4G which enable you to experience less buffering and latency, and you would be able to watch in HD for the whole of your show.
As an online marketer and digital strategist who is constantly in need of internet connection on my mobile, I became one of those who made the effort to get on board with this brilliant benefit. Considering the scenario, the latest 4G mobile network seems to be the answer for me.
So there I was at the Customer Service center & was explained about all the plans, the benefits, the affordability and the current promotions that came with the new upgrade. I couldn’t help but to notice the lack of literacy and disclosure of advantages and disadvantages of the upgraded SIM Card and its effect to my device (I am using Blackberry Passport). Eventually I signed up anyway and exchanged my old SIM Card to the new ‘improved’ 4G.
After 2 weeks, I came to the revelation the so-called ‘improvement’ came with a price. I soon learnt that 4G implementation on real-life use was not entirely effective and some differentiation were actually absurdity.
4G is solely for data
Even in the cities where 4G is available, all voice calls are connected on 3G networks. Not many people realise this that 4G networks has yet to have voice capabilities. In theory, when 4G in Indonesia could also apply for voice capabilities, you would be able to make calls from penetrated indoors (such as basement parking) and rural areas.
4G Drains Your Mobile Phone Battery 25% faster Than 3G
Even with my mighty Blackberry Passport that is regarded in the 1% of smartphones in the world for great battery life, unfortunately it is still effected with the 4G’s high battery draining mechanism.
This occurs due to the lack of 4G coverage in Indonesian cities , even Jakarta, and even in the Golden Triangle area, which requires your device to constantly looking for better signal. The signal constantly pings off the towers and that will eat the battery very quickly. I tried to see the difference from my fully charged Blackberry Passport on my travel back and forth Jakarta-Bandung the other day and noticed that by the time I arrived in Bandung (from Jakarta it takes approximately 2 hours) my battery was already on half!
4G Connection in Jakarta Still Fluctuates
Internet connection speeds in Indonesia are quite low in general due to the lack of infrastructure, so even if the numbers of 4G spots look ‘decent’, in reality you can still get a very slow connection.
It’s commonly experienced that providers may deliver extremely high speeds in one area, but much slower connections in other areas. Surprisingly, areas in the most close proximity to the 4G Boost area of Golden Triangle such as Tebet, Senopati, Blok M, Kebon Jeruk are still considered less 4G-abled.
Data Traffic Can Still Be Consumed Even With The Mobile Data Setting Turned Off!
This has been happening throughout the world and is caused by a technical feature of 4G LTE. Most people don’t even notice it because of the small amount of data that’s used off their data plan.
4G speeds getting SLOWER
4G Networks are half as fast promised — and will get worse as more people use them. Telkomsel has the slowest connection (and the most expensive 4G data plan amongst other Indonesian providers). This gap is wider as most base transceiver stations (BTS) which facilitate the connections are built by private providers, who determine the number and location based on the market.
You will experience more call drops
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call drops are up to five times higher than traditional voice calls on 2G or 3G networks. It is also quite annoying when I cannot make calls in my own home or at work, since these are the locations I frequent, and surprisingly areas like Sudirman, Thamrin and Kuningan area which supposed to be compatible for 4G connections. For a while, I could not make calls nor receive them.
In short, taking all the above into account, consistency in 4G network has still not been delivered and informed properly to the Indonesian mobile customers when they were persuaded to exhange their SIM card to 4G SIM.
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