Let’s talk about telecommunications in Indonesia today. Most of the locals here use pre-paid cards as getting a fixed line remains an unaffordable luxury for many Indonesians, wartel (short for warung telekomunikasi) can be found on most every street in Indonesia, it’s like a road-side street stall selling sim cards.

The most common smartphone being used here is the blackberry and you can purchase a brand-new blackberry for 2-3 million rp (~S$436), and iphones or other brands of touch-screen smartphones are still very rare and non-smart phones are still more common on the streets.
Sim cards here are cheap and cost as little as 5,000rp. The local operators in Indonesia are GSM providers and the main players are PT Indosat, PT Telkomsel, PT Excelindo etc. SMS is generally very cheap, local SMS-es with local SMS as low as Rp.100-150, and international SMS for Rp.400-600. Indonesia is also the world's largest market for used phones and basic models start from 200,000rp to 2-3.5 million (juta) rp for a new blackberry phone.

The largest operators are Telkomsel (Kartu HALO, simPATI, Kartu As), Indosat (brands Matrix, Mentari, IM3), 3, AXIS, and XL Axiata. In general Telkomsel has the best coverage, while the other three are slightly cheaper; but in developed cities like Java and Bali, any operator will work just fine. Telkomsel is somewhat like Singapore’s Singtel, the biggest operator with fixed prices, good coverage but highest prices. The operator even has the same red/white color scheme as SingTel.

There are 3 major pre-paid SIM cards available and are popular with the locals, IndoSAT’s IM3, IndoSAT’s Mentari and Telkomsel’s simPATI. Having tried all three, let me talk a little bit about the pro’s and cons of each. Telkomsel’s simPATI is the most advertised and has the best reception and coverage all over Indonesia, but it’s the most expensive.

In central Jogja, the IndoSat branches closes at 7pm on weekdays, whilst TelKomsel closes at 5pm. Calls are typical for all three operators, the only downside is reception (notable in remote areas), but all incoming calls are free for all three operators, (even international incoming calls are free). As for data charges, Telkomsel’s is the most expensive, followed by Mentari and with IM3 the slightly cheaper one of the lot.

SMS-es make the most difference, IM3’s being the cheapest, the first 5 initial sms-es you send that day cost 120rp per sms, if you send another two more messages (3 in total), and you will get 240 free sms-es for that day. That only applies if the value remaining in your card is >5,000rp = 240 free SMS. But when the value of your card is below 1,000rp; you get 0 free SMS, and when the value is 1,000-5,000rp; you get 100 free SMS for the day. Mentari’s sms cost a flat rate of 50rp (S$0.004) per SMS.

So if you message a lot and use data more than calls, IM3 is the better choice. If you rarely use your phone and want good quality calls everytime you use your phone, go for Telkomsel, and if you frequently make calls, go for Mentari.

Well in the evening after walking for a long distance to scout out the telecom operators together, Faris and I decided to try a becak to return back to the mall.

The Becak ("BEH-chuck") is a tricycle (pedicab) transportation mode for short distances and is very popular with the locals due to the versatility, although it’s slower than a cab, it is not particularly hindered by traffic because of its small size and it can go nearly anywhere, (against traffic, across the road etc.), but being powered by a single man, it’s obvious you can’t travel far with it.

Good communication skills are essential to prevent yourself from getting overcharged by the driver (becak sopir). Often, sly drivers try to get some more money out of you after you've reached your destination, so be sure to establish the cost before agreeing to board the becak.

Becak on the road