Jakarta. A unit of Telekomunikasi Indonesia, or Telkom, is set to win the government's auction for the 2.3GHz spectrum, the country's Ministry of Communication and Informatics said in a statement.
The unit, Telkomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel), bid the spectrum for Rp 1.01 trillion ($75 million), the statement said, beating four other cellular operators, including XL Axiata and Indosat.
The ministry will allow other bidders to submit their rebuttals before officially announcing Telkomsel as the winner for the auction.
The availability of new spectrum could help telco operators accelerate expansion and boost capital spending in Indonesia's telecommunication sector, Fitch Ratings said.
Market leader Telkomsel will still require additional spectrum to cater to its growing 4G subscriber base, Fitch said earlier this month.
"By having this spectrum, there could be a large capital expenditure efficiency for Telkomsel in its network expansion, especially to fulfil [demand for] its broadband service," David Bangun, a Telkom director, told Reuters.
The ministry will also conduct a second auction for its 2.1GHz spectrum soon.
Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/business/telkom-unit-sets-win-spectrum-auction-ministry/
