History
Telkomsel was incorporated on 26 May 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia by PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) and PT Indosat Tbk (Indosat). In 1996, KPN Netherlands (KPN) and PT Setdco Megacell Asia (Setdco) acquired stakes in Telkomsel of 17.28% and 5%, respectively. In 2001, Telkom acquired Indosat shares to increase its ownership to 77.72%, while KPN and Setdco's shares were acquired by Singtel Mobile. The following year, Singtel Mobile increased its ownership by 12.7%, bringing its total ownership in Telkomsel to 35%, while it is majority owned by Telkom Indonesia with 65% of the shares.[4]
In November 1997, Telkomsel became the first wireless carrier in Asia to introduce rechargeable GSM pre-paid services (branded as simPATI until the 2021 rebrand). In September 2006, Telkomsel became the first carrier in the country to launch a 3G service.
On 20 March 2009, Telkomsel and Apple South Asia launched the iPhone 3G in Indonesia with customised price plans for all of Telkomsel's customers.[5] Three years later, Telkomsel had acquired more than 100 million active customers.[6]
In 2014, 11 million former Telkom Flexi (the parent company's fixed wireless access service) subscribers were migrated to either kartuAs or kartuHALO service (depending on their plan) when Telkom, along with various other cellular providers across the country, ended their CDMA services.[7]
In April 2017, the company's website was hacked, and a message protesting about high charges and unnecessary extra services was posted containing numerous offensive words.[8] There was widespread support for the hacker on social media.[9]
In June 2021, Telkomsel became the first carrier in the country to launch a 5G service, with limited rollout in certain regions in Jakarta, Bandung and South Tangerang, along with Batam.[10] On 18 June 2021, Telkomsel launched its new logo, replacing the old logo that has been used 26 years since its foundation.[11]
On 6 April 2023, Telkomsel announced its plan to merge with Telkom's broadband arm, IndiHome, into a single entity valued at 58.3 trillion rupiah. This merger means that Telkomsel will begin to expand its coverage in the fixed broadband market while preparing for the transition to a digital economy and 5G technology.[12]
