Indonesië eSIM

Fadhilah Mathar, Direktur Utama of BAKTI Komdigi, said at Bakti Media Connect in Jakarta on 12 August 2026 that Indonesia has around 83,000 villages and urban wards, that close to 98 per cent of them have signal, and that roughly 2,000 remain uncovered. About 700 of those are in Papua, spread across six provinces.

Mathar was specific about the obstacle, and it is not a lack of equipment. She said the hardware and the passive infrastructure are already on site, but that the process is very difficult and that because of security problems several dozen sites could not be completed. Terrain and security, not budget.

In December 2025 Mathar put the figure at 2,121 villages and defined it precisely as zero per cent 4G cellular coverage. In April 2026, at a blankspot coordination meeting in Banjarmasin, Agus Pandu Purnama of the coordinating ministry for political and security affairs gave 3,029, describing them as areas without internet access. In August 2026 Mathar said roughly 2,000. Two of those come from the same person using the same definition eight months apart, which reads as real progress. The third uses a broader phrase, and no source we found says where that figure was measured.

It means zero 4G in a populated area. A village counts as covered if there is 4G somewhere in it, even if there is none where you happen to be standing. So 98 per cent covered means signal exists in almost every village. It does not mean good signal everywhere in every village. Mathar also noted in 2025 that not all of those villages are inhabited.

On 24 August 2026 the Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, gave two figures for the same technology on the same day. Indonesia's 4G network reaches 98.96 per cent of the population, about 267 million people. That same 4G network covers 54.23 per cent of the country's area, about 1.03 million square kilometres. Almost everyone lives under 4G, and close to half the country has none. Both are true because they count different things.

For foreign nationals the regulation names the documents that count, in Pasal 3 and again in Pasal 6: paspor, Kartu Izin Tinggal Tetap (KITAP), atau Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas (KITAS). A passport, a permanent stay permit, or a limited stay permit. So a passport is enough and you do not need Indonesian residency papers. Expect your face to be scanned at the counter as part of the same process.

The regulation governs how telecoms providers register their subscribers. Everything we sell for Indonesia is a plan from a foreign supplier rather than an Indonesian subscription, and we have no way to establish whether our plans are treated as an Indonesian subscription for this purpose. So we are not going to tell you that buying from us exempts you from anything. If that distinction matters to your trip, treat it as unresolved rather than settled.

We read these articles through a legal database rather than the ministry's own server, because the Indonesian government legal portals refused automated access. The copy we could read stops partway through the regulation, so we have not seen the provisions that would say when the rule took effect. We are giving you the articles we actually read and nothing beyond them.

Your phone must support eSIM and must not be locked to a carrier. Dial star hash 06 hash. If an EID appears alongside the IMEI, the phone supports eSIM.

Install the profile while you still have working internet at home. Most plans begin counting when the eSIM first attaches to a network in Indonesia rather than when you install it, but the plan detail on each product says which.

The eSIM adds a data line. Your usual SIM stays in the phone and keeps receiving calls and texts on your normal number. Leave data roaming switched off on your home line so it cannot quietly bill you.