Finally, XL Axiata's Customer Base Grew by 7% in 2016

PT XL Axiata recorded a 6.89 percent increase in subscribers by the third quarter of 2016 compared to the end of 2015. Previously, XL Axiata experienced a decline in subscribers for two consecutive years: 1.5 percent in 2014 and 29.4 percent in 2015. The two other major operators, Telkomsel and Indosat, also recorded subscriber growth during the January-September 2016 period.

By September 2016, Telkomsel led in the number of mobile subscribers in Indonesia, reaching 163.7 million, followed by Indosat with 80.5 million (first half of 2016) and XL Axiata with 45 million.

The ease of obtaining prepaid SIM cards, along with uneven pricing across operators and services, has led to subscribers owning more than one SIM card. As a result, the number of active SIM cards has exceeded the population. The three major operators, XL, Indosat, and Telkomsel, have a combined subscriber base of 289.2 million, while Indonesia's population is approximately 250 million.