Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17000 islands which makes it the largest island country in the world. Bali is a famous island for tourism in Indonesia. It’s a hub for digital nomads who require good connectivity along with affordable data. Moreover, Bali is a very popular honeymoon destination too. All in all, it’s a place where people from different parts of the world like to visit and spend a good time. In such a scenario, you need to know which service provider’s SIM card is best suited for your location and budget. There are 4 major network providers in Bali, Indonesia – Telkomsel, IM3 Ooredoo, XL Axiata, and 3 (Tri). There are two more carriers that provide only 4G/LTE services i.e. Smartfen and Net1 Indonesia.
It is mandatory to register yourself to get a SIM card in Bali. It is better to do this at an official store of the provider, otherwise, the local mini-market SIM vendors don’t register the SIM card properly, so it is advisable not to buy SIM cards from them. Moreover, it is recommended not to get a registered SIM card from the airports because they charge a very high premium from tourists. There are many more things to know about each provider, so let’s check out the details about the top 5 service providers operating in Bali.
1. Telkomsel
Telkomsel is the largest service provider in Indonesia with a market share of 40%. It covers 98% of the population, as it is the only operator active in all the provinces of Indonesia. So, it is recommended as the best choice because of its high-speed internet and extensive coverage. But there is a drawback in choosing a Telkomsel SIM, it is more expensive than the other SIM cards because of its quality services. The company offers three kinds of SIM options i.e. SimPATI, Kartu AS, and Loop. All three are available for 2000 Indonesian Rupiah (about 0.14 USD), but it doesn’t come with any credit. So eventually you’ll need to recharge it with one of the many plans.
There are three kinds of credit plans offered by Telkomsel i.e. Pulsa 777 (national credit usable throughout the country), Pulsa 369 (local credit usable only in a single province), and Pulsa (mix of national and local credit). Apart from this, there are data packs and add-ons ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 Rupiah. Some data-featured plans are 400 MB of data with a validity of 7 days for 20,000 Rupiah; 4 GB of data, 2 GB night data, valid for 30 days for 100,000 Rupiah, and many more.
2. XL Axiata
XL Axiata is the second-largest carrier in the country in terms of the number of subscribers. It offers fast-paced internet and really affordable packages. But its coverage is limited to main islands only. The most popular SIM card of XL Axiata is XL Baru which provides cheap internet data along with affordable domestic call rates. Its basic SIM card is 5000 Rupiah in which you get 2 MB of data. You can recharge with additional data starting from 15 MB for 1500 Rupiah. Between 50,000 Rupiah and 220,000 Rupiah, you can get data at least from 1.5 GB to 16 GB at the most.
The company also offers a lot of morning data with its Super Ngebut pack, in which you get more data from midnight to noon than from noon to midnight. Super Ngebut plans are valid for 30 days. XL’s prepaid internet package known as Kartu Perdana Super Hot Rod 4G is one of the most popular internet plans which offers 4 GB for 115,000 Rupiah and 8 GB of data for 16 230,000 Rupiah.
3. IM3 Ooredoo
IM3 Ooredoo is also a popular company in Bali because of its high-speed internet. It’s one of the most chosen options among the locals and tourists alike because of its great data and voice plans. Data packs range between 2000 Rupiah (5 MB for 1 day) and 1,60,000 Rupiah (8 GB for 30 days). There are three prepaid plans in IM3 Ooredoo – Freedom Internet, Freedom Mini, and Freedom Combo. All three plans are sold for around 4000 Rupiah and their add-ons are also available.
Freedom Combo plans are all valid for 30 days with unlimited on-net unlimited SMS/calls, and unlimited social media (Facebook, Whatsapp, Messenger, Twitter, Grab, Line, and Goyek). The price of these combos ranges between 65,000 Rupiah and 200,000 Rupiah. Now, if we talk about Freedom Internet Packages these plans are all valid for 30 days and sold from 55,000 Rupiah to 110,000 Rupiah.
4. 3(Tri) Indonesia
3 is also a famous brand in Bali. The company offers a lot of promotional deals which makes it so lucrative for the visitors in Bali. But, it is the smallest service provider compared to the top three providers already mentioned above. The prepaid card of 3 is available for about 40,000 Rupiah. Data add-ons are also available like for 2000 Rupiah you get 20 MB of data, and for 150,000 Rupiah you get 9 GB. There are some more data plans offered by Tri (3) – 12 GB with 30 days validity for 50,000 Rupiah; 18 GB of data valid for 30 days for 70,000 Rupiah; and 25 GB with 30 days validity for 95,000 Rupiah. Moreover, on-net calls are free in Tri.
5. Smartfren
Smartfren is the newest telecom company among all the five. It is growing rapidly, and currently, it has more than 10 million subscribers. It offers plans and packages at very affordable rates on its prepaid SIM cards. In it, you can get 30 GB of data valid for 30 days, unlimited free calls from Smartfren to Smartfren numbers for 60,000 Rupiah. Another plan includes unlimited data (fair usage limit 1 GB data/day), full speed extra unlimited night data, unlimited free on-net voice minutes, the validity of 28 days, all for 80,000 Rupiah. If you use Smartfren SIM card, your phone must support VoLTE for texting and calling. The SIM card won’t work properly when using a Wi-Fi or another SIM card (if your phone is dual SIM) at the same time. A Smartfren SIM card is sold for 20,000 Rupiah with 20,000 Rupiah credit in it, so basically this makes the SIM card free.