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When you stay a bit longer in one place - basically when you are a traveler, not tourist - internet cafe’s tend to lose their appeal to surf the internet. The disadvantages are many
- you have basically shared bandwidth, therefore slower connection
- they tend to be more expensive than own dedicated access (of course; they have a whole infrastructure and staff to pay for)
- it can be noisy, if many people are around or some kids play shooter games
- it’s not very private, if you want to “Skype” someone, on top of that you disturb the people around you
- mainly, only WWW/Mail is available, other services like FTP, Skype, USB Ports can be restricted
- you don’t know what malicious software is running on their PC’s, can be anything from viruses, trojans, keyloggers, other log software
You surely can go every other morning with your own laptop to a wireless hotzone and log in, thus avoiding the more security-related concerns of public internet access.
But then - why not getting your own access, in the place you live? What options has Bali to offer here?
So far 4 providers are visible to me, Telkom (with their dial-up and Speedy Offers), IndoSatM2, GlobalXtreme and Blueline. Some of these providers offer more services country-wide, not all of them are yet available in Bali (i.e. Indosat Cable). A good overview of internet technologies used in Indonesia can be found here. Not all of those services are available in Bali though.
Here is a roundup of the available services, features, prices and differences in Bali (as of 01/2007), if you don’t want to read everything, recommendations can be found below the tables:
Telkom Instan
|
Website |
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|
Technology |
Modem Dial-up |
|
Bandwidth |
up to 56 kbps |
|
Pricing |
weekdays Rp 9.000/hour, weekend/public holidays Rp 6.000/hour (actual prices are billed per minute) |
|
Pro’s |
- no registration needed - billed via your phone bill - can be dialed from any laptop with inbuilt modem - just dial number 0809/89999 with your modem, Account telkomnet@instan, Password: telkom |
|
Con’s |
- need telephone line - only dial-up speed - expensive hourly price for power users |
Telkom Speedy
|
Website |
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Technology |
ADSL, volume-based pricing |
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Bandwidth |
64/384 kbps (up/down) |
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Pricing |
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Pro’s |
- in general fast speed - competitive pricing compared to Blueline or GlobalXtreme - can use a wide range of cheap 3rd party or own ADSL equipment |
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|
Con’s |
- need analogue telephone line to set up (your telephone number must start with 7 not 8!) - not available everywhere on the island - bandwidth is not guaranteed, you share bandwidth with other users in your area - speed can go down, as more subscribers are signed up |
IndosatM2 Dial-up
|
Website |
http://www.indosatm2.com/index.php/…/internetdialup/en |
|
Technology |
Modem Dial-up |
|
Bandwidth |
up to 56 kbps |
|
Pricing |
Internet Dial Up Subscription Fee (in Rupiah) Dial Up Personal
Dial Up Package
Note:
|
|
Pro’s |
- can be dialed from any laptop with inbuilt modem - attractive Package Pricing deals - much lower prices than Telkom Dial-up (as low as Rp 2.500/hour!) |
|
Con’s |
- need telephone line - registration needed - only dial-up speed |
IndosatM2 Hotzone/Hotspot
|
Website |
|
|
Technology |
2.4 GHz Wireless, hour/time-based |
|
Bandwidth |
up to 256 kbps |
|
Pricing |
One-time Equipment Fee: Rp 2.300.000 Registration Fee: Rp 45.000 Recurring Costs: Monthly Fee Rp 25.000 Hourly Charge Rp. 9.500 Note:
|
|
Pro’s |
- higher wireless speed than GlobalXtreme - offer hotspots around the tourist areas, where you can login with your account as well - lowest per-hour-cost for broadband internet |
|
Con’s |
- need expensive extra equipment, which drives the initial prices/one time fees very high - not available everywhere |
GlobalXtreme Wireless
|
Website |
|
|
Technology |
2.4 GHz Wireless, hour/time-based |
|
Bandwidth |
32/64/128 kbps |
|
Pricing |
W-LAN Dial on Demand Setup Fee/One Time Fee Rp 2.500.000 W-LAN Dedicated 32 kbps Setup Fee Rp 2.500.000 W-LAN Dedicated 64 kbps Setup Fee Rp 4.500.000 W-LAN Dedicated 128 kbps Setup Fee Rp 8.500.000 Recurring Costs: 32 kbps - Basic 50 hours Rp 280.000 - Basic 100 hours Rp 480.000 - Overtime/hour Rp 6.420 64 kbps - Basic 50 hours Rp 480.000 - Basic 100 hours Rp 800.000 - Overtime/hour Rp 11.220 128 kbps - Basic 50 hours Rp 800.000 - Basic 100 hours Rp 1.280.000 - Overtime/hour Rp 19.200 |
|
Pro’s |
- offer hotspots around the tourist areas, where you can login with your account as well |
|
Con’s |
- need expensive extra equipment, which drives the initial prices/one time fees very high - not available everywhere (only around 5 km of their towers) - high hourly prices (Rp 5.600-16.000 depending on speed) |
Blueline SOHO Services
|
Website |
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Technology |
2.4 GHz Wireless, volume-based |
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Bandwidth |
256/512 kbps (up/down) |
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Pricing |
One-time/Set-up fee is Rp 2.900.000, including equipment. Blueline has 2 pricing plans:
The second plan goes like this:
|
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Pro’s |
- no contract or sign-up fee - no minimum contract period - can connect multiple PC’s to 1 account/router - attractive recurring costs, if you can control your surfing behaviour and volume |
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|
Con’s |
- high one-time fees of Rp 2.9 Mio |
Recommendations:
If you use your internet access mainly for web-surfing and e-mail, I would go for a dial-up service. Here the most competitive is IndosatM2’s Dial-up. If you don’t want to be registered with any company and money isn’t so much the issue, Telkom can be an option. So far, my experiences even with Skype via Dial-up are normally satisfying enough, that it doesn’t justify the way higher price of broadband in Bali.
If you need higher speeds, or plan to transfer lot’s of graphic files, pictures or want to use streaming services (Video, TV, Radio, MP3) and need fast download speeds - the question for you should be: per MByte (Volume) or per hour?
You don’t like a ticking clock in your neck, want to take your time to surf and your monthly volumes are in the 700-2.000 MByte range (or below), then you can’t go wrong with Telkom’s Speedy ADSL Service. It’s a smart and competitively priced service.
If Telkom Speedy isn’t available in your area or for your digital telephone number, or your volumes would easily exceed 2.000 MByte you can either go with IndosatM2’s Broadband Service or Blueline Wireless Broadband, depending on your surfing behaviour and the location you live.
Just give your decision a bit of thinking beforehand, as the setup-costs for all broadband services except Speedy are quite significant! 
Did I forget any ISP? What are your experiences? Please just use the comment form below to let other readers know:
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Hi
A number of your cons state “not available anywhere” do you mean not available everywhere?
I am currently Lombok based but looking at relocating part time to Bali & would like a high speed connection. Can you recommend the best areas to locate myself in terms of ISPs.
Thanks
Gemma
Gemma,you are absolutely right! Sorry for that, my english.
Will change that immediately.
Regarding your question about the area: for Telkom Speedy I would make sure, that you have a telephone line starting with a 7 (analogue line), not an 8 (digital line). Then you can apply for the Speedy Service.
The other providers are mainly active in the areas around Kuta, Seminyak, Legian, Kerobokan. What service were you thinking of? Maybe it’s good to check their websites and even enquire by e-mail. At least you have then a bit more certainty.
All the best for your move! :-)
Thanks for a very clear overview. I use GPRS to dial up and check my mails through my mobile phone and laptop. It’s from Indosat and the subscription is called Matrix. If you would like to add it to your roundup, let me know and I can share my (generally positive) experiences and details with you.
http://www.matrix-centro.com
Now, in Jimbaran we cannot get a fixed telephone line in our house, since there are no numbers left for our area. That means that my choice gets limited to wireless internet. As far as I can judge the three providers: IndosatM2 Hotzone/Hotspot, GlobalXtreme Wireless, Blueline SOHO Services are all available in Jimbaran. But:
- Does distance from sending antenna to my house influence speed and quality?
- do wireless providers give you a chance to test for a month?
- How is the performance in comparison with Telkom Speedy (which we use in the office at 384)
- Which of the three providers has your preference? when keeping in mind that I prefer paying per MB to be online as much as possible and high speeds, while at home in case oveseas relatives come online to talk.
As said, we use Telkom Speedy at the office for one year when they started to operate. At that time speeds were satisfying enough to use Skype (with webcam) and listen to streaming radio. Since May 2006 the speed has gone down gradually (more customers) and I am hardly able to use it anymore without a lot of hickups. Speed usually gets worse in the afternoon. We have had several times that internet was down for one or more days and Telkom was unavailable for support. Other than that, I would still get it at home if I could, since the quality is not bad considering the price in Bali.
Albert
Addition on 05th of January 2007:
As far as Matrix. It’s a mobile subscription from Indosat that includes 50 MB free usage of internet per month. The flat fee is Rp. 200.000 per month. Phone calls are billed additionally and excess usage over 50 MB as well. The cost for that is 10 rupiah per kilobit.
Pro’s:
- Access to internet all over Indonesia, as long as you have coverage
- Usage with smartphone and/or laptop
Con’s:
-Rather slow. Good to check emails but unsuitable for regular surfing.
- GPRS Bandwidth is used with up to 8 users in a certain area (this info I have found somewhere on the internet once)
- High cost per MB and at that speed
Matrix works great for people like me that have access to internet all day, but also want to check mails in their free time or in case of emergencies. I also use it to chat online using MSN or Skype at night when my relatives in Europe are online. As a supplementary source of internet the 50 MB per month is enough. As a matter of precaution, I have installed DU meter to keep track of my usage. Another tip is to make Outlook download headers only, so you can choose which emails to get in full and which ones you want to get later when you’re on broadband again.
Hope this info helps you.
Best regards,
Albert
Hello,
I am curently staying in Tulamben. Using my older Nokia mobile phone as a modem for my notebook.
I tried XL GPRS out here and couldn’t get a connection at all. Called to the customer service number, they went through some steps and eventually told me the network wasn’t working, to try again in a day or 2. I tried severla days later, and nothing. Went to one of their offices in the South - after almost an hour of them “trying” to connect with my phone, they told me the network isn’t working.
I am using telkomsel out here for GPRS, which works occationally, but often not. I might have to try dialing up 5 to 10 times before I get a connection. Then, sometimes the connection works, often it doesn’t work - I am connected, but can’t get any download packets. And, it never stays connected for more than 5 minutes, often for only 1 or 2 minutes. This short period IS enough to get most e-mails, but makes it impossible to download any bigger files. Download speed shows on my DU meter ranging from 1.5 to 6 KBps, but mostly about 3 KBps.
I’m moving over to Ahmed and I wonder if you know of any services available there? I don’t know the phone number prefix - is there a good dial up option? GPRS? Other?
Thanks,
Steve
[...] The first reason why I chose this services becouse “it’s cheap” comparing with other ISP in bali. Of couse it’s a diffrent case if you strait-away to some internet cafe’s that easy to find arround the city and at the tourism area or you can go for a couple-cup of coffee arround Kuta, Seminyak and Sanur with your laptop to a wireless hotzone and log in. Compairing with other services that available in the island for only Rp. 200,- per 1 Mb transfer and less complicated equipment and setup or some surprising billing this alternative way is very recomended. Jagoan by Starone is a Prepaid CDMA Mobile services launch by Indosat for limited area only (can use only where the number is registered). You may fill back the credit with a voucer up to Rp. 50.000,- or you may buy the credit using BCA ATM or else up to Rp. 150.000,- credit. The company claim this product can connet to the internet with speed access up to 153.6 kbps. Here some tips how to get connected to the internet using the product with services. [...]
Hi there,
I’m from Europe and I’m just curious if anyone can advise on the following: my boss will be travelling through Indonesia for more or less 3 months (mostly Bali, though) and wants to have good internet connection (for Skype and videoconferencing using Skype), what would you recommend? Money is not that important rather the quality…
Best regards,
Eva
Hija Eva from Poland, your boss will be just fine, as Bali has plenty of Internet Cafes with usually high enough speed for Skype.
You also can usually bring your own laptop and connect wireless. If he wants to do videoconferencing as well, it pays to use internet at the larger hotels or check the connection speed (bandwidth) of the Café Provider first.
Another option could be to go to a Telkomsel Shop and order some 3G mobile package, if he has a 3G/UMTS phone. Should allow Videocalls as well, but might be more expensive.
Mi lego dnia!
Hi,
I have been working on Gili Trawangan (Lombok) and would like to go back there for a while. I have heard that telkomsel is offer ing an umts service
since 09.2006. Do you know if its already available in lombok and the gilis? How much would be a flatrate?
Thank you very much!
Hany
Hi Hany,
I saw those big advertising posters of Telkomsels 3G in Bali as well, but am not aware about coverage in Lombok. XL is offering 3G in Bali as well, not sure about Lombok again. I don’t use UMTS/3G here yet, as I don’t have any 3G gadgets.
Anyway, some more information regarding offered services, tariffs & pricing you can find here:
Telkomsel
http://www.telkomsel.com/web/info_3g
XL
http://www.xl.co.id/3G
I was at the carrefour the other day and in the Apple Store (pcMax) in that shopping center, they had a large advertisement for Indosat 3.5g which claims connections up to 3.6 Mbps. Anyone have any experience with them? Im going to try and go to the office tomorrow along the bypass for a demo.
Hi, Chris, am I missing something about IndosatM2 Dialup, which you declare as much cheaper than Telkom dial up? It’s my understanding that you still have to pay Telkom for the line rental and then when you connect you are paying Telkom for the connect time, which is the same as a local call using the national access number, so the cost is effectively the same as Telkom’s dialup service plus Indosat’s 2,820 rp per hour charge. Am I mistaken?
Peter
@ Colin & Peter: While I’m not aware of that Indosat 3G Offer (but will check it out soonest), the IndosatM2 Dialup is definitely cheaper than Telkom Dialup. I use it now the last 6 months and it lowered my phone bill from about Rp. 1-1.5 Mio to something around Rp 400.000-600.000 (all including phone calls from fixed line). I don’t think I use the internet less, it’s just plain cheaper (but requires registration, which Telkom doesn’t). And no, there aren’t any hidden Telkom Costs on my bill, I checked the detailed bill 2 times and there is nothing like that.
So far all the 3G offers I ran into, were way above Rp. 1 Mio/month with flat rate, offers without flatrate included max 500 MB, which might be not enough for most people. In my experience pay per volume can exceed your budget pretty fast, if you don’t use tools to monitor that as you go. What more did you find out on this, Colin?
I’ve had a dial up account with Indosat for years, but never use it except to receive emails, particularly, when out of Indonesia, and when Telkomnet is misbehaving. I’ll try it again and see what happens to my phone bill. I’m assuming your line is rented from Telkom.
I’ve also seen the promotion that’s on for Indosat 3G which, apart from the investment in the special modem (2.3 million, I think and more for the Mac one), looks like a good deal for the first two to three months. People were saying that the service is faster and more reliable than Telkomsel’s 3G.
I live in Sidemen, in east Bali, where dialup (when the line is not down) gives a rate of about 9600Kbs, so I’m keen to find an alternative. Given that I’d have to travel to use the Indosat 3G connection, tt’s not such a good deal for me, though. Still it might beat going to Highway’s in Ubud a couple of times a month for heavier surfing.