Some Internet Data Allowances Still Expire Unused, XLSmart Boss Says
Surakarta, CNBC Indonesia — XLSmart Director and Chief Regulatory Officer Merza Fachys stressed that the Constitutional Court (MK) ruling had not changed the applicable rules. The ruling had only asked operators to consider ways to ensure consumers’ rights remained protected.
“The rules are the same; nothing has changed. The MK only said that operators should think about how to ensure people’s rights remain protected,” Merza said on Thursday (15 October 2026), after the Media Experience Update 5G Yogyakarta-Solo event.
He said that protecting consumer rights in the use of internet data did not require operators to introduce a rollover system that carries unused data over to the next period.
The MK had provided several examples of options operators could consider to protect consumers. However, operators remained free to determine other mechanisms they considered feasible.
“It never said rollover had to be mandatory. The question is how to protect consumers’ rights; the MK then gave examples of options. Even then, other approaches remain open, including methods operators consider feasible,” he said.
He also stressed that there was no specific provision either prohibiting or requiring any particular mechanism.
“So there is no question of one thing being allowed and another not allowed,” he said.
He said this was reflected in the Communications and Digital Ministry’s (Komdigi) assessment of the data packages offered by operators.
“That is why Komdigi’s assessment said that everything was acceptable, but not optimal,” he said.
The assessment meant XLSmart’s data packages did not breach the applicable rules. Nevertheless, the company needed to improve some packages that were deemed less than optimal.
Merza described the assessment of XLSmart as recognition of the company’s business governance. He said packages judged to be less than optimal would be reviewed.
“Of the packages, around eight were considered less than optimal, so we will improve them. But there has been no violation or non-compliance. Everything is compliant, just not optimal,” Merza said.
He added that XLSmart continued to conduct its business in accordance with the rules and the MK ruling. Compliance, he said, had not hindered the company’s growth.
“Once again, what we see is that our business has grown while we have complied with the MK’s decision,” he said.
Not yet in line with the MK ruling
Some time ago, Komdigi said the implementation of unused-data protection at three mobile operators was still not fully in line with the MK ruling.
Komdigi Director of Digital Infrastructure Strategy and Policy Denny Setiawan said an evaluation of Indosat, Telkomsel and XLSmart found that some packages merely notified customers, rather than providing a rollover mechanism.
“Overall, the three operators have expanded their range of rollover packages. However, we also found that some non-rollover packages offer protection only in the form of notifications or warnings to customers,” Denny said at a press conference at the Komdigi office on Saturday (3 October).
According to Denny, 92 of the 101 XLSmart packages reported used a rollover mechanism, while nine relied on enhanced information and notifications. For XL and AXIS specifically, all packages currently on offer had rollover features: 38 XL packages and 38 AXIS packages.
Denny stressed that notifications alone were not sufficient to meet the protection intended by the MK ruling.
The government’s assessment therefore concluded that protection could not be merely preventive. It must be substantive and genuinely preserve the economic value of customers’ remaining data.
“Notifications only remind customers that their data is about to expire. What we are encouraging is a mechanism that gives customers the opportunity to continue receiving economic benefit from the data they have already bought,” he said.