These 5 Cities Are Suddenly the Busiest Ahead of Eid al-Fitr in the Digital World
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Telkomsel forecasts that five cities will experience a surge in data usage during this year’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr (RAFI) period. The highest increase is expected in Magetan, with a 79.5% rise.
The other cities predicted to experience a similar trend are Kebumen (78.4%), Kuningan (78.1%), Wonogiri (68%), and Ngawi (59.9%).
“These are indeed the areas where many people will be traveling to,” said VP Global Network Operations at Telkomsel, Juanita Erawati, on Wednesday (February 25, 2026).
The highest data usage is expected to occur on the third day after Eid al-Fitr, with a 70.85% increase. This is up 11.1% from a normal day and 5.2% from the previous RAFI period in 2025.
Voice and SMS services are also expected to see an increase. Voice services are predicted to rise by 1.4%, and SMS by 11.2% compared to a normal day.
During this period, Telkomsel will have 494 points of focus. These are divided into 253 special areas, 48 transportation hubs, 45 travel routes, 134 residential areas, and 14 places of worship.
Telkomsel also reported its forecast for the growth of digital services during Ramadan-Eid al-Fitr 2026, with the highest growth expected in e-commerce (27.91%). This is followed by online gaming (19.27%), video streaming (18.61%), social media (10.26%), and communication (1.93%).
This forecast is quite different from the Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 period. At that time, Telkomsel recorded a surge in online game usage by 33.38%, followed by instant messaging and video calls, which grew by 21.31%. Video streaming increased by 20.13%, social media by 13.87%, and e-commerce by 13.15%.
Juanita said that more customers tend to shop during this period. In addition, there is a difference between the Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr period compared to Christmas and New Year.
“During Christmas and New Year, more people go to tourist attractions. So, gaming is popular, but the locations are mostly tourist spots. However, during RAFI, more people go to residential areas, the areas where people travel to. It’s more focused on those areas,” said Juanita.
In addition, this year’s Eid al-Fitr period is also different because of the longer holiday and the Work From Anywhere policy. This has led Telkomsel to also prepare its Fixed Broadband Indihome service to be used during this period.
“Because people tend to stay at home during WFA, the Indihome service must also be good. That’s why we are also strengthening it,” she explained.