Illustration - Cellular calls are also expected to rise by 5 percent during the fasting month of Ramadhan this year. (Pixabay)

Cellular operators are expecting a 20-percent surge in Internet traffic during the month of Ramadhan this year, with the COVID-19 outbreak contributing to higher Internet usage.

Most cellular operators usually experience an increase in traffic during the month of Ramadhan and this year, the traffic surge would also be boosted by the work-from-home policy that has been adopted by companies since March, according to cellular operators.

Vice president of corporate communications at Telkomsel, Denny Abidin, estimates that Internet traffic will increase by 20 percent during Ramadhan.

"Telkomsel has predicted that during the Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitr period, there will be a surge in broadband-based communication traffic of around 20 percent," he said in an official statement, received in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, XL Axiata's head of external communications, Henry Wijayanto, has also confirmed that there has been an increase in service traffic during Ramadhan compared to normal days.

"As regards data service, it is estimated to increase by around 15 to 20 percent," he said.

Cellular calls are also expected to rise by 5 percent during the fasting month.

Furthermore, mobile operator Smartfren has predicted an increase in Internet service traffic of between 10 and 15 percent during the month of Ramadhan, based on past experience.

"Based on Smartfren's experience, various efforts have been made to face the surge in the month of Ramadhan, with the current COVID-19 pandemic (taken into consideration). Traffic data has also increased with people working from home," said Smartfren's vice president of technology, Munir Syahda Prabowo.

Additionally, considering the latest development, Indonesia has estimated that Internet usage needs will increase by 20 percent compared to normal days.

To ensure quality and adequacy of network capacity during Ramadhan, cellular operators have taken various measures, such as managing traffic routes, alerting fast response teams, and operating mobile base transceiver stations. (ANTARA)