Paid for, Still Lost: Why Customers Are Still Losing Unused Data

JAKARTA, Jakartaweekly.com—Every month, there is one thing that leaves Zaniar frustrated: watching the unused internet data on her phone disappear when her package expires.

For the past three months, from July to September 2026, she continued to experience the same problem. And the amount of data left unused was far from insignificant. She typically had around 5 gigabytes (GB) remaining, with the largest amount reaching 8 GB.

“The unused data that expires is usually around 5 gigabytes, but the largest amount I have ever lost was 8 gigabytes,” Zaniar said on Thursday, October 1, 2026.

As an area sales manager, Zaniar regularly has to visit a number of stores as part of her job. As a result, she tends to purchase packages with relatively large data allowances to ensure she has enough internet access while working.

The problem is that many of the places she visits provide Wi-Fi access. The data she has already paid for therefore does not always get used up. Once the package expires, whatever data is left disappears with it.

For Zaniar, the new rule prohibiting unused data from expiring is important. If fully implemented, she would be able to purchase data based on her needs for the following month while continuing to use the remaining allowance she has already paid for.

Monica, a civil servant working in Padang, has had a similar experience. As a Telkomsel user, she has also become accustomed to seeing her remaining data disappear when her package expires.

Last month, for example, she still had 2 GB of unused data when her package expired. That was considerably less than the largest amount she had previously lost, which was 8 GB.

“I feel like I’m really losing out because I buy a package for a month and use two phones with 15 GB of data. That is the smallest amount available for a 28- or 30-day validity period, but I don’t always use it to the maximum. When the package expires while there is still a lot of data left, it feels like such a waste,” Monica said.

For Monica, the issue is not simply about how many gigabytes are lost. She feels that she has already paid for the data but does not always have enough opportunity to use it within the prescribed period.

That is why Monica welcomed the rule prohibiting unused data from expiring once a package’s validity period ends. She considers it more consumer-friendly because customers are paying not only for a validity period but also for a specific amount of data.

“However, I think it would be fairer if the remaining data were given an extended validity period rather than being rolled over to the next purchase,” Monica added.

Not All Unused Data Ends the Same Way

The experience of losing unused data is not shared by all customers. Rebekka, a lecturer at a private university in Yogyakarta, said her remaining data from the previous month no longer expired when her package ended and she purchased a new package for the following month.

Previously, Rebekka had a different experience. She would typically have around 2–3 GB of data remaining when her package expired. The largest amount she had ever lost was 10 GB.

Because Rebekka uses Wi-Fi at home and at work, she does not always use up her mobile data allowance. With relatively reliable Wi-Fi connections available at both locations, a portion of the data she purchases often remains unused when her package expires.

Based on Jakarta Weekly’s observations, Telkomsel currently offers packages starting at 19 GB with a 28-day validity period. As of October 1, 2026, Telkomsel also offers a dedicated rollover package called Pasti SIMPATI. The smallest package provides 9 GB for 30 days at Rp70,000, while the largest offers 149 GB for Rp250,000.

Venesya, a private-sector employee in Jakarta and a longtime XL user, has had access to data rollover for much longer. She said she has been able to use the feature for years.

“It’s called the VIP package. For the regular package, rollover is limited to a maximum of 1 GB, while VIP Plus offers full rollover as long as the package is renewed before its expiry date,” Venesya said.

Another XL user, Varanta, a freelancer, said he has never experienced his unused data expiring when his package validity ended. He said his accumulated rollover allowance has reached 700 GB.

Based on Jakarta Weekly’s observations, XL has now renamed its VIP packages as FlexMax and FlexMini.

Under the terms and conditions, if customers activate more than one FlexMax or FlexMini package, and the second and subsequent packages are priced the same as or higher than the previous package, the remaining main data allowance from the previous package can still be used until the latest package expires.

However, if the subsequent package is priced lower than the previous one, the remaining data allowance from the previous package will be replaced by the newly activated package.

When Unused Data Is More Than Just a Number

Complaints from customers about unused data expiring have reached the attention of Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid. She recently said the government had received numerous complaints about operators’ compliance with the Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling.

In its ruling, the MK stipulated that customers’ unused internet data may not be unilaterally forfeited when a package’s validity period ends.

In response to the complaints, the Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs issued a circular letter.

Meutya Hafid said the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) had instructed cellular operators not to eliminate customers’ paid-for internet data that remained unused under Circular Letter No. 4/2026 on the Obligation to Provide Service Options and Protect Unused Data Allowances.

The regulation also prohibits operators from imposing additional fees to retain or use customers’ remaining data allowances.

“Data that customers have already paid for is their right. Unused data cannot simply expire, and operators may not impose additional fees to retain that remaining data,” Meutya said.

She said the policy is intended to ensure that customers receive fair value from the telecommunications services they have paid for.

Meutya said Kemkomdigi had set September 28, 2026, as the deadline for operators to submit reports on their compliance with the obligations. Operators are also required to submit periodic progress reports to Kemkomdigi every month.

On September 28, 2026, the Indonesian Telecommunications Operators Association (ATSI) met with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs to report on progress in developing mechanisms to protect customers’ remaining data allowances and to discuss several rules concerning data rollover.

ATSI Executive Director Marwan O. Baasir said all cellular operators had fulfilled their obligation to provide data accumulation or rollover features within the specified deadline. However, ATSI still needed additional time to prepare the required report.

According to Marwan, several issues still needed further discussion, including the protection of customers’ remaining data and provisions ensuring that unused data can be used until it runs out without customers being charged additional fees.

ATSI, Marwan said, needs to better understand how the protection mechanisms will be implemented so they do not create confusion among the public. One issue concerns the phrase “among others,” which indicates that several protection mechanisms may be available.

Marwan questioned whether the wording means operators can choose one or several of the available protection mechanisms.

Meanwhile, a refund mechanism for unused data is considered one of the more difficult provisions to implement. According to Marwan, this is because data allowances differ from money, which has a clearly defined monetary value.

According to the Constitutional Court’s website reviewed by Jakarta Weekly, the MK ruled that Article 28 paragraph (1) under Article 71 point 2 of the Annex to the Job Creation Law is contrary to the 1945 Constitution and has no binding legal force unless interpreted in accordance with certain conditions.

The MK stipulated that tariffs for telecommunications networks and services are determined by operators based on a formula set by the government. However, operators are also required to provide service options that ensure customers’ remaining data allowances remain active and can still be used.

The MK considered internet services an important necessity in modern society. Therefore, telecommunications tariffs and service schemes should not be determined solely from the commercial perspective of operators, but must also provide reasonable protection for customers.

According to the MK, protection for unused data does not have to take the same form for every customer. Operators may offer various flexible package options, including packages with data accumulation or rollover features, non-rollover packages, or other service options that allow customers to choose according to their needs, financial capacity, and usage patterns.

However, customers who have paid for internet data, whether through prepaid or postpaid services, and still have unused data remaining must continue to receive protection.

Such protection may take several forms, including data accumulation or rollover, validity-period extensions, transfer of benefits, compensation, refunds, or other forms of protection that do not disadvantage customers.