Singtel entered talks regarding integrating Telkom Indonesia’s fixed-line broadband business with mobile player Telkomsel, a move pitched as timely due to high demand for online access in the nation.

In a stock market announcement, Singtel noted there is a rare opportunity to integrate the businesses and moved to quell any market jitters by highlighting a near 30-year partnership with Telkom.

Singtel holds a 35 per cent stake in Telkomsel, counting it within its regional associates group.

The operator placed Telkom’s share of the fixed broadband market at 70 per cent.

It noted a global trend of increased “demand for high-quality fixed broadband” since the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, a movement which “is all the more apparent in an emerging market like Indonesia”.

The operator issued the statement in response to press enquiries and inevitably noted “there is no certainty of a transaction”.

Singaporean financial newspaper The Business Times noted many Indonesian operators are looking to tap fixed-mobile convergence with bundled tariffs, citing rising demand for video streaming in particular.

The newspaper also highlighted Singtel and Telkom signed a MoU to explore a potential integration in April 2022.