Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital has issued a formal directive prohibiting mobile network operators from clearing out customers' remaining internet data allowances or imposing additional charges, according to an official announcement published on Saturday, August 29, 2026.
The ministry's circular instructs carriers to comply with the new rules, which are designed to protect consumers from losing the data they have already paid for. The directive follows a ruling by Indonesia's Constitutional Court that addressed the practice of allowing data quotas to expire unused, as reported by Kompas.com.
The ministry's move has drawn support from observers who say the regulation is appropriate and does not require a hasty revision, according to Suara.com. The provincial government of the Bangka Belitung Islands also publicized the directive, underscoring its reach beyond the central administration.
Under the new guidance, operators are explicitly barred from wiping out leftover data and from levying extra fees on subscribers. The ministry has made clear that carriers are obligated to follow the directive, with Kompas.tv reporting that compliance is now mandatory.
The measure addresses a long-standing consumer complaint in Indonesia's mobile market, where data packages typically came with expiration dates that could void unused balances. The Constitutional Court's earlier decision set the stage for this regulatory action, and the ministry's circular now translates that ruling into enforceable operator obligations.
What to watch next: whether the ministry will introduce penalties for carriers that fail to comply, and how operators will adjust their pricing structures to account for data that no longer expires.
