PALO ALTO, Calif (September 30, 2009) It’s not all about the iPhone, at least within one of the world’s fastest growing mobile consumer markets, Indonesia. Today, InMobi, the largest mobile ad network in Asia, Africa and Indonesia, released data showing that RIM’s Blackberry device may be leading the handset race in Indonesia. From January 2009 to June 2009, mobile ad requests on Blackberry phones increased by 842%, compared to mobile ad requests on Indonesia iPhones, which increased only by 205%*. RIM’s Blackberry device was released three months before the iPhone in the country in January of 2009. Although Blackberry and iPhone had similar growth patterns after the iPhone launch, the two handsets took dramatically different growth paths beginning in April 2009 per the graph below.
Indonesia is predicted to be the third largest mobile market after China and India by 2010 according to the ROA Group. Already, mobile users in Indonesia far outnumber active Internet users by 5 to 1, and the country boasts a 56.8% mobile penetration rate verses a 10.4% according to Internet World Stats. Also according to data on the InMobi network, Indonesia’s mobile Internet user base has more than doubled within the last 12 months. InMobi estimates 9 million mobile Internet users currently in Indonesia, with 591 page views per user, exceeding the approximate global average of 250 page views per user (source: Opera, 2009). Handset manufacturers are taking notice, as 80% of handsets sold in Indonesia are web enabled. Costly ISP plans, unreliable fixed line infrastructure, and inexpensive mobile data plans with unlimited mobile web usage are also encouraging the adoption of mobile Internet browsing. Specifically, 53% of mobile web users are between the ages of 18 and 27, and 82% of the total number of mobile web users are male.
The top mobile Internet operator in Indonesia is Indosat, which leads the market with 75% share, followed by Telekomsel with 18% and Excelcomindo with 3%. Fierce competition between mobile operators and a price war between vendors created an influx of affordable mobile phones this year. 
The mobile user base in Indonesia is predicted to reach 146 million mobile users by 2010. And mobile advertising is increasing as consumer data charges and evolving handsets are leading to more mobile web usage. “With an increased focus on measurability, mobile advertisers and publishers are recognizing the value of the Indonesia market,” said Mr. Abhay Singhal, Co-Founder and Head of Global Ad Sales at InMobi.
The data collected reports on mobile ad requests from Indonesia on the InMobi network between January and June 2009. Also featured on
