• Surge plans to expand its fixed-wireless network to 9,800 sites in 2027, after targeting 5,500 sites by the end of 2026
  • Management expects a long-term EBITDA margin of 50–60% as the company continues its FWA and fibre expansion

The fact

PT Solusi Sinergi Digital, the Indonesian operator known as Surge, said on 7 September that it plans to expand its fixed wireless access network to 9,800 sites in 2027. The company is targeting 5,500 sites by the end of 2026 and currently operates more than 1,500 across eight provinces.

Surge reported 513,000 FWA customers at the end of the first half, alongside 1.85 million fibre-to-the-home subscribers. It also plans about Rp7 trillion of capital expenditure in 2026, mainly for FWA and FTTH expansion, after spending around Rp1 trillion in the first half.

Director Shannedy Ong said the company expects a long-term EBITDA margin of 50–60%, a range that already allows for its aggressive FWA expansion. First-half EBITDA reached Rp948.9 billion, up 117% year on year, while the margin declined to 60.4% from 85.2% a year earlier. The first-half figures were unaudited.

The assessment

Surge is moving from more than 1,500 operating FWA sites towards 5,500 by the end of this year and 9,800 in 2027. Building those sites expands the number of places where it can sell wireless broadband, but the business benefit depends on how many paying customers the new coverage attracts.

The margin figures put that expansion in context. Surge's EBITDA increased sharply in the first half even though its margin fell from 85.2% to 60.4%. Management's 50–60% long-term range therefore gives investors a more realistic benchmark than assuming the earlier margin can be maintained as the network becomes much larger. EBITDA, however, does not show whether the company has recovered the money spent building the network.

For BTW readers, the 9,800-site target should be judged alongside FWA customer growth and cash generation. If paying wireless customers rise as the site count expands, the additional infrastructure is being put to use. If deployment moves much faster than customer growth, Surge will have more network to fund before the new sites contribute enough revenue.

What to watch

Watch whether Surge reaches 5,500 active FWA sites by the end of 2026 and how its 513,000 wireless-customer base changes alongside that rollout. FWA customers, capital expenditure, operating cash generation and the EBITDA margin should be tracked together as the company moves towards its 9,800-site target in 2027.