(note: I refer mobile internet as accessing internet in your mobile and not using your mobile as a modem 
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When mobile internet service was firstly introduced by IM3 (as their differentiator when they launch their network), GPRS only become a very hot topic; so many people talk about it, but only one of two use it. Although it was free for a year, network footprint, handset readiness, and handset setup become barriers. Soon after IM3 launch the service, existing mobile carriers that have bigger footprint also launch GPRS product.
But GPRS take up was disaster. All operators were in the race launching GPRS service and get media coverage but forget how to activate people. Unlike other countries, mobile carriers don’t control handsets distribution in Indonesia. Handsets in the market are open for any mobile carriers without any network preset and there was no GPRS OTA setting provided by mobile carriers (10 years after the product was launched (2007), Hutchison 3 become the first operator in Indonesia that give GPRS setting OTA push message automatically when subscriber insert their SIM card in to the phone).
All mobile carriers seemed treat GPRS as a ‘we_also_have_it’ product without any development or exploration on how to increase GPRS traffic. Although I believe they realize this will be a very big potential due to low penetration of fixed line internet.
Content providers and handset manufacturers were become a ‘hero’ on educating GPRS products. CP starts by build a WAP sites and provide various services that require GPRS (poly-ringtones, color pictures, true-tones, java-games) while handset manufacturers inject setting wizard application for GPRS and MMS settings.
At 30% of mobile connectivity penetration (~15% mobile penetration -not_confirmed-) with combination of ‘change_handsets_every_3_months’ habit and affordable GPRS supported handsets product aggressive penetration, a research from one of handset manufacturer said that 90% subscribers in Indonesia are using GPRS supported handset.
Potential? YES, a few months ago in Indonesia Mobile Monday launch event, T. Fuad from Yahoo! Asia HQ in Singapore announce their foot print in Indonesia by having their one-search and Yahoo!Go mobile apps. in all GSM mobile carriers. Unfortunately, usage growth result is not as expected. I don’t think setting was the problem, it because lack of activation activity from operators that happened to be got the ‘exclusive’ deal with Yahoo! as the pioneer for Y!Go app. launch. Beside lack of activation activities, pricing also become the biggest barrier -people perceived there will be more bytes to be downloaded if they’re using the application because it has a lot of graphics, thus they perceived it will be very expensive to them.
So is it mobile carriers fault? not 100% correct though I don’t think Yahoo! had done their homework by research on ‘the most popular service that accessed in their line of services portfolio in Indonesia’, because they took off Y!Messenger in new Y!Go that launched in Indonesia, or maybe it was their global strategy to push mobile internet ad in all of their foot prints. (fyi, youngsters in Indonesia willing to pay US$ 1 / month(exclude GPRS charge) to one of mobile carrier for 3rd party mobile IM application that can connect to Y!M).
Will Yahoo! bring their mobile IM product to Indonesia? I surely hope so, because the application is very straight forward and easy to use. Mobile users only need minimum education to use the product. Look at blackberry users in Indonesia, they all use mobile Y!M. Imagine it can be extended to normal java-supported phones. Then we just need mobile carrier to give a special bundling data package for it (I heard one of the mobile carrier willing to do so… )
Along with IM application, other form of mobile marketing through mobile IM application, rich mobile content promotion (truetone, polyringtone, color-wallpaper, mobile avatars), and content recommendation can be easily pushed. Even, mobile carriers can also promote other GPRS required product (their WAP site, mobile carriers social network initiatives, even to 3G contents like fulltrack music download). So they will give cheap GPRS charge for mobile IM, will lead mobile carrier to be able to get more revenue.
Activate mobile subscribers to more advanced products by introduce PC internet application to mobile will really lead to over all mobile internet success story in Indonesia, IMHO.
