An announcement
made by the Ministry
of Communications and Informatics (KOMINFO) highlighted that the
annual funding they manage for the construction of telecommunications
infrastructure is used in widening the coverage of broadband internet.
Director of the Telecommunications and Information
Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) Anang Latif said that on average, they
manage an annual universal telecommunication and informatics service area (USO)
fund worth RP 2.5 trillion for the construction of telecommunications
infrastructure.
Included in the infrastructure development
programs being run by the government is the Palapa Ring development project. It
is a fibre optic cable construction program that will serve as the backbone of
a network that reaches all remote areas of Indonesia.
Palapa Ring program consists of three
packages, West, Central, and East. In a discussion initiated by the Indonesia
LTE Community during the “Indonesia towards Digital Paradise” at Balai Kartini,
Jakarta, Mr Anang said, "Hopefully, by next year, all the packages of the Palapa
Ring project from West to East will be finished and commercialised.”
According to him, the construction of the
Palapa Ring project is almost complete with a targeted finish by the end of
2018. Currently, the West Package is completed and officially operational.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Central Package has reached 76% and the
development of East Package is at 46%.
Mr Benyamin Sura, General Director of Post
and Informatics of KOMINFO, said that the development of infrastructure for
remote and remote areas in Indonesia requires innovation and collaboration from
all stakeholders.
He added that the digital economy should be
felt by all levels of society. Indonesia
still needs to provide infrastructure to remote areas.
“We have an Indonesian broadband plan; the internet
targets to be achieved are there but it takes a lot of innovation and collaboration
from all parties in order for the current penetration rate of 7.87% to reach
double digits like in mobile,” said Mr Benjamin.
KOMINFO data show that rural areas in
Indonesia that have 3G broadband internet network is at 73.02% of a total of 83,218
villages. On the one hand, coverage of the new 4G LTE network reaches 55.05%.
The government targets that 100% of the villages
in all of the country’s regions will have affordable 3G network in 2019. Also,
they expect that 100% of 514 districts and municipalities will experience
affordable 4G LTE network, as compared to the current 64%.
“It is expected that operators can maximize
the presence of the Palapa Ring infrastructure in order to bring the digital
economy in the remote areas,” he added.
Mr Agus Witjaksono, Vice-President for
Network Deployment of Telkomsel, said it will utilise
USO funds in order to remain consistent with its support to the government
efforts in telecom network development programs in the remote areas.
“One of the things we've worked with BAKTI
is to provide cellular telecommunication access for people in the universal
telecommunication and informatics service area (USO),” Mr Agus said.