The Government of the Republic of Indonesia is building cooperation in the digital sector to support the acceleration of national digital transformation. The Minister of Communication and Informatics, Johnny G. Plate, is looking to create opportunities to develop partnerships to implement the latest technologies across the nation.
Minister Johnny G. Plate discussed “Strategies for Energising the Data Economy” and spoke about increasing the volume of global data, the urgency of the Green Data Center and the importance of Cross Border Data Flow and Data Free-Flow With Trust – all of which are priority issues of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) under the leadership of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics in the G20 Indonesia Presidency.
Furthermore, the Minister held a bilateral meeting with representatives of the Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Korea. The ministers discussed cooperation in the ICT sector with the South Korean Minister of Science and ICT. The two countries discussed the deployment of a 5G network, internet access on the MRT/Subway, the candidacy of representatives of each country on the ITU management line, as well as discussing priority issues for the DEWG G20 Indonesia.
Minister Johnny has spoken about the development of Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) technology in Indonesia with the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Delegation. In line with this, the Minister signed an agreement for technology cooperation for the development of OpenRAN in Indonesia between an Indonesian University and an academy.
The Minister also attended a meeting with CEOs of global technology companies to discuss the development of 5G technology which has begun to be implemented in Indonesia. Representing the Minister of Communication and Information at a press conference, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Dedy Permadi, stated that Indonesia is currently developing the adoption of the most efficient, effective and suitable applied technology for Indonesia.
One such platform is OpenRAN technology as a network architecture that adopts the open interface concept and separates hardware and software components to realise an open and efficient cellular technology both in terms of investment (CAPEX) and operations (OPEX). In a series of working visits at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain, Minister Johnny also witnessed the signing of collaboration for research and testing of OpenRAN technology in Indonesia. The signing is expected to increase efficiency and also vendor participation to increase the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) for 4G and 5G devices,
Currently, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics is implementing the adoption of a neutral technology policy in the development of the national telecommunications ecosystem. Welcoming the development of more efficient technology, the Ministry adopted a neutral technology policy to free cellular operators in the utilisation of network connectivity to develop an ecosystem of technology and excellent communication services in Indonesia.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, Indonesia has one of the world’s highest percentages of internet users. Nonetheless, when compared to other Asian countries, it has a low internet penetration rate. In 2021, mobile internet penetration in Indonesia is expected to be 68%. Its reach is expected to increase to 79% by 2025. The penetration rate is the proportion of the total population that has internet access via a mobile broadband connection.
With increasing mobile internet penetration in the country, there has been an increase in demand for lower data prices, greater coverage, and better service quality. As a key strategy to attract more customers, Indonesian internet providers have proposed attractive data pricing plans as well as optimised data-oriented mobile services. Moreover, on the popularity of mobile internet, fixed broadband subscriptions in Indonesia have been increasing in recent years. As a result, broadband penetration rates among households in the country have increased.