President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo underline accelerating national digital transformation for five aspects, one of which relates to accelerating the expansion of telecommunications access, increasing digital infrastructure and providing internet services.

In 2021, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia has built a digital infrastructure that includes all aspects. The ministry also reorganized the radio frequency spectrum to optimize the quality of 4G network services, expand 5G networks and make the Analog Switch Off (ASO) program a success.

Firstly, from the backbone layer, the Ministry has so far proceeded with the deployment of the Palapa Ring fiber optic cable network, both for the West, Central and East Palapa Rings, where 2021 is the year of evaluation of the use of the Palapa ring. .

– Dedy Permadi, Spokesperson, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

The increase in the use of the Palapa ring still requires the deployment of fiber optic to connect the unconnected fiber optic points, both on land and at sea. Meanwhile, for layer infrastructure median through the provision of satellite capacity, Indonesia currently uses 9 telecommunications satellites equivalent to 50 Gbps and 55% of them are used by the ministry.

To meet the growing need for satellite capacity, in 2021 there has been a series of construction processes for the SATRIA-I multifunction satellite with a capacity of 150 Gbps, including the construction of satellite and rocket components in France and in America, as well as 11 earth stations in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, at the last mile level, the ministry, in collaboration with mobile operator partners, has started the construction of base transceiver stations (BTS) in 12,548 villages that do not yet have access. to 4G. The total construction of BTS includes 9,113 in 3T area by BLU BAKTI of the ministry and 3,435 BTS in non-3T area by cellular operators.

Apart from the massive development of digital infrastructure, the ministry also continues to ensure the quality of telecommunications services in Indonesia. Therefore, the ministry has completed the construction of a telecommunications monitoring center that will measure quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE), and follow up services on public complaints related to real-time service interruptions. in 514 regencies/cities.

The ministry will continue to develop telecommunications infrastructure as part of the Digital Indonesia Roadmap plans. In 2022, the ministry will focus on completing the last mile backbone development.

Under the assessment of development in 2022, there are several challenges in the development of digital infrastructure that include limited funding, especially for development in the 3T region (underdeveloped, outermost and underdeveloped). Therefore, the ministry has made a breakthrough through a blended funding scheme.

As reported by OpenGov Asia, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto noted in a statement that digitalization is one of the strategies to accelerate the transition to a new economy. Digital technology, he argues, has enabled increased coordination between economic actors to speed up trade, create jobs and improve access to public services. “This momentum must be used to push the digital transformation process forward,” he said.

The economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has exceeded $100 billion in value. According to the minister, it should triple in size by 2025, to reach more than 300 billion dollars. E-commerce was the largest contributor to ASEAN’s digital economy, followed by food transportation and delivery, online media, and travel. Apart from this, he pointed out that health technologies and education have emerged as promising areas. Indonesia’s digital economy is valued at US$44 billion, the highest in ASEAN, and is expected to grow eightfold by 2030.