Strengthening Telecommunications Infrastructure

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Students of different grades wear masks and maintain physical distance as study together in a “pod” on Friday (28/8/2020), using the free wifi facility at the RW 05 community unit hall in West Kuningan, South Jakarta. The subdistrict offices provided free internet access to make it easier for the students to follow the online distance learning (PJJ) education policy during the Covid-19 health crisis.

Even without the Covid-19 pandemic, telecommunications are an inevitability for Indonesia, an archipelagic nation with a vast geographical span.

The government administration – the current one and its predecessors – has the will to build the infrastructure. However, the pandemic has laid bare how lackluster our telecommunications infrastructure truly is.

In 2019, we received with a big heart the news that the government had completed the Palapa Ring project, bringing all of Indonesia from the west to the east together in a ring of infrastructure. The ring will make it so that the eastern regions, long disadvantaged, can enjoy equal internet access with the west. It was assumed that there will no longer be any gap in telecommunications, especially in access to the 4G network.

Also read: Strengthening the Telecommunications Infrastructure for PJJ

The coronavirus outbreak has truly increased the need for telecommunications infrastructure. With the online learning policy implemented across education levels, including elementary and secondary schools and even universities, and the mushrooming of virtual meetings, the need for internet access has skyrocketed.

Indeed, infrastructure is not the only need for online learning. There is also a need for gadgets and cellular credits. However, without adequate infrastructure, learning will be disrupted as bandwidth will not be enough.

We receive this message as, even without the pandemic, the number of internet users will continue to spike.

A Kompas report on Thursday (3/9/2020) campaigned for the strengthening of telecommunications infrastructure. We receive this message as, even without the pandemic, the number of internet users will continue to spike. In 2020, Indonesia has had 175.4 million internet users, which means that internet penetration compared to the population has reached 64 percent, with an estimated total population of 272.1 million (Kompas.com, 20/2/2020).

Kompas/Priyombodo

Nur Shintya, a grade 3 elementary school student doing assignments from distance learning with the guidance of her aunt on the roadside of Petamburan, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Friday (28/8/2020).

It is understandable that this number spiked in 2020 with online learning and more people working from home and joining webinars. The informatics application directorate general of the Communications and Information Ministry says that internet use has shifted from offices to homes, where a spike of 30 to 40 percent has been recorded. Physical distancing and work-from-home policies explain the shift and the rise of internet use.

Also read: Make sure the Internet Subsidy Reaches Targeted Recipients

We observe that the rise of internet use is triggered by the implementation of online learning, working and trading. Concerns related to Covid-19 have even forced people to rely on online shopping.

A McKinsey survey cited by CNBC on July 11 said that 34 percent of Indonesians were ordering more meals online and another 30 percent were shopping for more household items online. Once they adopt the new habits, 72 percent of Indonesians said that they would keep on shopping online even after Covid-19.

From this perspective, we wish to emphasize that Indonesia must always improve its telecommunications infrastructure. It must be expanded and made more reliable.