An announcement made by the Ministry of Communications
and Informatics highlighted
that the residents of Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Maluku can access fast internet
by the end of September 2018 because he guarantees the completion of the
central package by that time.
The Palapa
Ring project is guaranteed to be finished by September 2018 according to Minister
of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara.
In a written
statement issued on 27 May 2018, he said, “I will make sure that the entire
Palapa Ring program package is completed by the end of 2018. In this case, the central
package of the Palapa Ring can be completed in August 2018 and then stability
tests will be conducted until September.”
Palapa Ring is
a fibre optic network built across the stretch of Indonesia in order to improve
the operational quality of the telecommunication networks. It is divided
into three packages: the west package, the central package, and the east
package. The central package, which is slated to be completed by September
2018, covers 17 cities and districts in East Kalimantan, North Sulawesi,
Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces.
Once the
Palapa Ring package is completed, Rudiantara ensures that the communities within
the area targeted by the package can enjoy better internet network
quality.
The Palapa
Ring is divided into three packages. They are:
(1)
West package –
this package covers Riau and Riau Islands (up to Natuna Island) with a total
length of fibre optic cable about 2,000 kilometres. This is being built in
consortium with PT Palapa Ring Barat. Project implementation will cover five
districts and cities.
(2)
Central
package – as mentioned earlier, covers 17 cities and districts in East
Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and North
Maluku provinces. This is being built in consortium with PT Len Telekomunikasi
Indonesia. The total length of fibre optic cable is approximately 2,700
kilometres.
(3)
East package –
this package covers East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, West Papua, and Papua up to the
interior of Papua with total length of about 6,300 kilometres of fibre optic
cable. This is being built in consortium with PT Palapa Timur Telematika. The project
convers construction in 35 districts and cities.
Aside from
providing support to the community, this broadband internet access network will
also provide support for the operations of the local government services and its
economic activities, making them more effective and efficient.
The Palapa
Ring is among the priority agenda within a large program of the Ministry of
Communications and Informatics addressing broadband connectivity. This
program is a key infrastructure in the development of 4G network services. The
development of such will foster economic dynamics and increase community welfare.
It will also contribute to reducing open unemployment.
At a rate 1% fixed
broadband penetration, it is expected to that the unemployment rate will go
down by 8.6%.
An earlier announcement was released
detailing on how the Palapa Ring Project was one of the national projects
stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 3 of 2016. It is a part of the
Government’s Universal Service Obligation (USO) to ensure telecommunications
and informatics to the public. The announcement highlighted that the project
aims to connect all districts and cities in Indonesia, even those which are
located in areas where it might not be commercially viable for telecom
operators to lay cables.
