Indonesia is pushing hard to boost its economic growth by expanding the digital transformation across sectors in various ways. Most recently, Indonesia’s leading digital telecommunication provider has successfully passed the Operation Feasibility Test (ULO) for the 1,800 MHz frequency band. The successful ULO means that there can be a commercial rollout to scale of 5G in the country.
The company has become the latest telecommunication operator to be granted a Certificate of Operation Eligibility [SKLO] by which it can commercialise 5G technology. The deployment means that it can provide several frequency allocations on the frequencies of 26, 28, and 39 GHz and can be used for basic connectivity, mobile broadband speed and super data layer, as well as fixed broadband. With these options, cellular operators have an opportunity to choose a neutral technology that matches their business and the respective environmental circumstances where they operate.
And with this, the country is a step closer to its national digital transformation ambitions. Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest digital economy and one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing emerging economies. The roll-out of 5G will assist to develop the digital economy in Indonesia by providing high-speed connectivity that assures the best digital experience for enterprises and consumers as the Indonesian market adapts to new challenges.
The implementation of 5G technology is aimed specifically to provide the people with more equitable telecommunication access as well as boosting national economic growth. The technology is also expected to narrow the gap in digital technology use and accelerate literacy through using more adaptive technology. As the 5G ecosystem develops in the country, the CEO of the telecommunication company felt it would enable industries to drive efficiencies and unlock the full economic potential of 5G.
Indonesia’s minister stated that if the 5G outcomes are achieved, Indonesia will become one of Southeast Asia’s digital economic powers, with 5G technology playing a crucial role in progressing further in future.
The 5G technology is expected to develop rapidly as it continues to be expanded based on solid market demand across the nations and across sectors. Apart from Java Island, the 5G network will be applied in priority tourism destinations, such as Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara [NTB], Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara and [NTT] and Liupang in North Sulawesi. The 5G network will also be available in manufacturing industrial areas and also in the country’s new capital by 2024.
Intelligent connectivity, the fusion of 5G, AI and IoT is set to drive a fourth industrial revolution and is seen as a way to help economies recover and become more adaptable to future shocks in a post-pandemic environment. Indonesia is well placed to make progress on its Industry 4.0 vision.
An OpenGov Asia article reported that the development and integration of 5G infrastructure to support the bandwidth required for digital applications to function are crucial to Indonesia’s digital transformation. The adoption and deployment of these applications will lead to an increase in the number of interconnected devices, sensors, and systems, as well as an exponential growth in data volumes.
With that, digital transformers in Indonesia have already seen benefits for their transformation efforts, particularly in the areas of digital experiences and digital operations. Today’s digital transformation has an impact on every aspect of life, from how people live to how countries expand their economies. In the midst of an ongoing pandemic, digitisation continues to transform the telecommunications business landscape, while also allowing telco companies to play a much bigger role in supporting a country’s economic growth, as well as in Indonesia.
