More government agencies in Indonesia are basing their strategies with digitalisation in a bid to scale up existing programmes and provide enhanced services to the public. This year, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology announced that it is focusing on frequency spectrum management to boost its services. The Ministry explained that this initiative is part of efforts to accelerate digital transformation not just within the department but in various sectors in the country as well.
According to Dr Ir. Ismail, the Ministry’s Director General of Resources and Equipment of Post and Information Technology, innovations in spectrum management are essential units that can help drive digital transformation. During a recent virtual meeting, he said: “[T]his frequency spectrum management is one of the backbones of national digital connectivity via mobile broadband.”
The Director General added that meticulous regulation by the government of frequency spectrums is a key step in amplifying innovative solutions. Frequency allocations must be done carefully and allotted to corporations based on their needs. Elaborating, he confirmed that the agency has adjusted frequencies during the past two years. Their basis for frequency allocation is the type of technology a frequency lessee is using. This way, the agency can be assured that the amount of frequency given to such a corporation will be the right fit based on its needs.
The aggressive initiative to adopt this new technology is reinforced by the multiple benefits that the government will reap once this innovation has been adopted. The Director General explained that “the presence of new technologies such as 5G is also a factor that encourages the agency to regulate frequency appropriately. So that, in the future, people all over the world can use quality telecommunication networks in their activities”.
He added that initiatives toward innovation have positive impacts in all sectors of the economy and the society in general. He said that technology can usher in more productive activities once they have been implemented. One of these activities is the development of Indonesia’s digital economy. When a 5G telecommunication network is adopted, the nation can improve its business and investment climate. The Indonesian government has been scaling up efforts in the past years to boost and roll out 5G technology in the country by tapping into its existing band and wave spectrum. The government has also announced that it has started its bidding for 5G internet services last year.
Apart from plans to integrate 5G technology, several key innovations have since been launched in Indonesia following government-led initiatives to adhere to digitalisation and the Making Indonesia 4.0 blueprint. Under this roadmap, the government aims to boost key industries in its economy to usher in an industrial era. It listed five sectors to be prioritised, namely: food and drinks, automotive, textile, chemicals and the electronics industries.
To accelerate improvements in these industries and boost economic growth in the long term, the government is banking on the adoption of digital technology. As earlier reported by OpenGov Asia, the Ministry of Industry announced that it is optimistic that economic growth will reach 5.5% in 2021, on the back of its strong digital economy programme.
To further spur economic growth, Indonesia is set to continue the implementation of various policies and legislations, including the Job Creation Law and the National Economic Recovery programme. The Indonesian government has also announced that tech giants have been expressing interest to invest in the country amid the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It added that this interest to invest is due to ease in doing business in the country and because of its robust digital economic framework.
