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Broadband Development in Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia Indonesian archipelago is a get-go of both

domestic and foreign investors when it comes to telecommunications.
Being the fourth most populous country in the world with 237 million
citizens, the country is a huge marketing attraction. This sector is also
supported by the fact that compared to other sectors within the
economy; telecommunications is one of the most prominent sectors
having a growth rate of 12% as of 2012, a percentage far above the
GDP growth.
The three leading telecommunications provider in the country are
Indosat, XL Axiata, a subsidiary of Axis Capital Group based in Malaysia
and Telkomsel. These three has been dominating the market with
promotions and services that has been renowned all over the world and
has been acknowledged as exemplary in the field of
telecommunications.
With the help of these three and other networks, the government of
Indonesia has introduced the Indonesian Broadband Plan (IBP) as an
operational policy document to develop the broadband sector in the
country with the ultimate goal of increasing the citizens welfare. This
goal is to be achieved through linking broadband with other sectors in
the economy. It can be remembered that before 2009, may citizens use
Warung or Warnet in Internet Cafes to access technology. The move to
develop broadband has lessened complaints regarding issues in
warnets and slow connection.
There are, however, many more questions than answers with this plan.
Ultimately, the strength of IBP will influence whether other stakeholders
(cross-sectoral coordination and between local and central
governments) will follow the guidance.

The most important flagship of the IBP named the Palapa Ring is an
initiative to foster the fiber connectivity between islands in Indonesia
both in the western and particularly the eastern area where the
broadband infrastructure is currently unavailable.As one of the most
important flagships, the Palapa Ring can be seen as a stand-alone
chapter with or without the IBP being implemented as a government
regulation. Within the Palapa Ring framework, there has been a long
commitment of the private sector (PT Telkom) to build the broadband
infrastructures.
The IBP is a step forward in the direction for Indonesia to have a more
concrete and detail guideline to develop the ICT sector and
broadband in particular as the future engine of growth and general
purpose technology (GPT).
There is also the invention of 4G networks, an upgrade on 2G and 3G
connections. The 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) service is reviewed to
answer the need for high-speed broadband connection that will ensure
a seamless flow of data in todays era.
Internet-based cellular phones are becoming increasingly popular
among Indonesians for daily communication, job- and business-related
purposes.
As of now, Telkomsel, XL, Indosat and Tri are still awaiting the
governments ruling on 4G LTE for cellular operators, including call and
text messages over the broadband network.