Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report 2021 en

Indonesia
Digital
Infrastructure
Report
Expanding
Network and Skills
NOVEMBER 2021
Foreword
Globally, governments are investing in digital infrastructure to foster
innovation, growth, and market diversification. This infrastructure is
vital for launching new businesses and transforming conventional
models. Understanding the current state of Indonesia’s digital
infrastructure is critical in allowing digital economy stakeholders to
harness the Indonesian market.
To that end, BeritaSatu Research, the research arm of BeritaSatu

Media Holdings, began mapping out Indonesia’s existing and
planned information and communication technology (ICT)
infrastructure in 2021.
In this report, we look at Indonesia’s digital infrastructure, including

network connectivity, data centers, cybersecurity measures, personal
data protection issues, and digital talents.
This Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report is the first of a series

of annual reports intended to provide a continuous update on the
country’s digital infrastructure development.
We would like to acknowledge the financial support from

the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology
and Telkom Indonesia for this report, but its contents are the
responsibilities of the authors.
We benefited from the insights and comments of five external

reviewers: Rudiantara, Commissioner of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk.;
Alexander Rusli, Independent Commissioner of Link Net;
Alex J. Sinaga, President Commissioner of PT Pos Indonesia
(Persero); Bayu Prawira Hie, Digital Transformation Expert; and
Onno W. Purbo, Vice-Rector, Institute Technology Tangerang
Selatan (ITTS).
We are grateful to Nizam, the interim Director General of Higher

Education, Research, and Technology, for feedback on digital skills
training and education; Hendra Suryakusuma, Chairman of the
Indonesia Data Center Association (IDPRO) for sharing his insights
on data centers in Indonesia; I Gede Darmayusa, a Director of PT XL
Axiata for comments on mobile- and fixed broadband network; Heru
Sutadi, Executive Director of Indonesia ICT Institute.
Contents Section 1
Introduction
4. 12.
Minister’s Why Does Digital
Note Infrastructure Matter?
8. 15.
In Brief What is Digital
Infrastrucutre?
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Section 2 Section 3
Hard Infrastructure Soft Infrastructure
20. 72.
The Hard Infrastructure Soft Infrastructure,
of the Future Human-centric Data
• Undersea cables in Indonesia Economy
• International undersea internet cables
• Network reliability
82.
Digital Skill Education
30.
Appraising Fixed
Broadband Reliability 95.
• Fixed broadband penetration in There Should be Limits
Indonesia on Personal Data
• Indonesia’s broadband availability • Protecting aggregate data
• Fixed broadband providers • Personal data protection
• Community initiatives
106.
39. Closing Remarks
Mobile Broadband
in the Ascendant
• Strong mobile growth
• 5G rollout
53.
Enhance Connectivity
under Soaring Satellites
• Indonesia satellites
60.
Data Center: Everything
under One Roof
• Data centers in Indonesia
• Designing national data centers
• Data center professionals
Minister’s
Note
Innovation and utilization of digital technology have become

an integral part of the Industry 4.0 and Society 4.0. Various
breakthroughs have fueled the acceleration of digital adaptation
during the pandemic as the tipping point. Data is a catalyst for quick
and accurate decision-making. Therefore, the presence of digital
infrastructure becomes a necessity for digital transformation.
The Covid-19 pandemic affected the current national development

in general but did not necessarily hinder the positive trajectory
of economic growth, thanks to technology adoption and digital
innovation. Since the pandemic began until the first half of 2021, the
number of digital service users has increased by 21 million, with 72
percent of them coming from non-urban area.
The digital sector also provides optimism for the recovery of the
national economy with resilient growth. The valuation of Indonesia’s
digital economy in 2021 is projected to reach $70 billion or more
than Rp 1,000 trillion. That makes Indonesia the country with the
largest digital economy valuation in Southeast Asia.
The various potentials related to demography and the digital

economy must be optimized under empowerment and inclusivity
principles. This commitment is contained in the Indonesia Digital
Nation Roadmap 2021–2024. Several digital infrastructure’s key
initiatives in the Indonesia Digital Nation Roadmap, including:
1. Increase access to 4G networks in the disadvantaged, frontier,

and outermost (3T) regions with the addition of BTS and the use
of the Palapa Ring,
2. Maximize digital dividend income from Analog TV to Digital TV
migration together with frequency rearrangement to strengthen
broadband networks,
3. Launch the 5G network, including fiberization.
The Ministry of Communication and Informatics organizes digital

infrastructure development with an accelerated schedule, including
mobile broadband and fixed broadband infrastructure in Indonesia.
One of them is migration of analog TV broadcasts to digital TV
by November 22, as part of an effort to rearrange the frequency
spectrum.
Johnny Gerald Plate
Minister of Telecommunication
and Informatics
The ministry also continues to deploy fiber optics as the backbone of

national connectivity. The ministry also encourages ICT infrastructure
provision by ensuring adequate internet access at public service points.
Also, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics will build the
National Data Center with tier-4 (the highest tier) cathegory in four
locations: Bekasi, Batam, the new capital, and Labuan Bajo.
The development of digital infrastructure has benefited various

sectors in Indonesia. In the government sector, it can facilitate quick
and data-driven regulations and policies formulation, backed by
solid data analytics. In the economic field, the development of digital
infrastructure also create level playing field for 64 million MSMEs and
Ultra Micros enterprises throughout Indonesia.
As G-20 chair, Indonesia encourages constructive cooperation agenda

through the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG), with three
priority proposition:
1. Connectivity and recovery post-Covid-19,

2. To strengthen digital skills and digital literacy,
3. To conduct discussions of cross-border data flow and free-flow data
with trust.
Various innovations in the digital technology sector continue to occur

rapidly and leave behind anyone who is not ready and not adaptive.
Therefore, the collaboration between the government, industry players,
media, and all components of society is needed to ensure the readiness
of Indonesia as an agile and resilient digital nation.
I appreciate the Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report in the Economic

Outlook 2022 event as a constructive contribution in guarding the
national digital acceleration, transformative movement. Let’s continue
increasing collaboration, establishing synergy, and creating harmony in
making “Connected Indonesia: More Digital, More Advanced”.
*) Abstracted from the opening remarks delivered at the launch event

of the Indonesia Infrastructure Digital Report on November 25, 2021.
Minister’s
Note
The World Bank estimates that Indonesia’s digital economy will

grow eightfold by 2030. Currently, we still lack millions of digital
talents to fulfill our aspirations to become a digital economy.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology

believes that we can meet this need by making drastic changes in
our education system. This drastic change is being pursued in our
priority programs, like Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Learn), schools’
digitization, and Kampus Merdeka (Freedom Campus). Under the
school digitization programs, we are currently focusing on two
initiatives:
1. Distribute various ICT equipment to schools, such as laptops,

internet routers, and projectors.
2. Develop digital educational platforms that help teachers and
schools improve the quality of learning.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we present a learning and sharing

platform for teachers or Guru Belajar dan Berbagi. This is a space for
teachers in Indonesia to learn from experience and good practices
in teaching. Teachers can also produce learning materials, lesson
plans, and modules to develop learning in the classroom. There are
currently 1.1 million subscribed teachers and nearly 200,000 posts on
the platform.
Along with the platform, we introduced School Procurement

Information System (SIPLah). This platform helps school principals to
make purchases and procure goods and services more securely and
accountably. This platform also supports MSMEs to provide goods
and services for schools to encourage economic development in the
communities.
Although many teachers and schools have already benefited from

the platform, we will continue to bring innovations in technology. At
the end of this year, we will launch an educational online application
to support teachers in developing their learning and career.
Nadiem Makarim
Minister of Education
We are also preparing our students to become digital talents. For

the first time in history, our students have the opportunity to study
outside their study program for three semesters and off-campus for
two of the three semesters. Students can choose a Kampus Merdeka
program according to their interests.
Kampus Merdeka’s flagship programs that support the rise

of digital talents are the certified internship program and the
certified independent study program. All this is done in technology
companies. By joining the Kampus Merdeka program, students
gain experience working in technology companies and experience
serving in the community.
This year, 302,000 students registered on the Kampus Merdeka

platform, with 47,550 students participating in the flagship program
and tens of thousands others participating in four other programs.
For next year, we are preparing an even bigger budget. That way we
can have more students to join the Kampus Merdeka program to
cover our digital talent needs.
Let’s strengthen our collaboration to prepare digital talent and build

Indonesia’s economy in the future by jointly realizing the Merdeka
Belajar and the Kampus Merdeka programs.
*) As delivered at the launch event of the Indonesia Infrastructure

Digital Report on November 25, 2021.
In Brief
Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest digital economy and one of
the largest in the Asia Pacific region. The country is expected to
continue to grow thanks to aggressive investment in digital services
infrastructure, regulatory support from the government, and a
concerted push in developing local digital talent.
• Even with the Covid-19 pandemic, the country with 270 million
people will generate $146 billion in the digital economy in
2025 from just $70 billion last year (Google, Temasek, and Bain
& Company, 2021). Many argue that the pandemic has even
accelerated digital adoption in the country. Today three in four
Indonesians use the internet. That is roughly equal to the country’s
entire adult population. There will be 196 million Indonesian
internet users in 2020, or 73 percent of the people, growing from
171 million in 2018 (APJII, 2020). That translates to roughly 1.400
new people going online for the first time every hour.
• Indonesia has invested in digital “hard” infrastructure in the past

few years and managed to cover most country with mobile and
fixed broadband networks. Today, 98 percent of the country’s
population is covered by mobile-cellular networks and at least
3G mobile internet networks. In addition, 96 percent of the
population live in areas with 4G networks available to them. All
the 514 cities and districts in Indonesia are now connected to a
high-speed fixed broadband network, thanks to the government
investment in marine cables to fill the gaps in the country’s most
remote areas.
• Indonesia is a mobile-first country as many people connect to

the internet for the first time through the smartphone. Today,
63 percent of the country’s population own mobile phones
compared to just 19 percent who own a computer at home.
Mobile-cellular subscription stand at 130 per 100 inhabitants, as
it’s not unusual for a person to have more than one subscription.
Thanks to the low cost of mobile-broadband subscriptions—
among the lowest in the Asia Pacific—most of the country’s
population subscribed to mobile broadband services.
8 Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report

• Fixed broadband adoption is growing but faces challenges,
particularly in terms of costs. The subscriptions have doubled to
more than 10.7 million in 2020, from just over 5.3 million in 2016.
Most of the subscribers, 89 percent, enjoy a speed of more than 10
Mbps. Still, relative to the population, Indonesia only has four fixed
broadband subscriptions per 100 people, compared to 14 in the
Asia Pacific region. The fixed broadband subscription costs almost
11 percent of GNI per capita in Indonesia. In comparison, the global
median cost is just above three percent.
• Indonesia relies on satellites to cover areas unreachable by

mobile or fixed broadband services. Today, eight satellites provide
telecommunication, broadcasting, internet connectivity and enable
financial services to remote locations across the country. The
government is building a new satellite, Satria, for launch in 2023,
dedicated to providing broadband services to schools and public
offices across the archipelago.
• The data center industry is booming in Indonesia, partly because

of growing e-commerce and digital platforms demand and the
government’s data localization requirement. The country now has
1,878 internet servers per one million people, increasing by 100 times
from 2015. According to one estimate, the country’s data center
market will grow to $3.1 billion in 2026 from $1.5 billion in 2020.
• The country also realizes that it may lack the digital talents needed
to develop its digital economy. Indonesia is estimated to have a
shortage of around 9 million digital talent by 2035. The government
is pushing a concerted effort by several ministries and the private
sector in providing digital education for the masses.
• Indonesia strives to ensure that it has an up-to-date regulatory

framework that is in-line with the growing trend of digital
development. The government discusses the Personal Data
Protection Bill to address the private sector’s massive up-take of
personal information. The bill stipulates the rights of personal data
owners and obligations of parties that control or process the data.
NOVEMBER 2021 9
Section 1
Introduction
NOVEMBER 2021 11
Why Does Digital
Infrastructure Matter?
According to several studies, Indonesia is slated to become one of
the largest digital economies in Asia. Indonesia’s internet economy
will likely reach $146 billion in value by 2025 from an estimated $70
billion this year, boosted by growth in e-commerce and an open
regulatory framework supportive of digital financial services. The
Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital adoption in the country,
with 21 million people, mainly coming from nonmetropolitan areas,
becoming digital consumers for the first time. (Google, Temasek,
and Bain & Company, 2020).
Today, three in four Indonesians use the internet. That is roughly

equal to the country’s entire adult population. There are 196 million
Indonesian internet users in 2020, or 73 percent of the population,
growing from 171 million in 2018 (APJII, 2020). That translates to
roughly 1.400 new people going online for the first time every hour.
Most of the users are young, in their 30s, reflecting Indonesia’s

enormous potential for a digital transformation which will have
wide-ranging impact on business and social models, established
markets, and will also disrupt the lives of millions of citizens.
Still, questions linger on how the country will build enough digital
infrastructure and muster sufficient capability to support the
transformation. Digital infrastructure encompasses vast arrays
of hardware and physical networks, talent pools, and rules and
regulations.
Indonesian internet consumption is blessed with one of the lowest

data prices in Southeast Asia. But that is also a curse as it comes
with the slowest internet speed in the region. First, Indonesia’s
international bandwidth is small compared to its internet users’
size. Many multinational companies depend on mirror servers in
Indonesia to increase perceived speed. The domestic bandwidth
problem will mostly been taken care of over the next few years, as
the government laid submarine cables for its Palapa Ring project
almost two years ago (Jakarta Globe, 2019).

Still, that leads to the second issue, the last mile problem. Only a
fraction of Indonesia’s households have fiber optic cables, and most
cities in Indonesia do not have fiber optics infrastructure yet.
Thankfully, recent investments have allowed users of all five major

mobile operators to connect to the 4G network 90 percent of the
time (Opensignal, 2020), compared to 35 percent five years ago
(McKinsey, 2016).
It is on the side of soft infrastructure for the digital

economy that Indonesia lacks. With most of its
1.400 new working population not having higher education
beyond junior high school, digital talents are hard
people going to come by. That may hinder the availability of
support services necessary to maintain the digital
online for industry.
the first time Secondly, digital security and privacy are growing
every hour issues in the country. While hoaxes and slander
cases dominate headlines, online fraud accounts
for most crimes in the digital space over the past
five years. The National Police cybercrime data
showed there are four fraud cases for each defamation case in the
country. The police’s digital space success rate was also poor, with
only half of the issues resolved (Patroli Siber, 2020).
The 2020 Law on Job Creation (Omnibus Law) also provides

some leeway to network operators to join their network, allowing
for a more efficient capital expenditure. The law also opens up
a frequency spectrum previously reserved for analog TV for
broadband services.
NOVEMBER 2021 13
What is digital infrastructure?
Digital infrastructure is the backbone required to reap the benefits
of the digital economy and society. A healthy infrastructure
ecosystem promotes economic growth, increases economic
competitiveness, and facilitates international trade.
The productive use of infrastructure can reduce global infrastructure

costs by 40 percent, or $1 trillion annually, boosting economic growth
by three percent or more than $3 trillion by 2030 (Bailey et al. 2014).
Inadequate infrastructure in developing countries has been a major

hindrance to economic growth. Across the Asia-Pacific region, there
are major infrastructure access, quality, and affordability gaps, as the
region experiences population growth and urbanization. The Asian
Development Bank estimated that between 2016 and 2030, the Asia-
Pacific region will require $22.6 trillion in infrastructure investment
or $1.5 trillion per year. This figure rises to $26 trillion if the $1.7 trillion
annual investment for climate change mitigation is included (ADB
2017). The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) estimated for
digital infrastructure needs until 2030, the region needs to double
its investment to $400-750 billion per year from just around $200
billion today.
In its broadest definition, infrastructure describes the

interconnectedness of organizational structures that enable society
to function effectively. Infrastructure is also defined as all material,
institutional, personal, and data infrastructure available to economic
agents that contributes to the realization and equalization of
comparable inputs’ remuneration (Jochimsen 1966).
Institutional, personal, and material infrastructure are three sub-

categories of infrastructure. The government provides institutional
infrastructure, including rules and procedures for implementing and
activating economic agents’ potential, which depend on the size and
characteristics of the population. Material infrastructure is capital
stock that mobilizes agents’ economic potential (Buhr 2003).
SHUTTERSTOCK/LITTLE PIG STUDIO
NOVEMBER 2021 15
This paper analyzes both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ infrastructure. Hard digital
infrastructure refers to the hardware and supporting institutions
that enable end-to-end digital communication. Hard infrastructure
includes the following:
Network • Internet backbone in addition to national

and trans-oceanic fiber connections, the
Internet backbone includes analog coaxial
and optical fiber cable networks.
• Fixed broadband infrastructure.
• Mobile internet. Infrastructure and
networks for mobile communications,
such as fixed wireless access (FWA),
transmission towers, and other
infrastructure.
• Satellites for high-speed Internet access;
Cloud Data storage and cloud computing

infrastructure
Personal devices Equipment for end-users such as mobile

phones, personal computers (PCs), dial-up
modems, local Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth networks.
Meanwhile, soft infrastructure includes human capital that is used

to deliver services using hard infrastructure as well as building and
maintaining the infrastructure.
The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 discusses the hard

infrastructure, and Section 3 outlines the digital talents needed and
their role in digitalization, in addition to a overview of the country’s
discourse on personal data regulations.
REFERENCE
• ADB. 2017. Meeting Asia’s Infrastructure Needs. Manila. © ADB.
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/227496/special-report-infrastructure.pdf
• AIIB. 2020. Digital Infrastructure Sector Analysis. Jan 10, 2020.
https://www.aiib.org/en/policies-strategies/operational-policies/digital-infrastructure-strategy/.content/_
download/Full-DISA-Report_final-with-Appendix-2020-01-10.pdf
• Bailey, M and R Palter. 2014. ‘The Infrastructure Solution’.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/martin-n--baily-and-robert-paltermake-the-case-for-a-
smarter-approach-to-the-planning-and-management-of-projects#csiQR7w1tGRQj pIH.99
• Buhr, W. 2003. What is infrastructure?, Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge, No. 107-03, Universität
Siegen, Fakultät III, Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Wirtschaftsinformatik und Wirtschaftsrecht, Siegen
• Jochimsen, R (1966), Theory of Infrastructure, Foundations of Market Economy Development, JCB, Mohr
(Paul Siebeck), Tubingen.

INDUSTRY 4.0
Automated System Simulation Augmented Big Data Internet Artiﬁcial

Robots Integration Reality of Things Intelligence
BTS
School
Colocation
Center
Landing
Station
National
Border
Government
ISP/IDC/OTT/
Private Network
Submarine Fiber Built Last Mile Fiber International

BACKBONE Cable by Provider Built by Connectivity
Company Customers
NOVEMBER 2021 17
Section 2
Hard
Infrastructure
NOVEMBER 2021 19
Infrastructure
of the Future
Maximising Availability of
Subsea Connectivity
Submarine cables have become a major economic factor in the last
35 years. Without submarine cables, it is difficult to imagine how the
current global economy can function.
Almost all internet traffic travels via submarine wires. Cisco predicts
that by 2023, two-thirds of the world’s population will be online.
Global internet users are expected to grow by 1.4 billion by 2023, to
5.3 billion (Cisco, 2021).
The surge in data demand, driven by bandwidth-intensive

applications like video and cloud services, is also driving submarine
cable deployments. Due to satellite data services’ low bandwidth
and high latency, underwater fiber optic cables are the only viable
option.
Around 406 submarine cable systems exist or are planned globally.

The internet giants own and operate most of the submarine cables.
For example, Google Inc. invested $300 million in 2014 in a trans-
Pacific underwater fiber optic cable. MAREA, the trans-Atlantic
submarine cable, involved Facebook and Microsoft. Google and
Facebook joined forces to fund the Apricot project, a submarine
cable network connecting Japan, Singapore, and other Asian
countries (Submarine Cable Map, 2021).
SUBMARINE CABLES IN INDONESIA
In Indonesia, telecommunication companies own and operate

networks of undersea cables. Telkom is one of the owners as well as
backbone operators in Indonesia. In the January-June 2021 period,
Telkom extended its fiber-optic network to 1,898 km. Until the end
of June 2021, the length of Telkom’s underwater fiber-optic network
reached 169,833 km, 310 times the straight-line distance from
Sabang, Indonesia’s westernmost town, to the country’s farthest
eastern point, Merauke.
Several years ago, the undersea cable landing points had yet to
reach the most remote areas, as the locations were not profitable
for the companies to invest hefty amounts on such expensive
infrastructure.

So, the Indonesian government stepped in to build the backbone
infrastructure using the public-private partnership scheme. Starting
operations in 2019, Palapa Ring, the name of the backbone network,
is divided into three segments: Palapa Ring East, Palapa Ring
Middle, and Palapa Ring West.
US
SEA rica
SE me
to AME to A
Eu W
rop E-3
e
Indonesia Digital Network
Indonesia
Global Ga
teway
Telkom had successfully

connected a total of
458 district capitals 26 data centers Digital platform
in Indonesia Domestic and overseas 1. Big Data & Analytics
2. API Factory
169,833 km total of 3. Internet of Things
fiber optic from Sabang
to Merauke. Equal to
4 times Earth Mobile Network
Circumference
Fiber optic
coverage 99% acces network
Total satellite capacity 385 K
of Indonesia's have 8.3 Million access points
109 Transponders population subscribers
Note: Company data as of H1 2021

SOURCE: SUBMARINE CABLE MAP, TELKOM, BERITASATU RESEARCH
The role and contribution of TelkomGroup cannot be separated from the development of connectivity
and comprehensive internet penetration in Indonesia. TelkomGroup also contributes in creating a digital
environment through the development of communication infrastructure. Such as the construction of optical
cable-based broadband backbone based on optical cable together with the construction of fixed broadband
and mobile broadband networks.
More over, TelkomGroup also utilizes satellite technology to offer faster internet speeds in remote areas.
The corporation also seeks to strengthen its network through the use of Mangoesky VSAT which can reach
the outermost, underdeveloped and remote areas or 3T. Efforts are being made to narrow digital access
throughout Indonesia.
Following the digital hub implementation through the Indonesia Global Gateway, TelkomGroup seeks to be
able to contribute in making Indonesia Digital Sovereignty. Only in this way can we create a digital society and
accelerate digital economy.
NOVEMBER 2021 21
Palapa Ring East, which is 6,878 km long, covers 51 service and
interconnection cities or districts within four provinces in eastern
Indonesia, namely East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, Papua, and West
Papua.
Stretching for 3,113.28 km—divided into land-based fiber optics

and submarine cables—Palapa Ring Middle covers 27 cities and
regencies. Completed at the end of 2018, the investment value of
the Palapa Ring Middle had reached Rp 1.38 trillion. Palapa Ring
West, which serves connections between the islands of Sumatra and
Kalimantan, is 1,980 km long with an investment value of Rp 3.48
trillion.
Through the public service agency (BLU), the Ministry of

Communication and Informatics Bakti will build a 12,083-km
integrated network in 2022 – 2024 to connect the western, central,
and eastern Palapa Ring systems.
In the 2020 Fiscal Year Work Plan, the Ministry of Communication

and Informatics said that they aim to target 100 percent of the total
514 cities and regencies to be connected to the national fiber-optic
backbone network. The same percentage applies to the target
number of cities or districts served by 4G broadband access at the
Long Term Evolution (LTE) level or 4G LTE. The ministry targets the
price of broadband services to be at five percent of the GNI per
capita or lower.
The International Telecommunication Union reports mobile data

and voice (high consumption) costs fell to 2.43 percent of Indonesia’s
gross national income (GNI) per capita in 2020, from 2.88 percent in
2018. Over the three years, mobile data and voice (low consumption)
costs also dropped to 1.33 percent of GNI per capita, from 1.47
percent. On the other hand, prices for fixed and mobile broadband
are increasing. Fixed broadband cost rose to 10.9 percent of GNI
from 6.0 percent over the three years, while mobile broadband rose
to 1.33 percent of GNI. Overall, Indonesia’s ICT costs are still slightly
above the ITU’s affordability target of two percent of GNI.

SHUTTERSTOCK/CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT
INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE INTERNET CABLES
In March 2021 Telkom (through its subsidiary Telin), Keppel

Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd., and Facebook
announced their investment in Bifrost submarine cable projects.
The consortium for the 15,000 km international submarine cable
network have yet to confirm the location of their landing points.
However, Bifrost’s landing points will likely be in three countries—
Indonesia, Singapore, and the US.
Then in April 2021 PT XL Axiata Tbk. (XL) said that they invested in the
Echo submarine cable projects. Echo is planned to be completed in
the third quarter of 2023. The landing points for the 17,184 km fiber-
optic network will be located in four countries (Indonesia, Palau,
Singapore, and the US). Echo is owned by Facebook and Alphabet
Inc.—the parent company of Google Inc.
Echo and Bifrost are included in the North America-Indonesia-

Singapore Undersea Communication System. Another network
included in this system is SEA-US, a cable system with a capacity
of 20 Tbps. The network with an investment value of more than
$250 million has landing points in Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam,
Hawaii, and LA which extended to Micronesia and Palau.
NOVEMBER 2021 23
Submarine Communication Cable System
connected to Indonesia
Length Bandwidth Landing Ready for

Cable Name Owner(s)
Capacity Country(s) Service
AT&T, Altice Portugal, BICS, BT, CTM,

China Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom,
Cyta, Deutsche Telekom, Djibouti
Telecom, Embratel, Etisalat, Indosat Australia, Belgium,
Ooredoo, Jabatan Telecom Brunei, Brunei, China, Cyprus,
KDDI, KPN, KT, LG Uplus, Maroc Djibouti, Egypt,
Telecom, Myanmar Post and France, Greece,
Telecommunication (MPT), National Indonesia, Italy,
Telecom, OTEGLOBE, Omantel, Japan, Malaysia,
Orange, Orange Polska, PCCW, PLDT, Morocco, Myanmar,
Pakistan Telecommunications Oman, Pakistan,
390,000 36,000
SeaMeWe-3 Company Ltd., Rostelecom, Saudi Philippines, Portugal, 1999
km Gbps
Telecom, Singtel, Singtel Optus, Saudi Arabia,
Softbank Corp, Sri Lanka Telecom, Tata Singapore, South
Communications, Telecom Argentina, Korea, Sri Lanka,
Telecom Egypt, Telecom Italia Sparkle, Taiwan, Thailand,
Telekom Austria, Telekom Malaysia, Turkey, United Arab
Telkom South Africa, Telstra, Tunisia Emirates, UK,
Telecom, Turk Telekom, Turk Telekom Vietnam
International, Ukrtelecom, VNPT
International, Verizon, Vocus
Communications, Vodafone
Australia- Australia, Christmas

25,000
Singapore Vocus Communications 4,600 km Gbps
Island, Indonesia, 2018
Cable Singapore
Australia’s Academic and

Australia,
Research Network (AARNET), 25,000
INDIGO-West 4,600 km Indonesia, 2019
Google, Indosat Ooredoo, Singtel, Gbps Singapore
Superloop, Telstra
Bangladesh Submarine Cable

Company Limited (BSCCL), China
Mobile, China Telecom, China Bangladesh,
Unicom, Djibouti Telecom, Djibouti, Egypt,
Myanmar Post and France, Indonesia,
Telecommunication (MPT), Italy, Malaysia,
Ooredoo, Orange, Saudi Telecom, 24,000 Myanmar, Oman,
SeaMeWe-5 20,000 km Gbps 2016
Singtel, Sri Lanka Telecom, Pakistan, Saudi
TeleYemen, Telecom Egypt, Arabia, Singapore,
Telecom Italia Sparkle, Telekom Sri Lanka, Turkey,
Malaysia, Telkom Indonesia, United Arab
TransWorld, Turk Telekom Emirates, Yemen
International
Indonesia,
GTA TeleGuam, Globe Telecom, 20,000
SEA-US 14,500 km Micronesia, Palau, 2017
Hawaiian Telcom, RTI, Telin Gbps Philippines, US
US, Philippines,
15,000 Indonesia, 2024
Bifrost Telin, Facebook, Keppel T&T 15,000 km Gbps Singapore
Matrix Cable 640 Indonesia,

Matrix Networks Pte. Ltd. 1,055 km 2008
System Gbps Singapore
Jakarta-Bangka
-Bintan-Batam- 380 Indonesia,
Moratelindo 1,031 km 2012
Singapore Cable Gbps Singapore
System

Length Bandwidth Landing Ready for
Cable Name Owner(s)
Capacity Country(s) Service
Jakarta-Bangka-
380 Indonesia,
Batam-Singapore Triasmitra 759 km 2013
Gbps Singapore
Cable System
Jawa-Kalimantan
-Batam-Singapore 160 Indonesia,
Indosat Ooredo 1,330 km 2009
Cable System Gbps Singapore
(Jakabare)
160 Indonesia,
PGASCOM PGASCOM 264 km 2003
Gbps Singapore
Moratelindo
160 Indonesia,
International Moratelindo 70 km 2008
Gbps Singapore
Cable System-1
Batam Dumai
Moratelindo, 80 Indonesia,
Melaka Cable 353 km 2009
Telekom Malaysia Gbps Malaysia
System
Batam 80 Indonesia,
Singapore Telkom Indonesia 73 km 2009
Gbps Singapore
Cable System
Dumai-Melaka Telekom Malaysia, 20 Indonesia,

159 km Gbps 2005
Cable System Telkom Indonesia Malaysia
Batam-Rengit 10 Indonesia,
Xl Axiata 64 km 2007
Cable System Gbps Malaysia
Indonesia,
Echo Facebook, Google 17,184 km - Singapore, 2023
US, Palau
Kumul Domestic
Indonesia,
Submarine PNG DataCo Limited 5,457 km - 2019
Papua Nugini
Cable System
Indonesia Global
Indonesia,
Gateway (IGG) Telin, Telkom Indonesia 5,300 km - 2018
Singapore
System
East-West
Indonesia,
Submarine Sacofa 950 km - 2004
Malaysia
Cable System
Indonesia,
SEAX-1 SEAX 250 km - Malaysia, 2018
Singapore
Total Bandwidth
147,070 gigabytes per second equal to 147.07 terabytes per second
Capacity
SOURCE: SUBMARINE CABLE MAP, TELEGEOGRAPHY, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 25
NETWORK RELIABILITY
Multiple submarine cable networks increase Internet reliability in

Indonesia, providing rerouting alternatives when a cable may face
natural or man-made disasters that can cut off some regions from
the internet.
These cables are built to be durable and reliable, but they are not
infallible. When a submarine cable is broken, it can take weeks for a
new one to be built and installed. That leaves some regions with no
access to the internet whatsoever while others experience slower
speeds because data has to travel further distances before reaching
its destination.
So far this year, Indonesia experienced at least four submarine cable

outages. Jasuka, an underwater fiber optic cable network owned by
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or Telkom, was damaged
in September 2021. The damage had disrupted the connection of
Indihome, Telkom’s fixed broadband product, and Telkomsel, the
mobile broadband network of the State-Owned Enterprise. (Investor
Daily, 2021). Jasuka, a 10,860 km network with 14 landing points in 14
cities and regencies on Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan, had never
previously experienced critical damage since it started operating in
2006.

Ko -3
rea
uth EWE
to EAM
So
S
st
f ro S
Bi o U
EWE-3 t
SEAM pe
to Euro
Submarine
Cable Map
Cable Bandwidth Landing

Name Capacity Points
SeaMeWe-3 Perth, Ancol,

(backbone 36.000 Medan, Penang,
Asia Tenggara) Gbps Batangas -
Luzon Island,
1999
Tuas
Ambon, Bandarenia,
Fakfak, Kendari,
SMPCS
32.000 Labuha, Manado,
Packet-1
Gbps Masohi, Namlea,
2015 Sanana, Sofifi,
Sorong, Ternate
Bandar Lampung,
Batam, Baturaja,
Dumai, Jakarta, Jambi,
Medan, Padang,
JASUKA 17.000 Palembang, Pekanbaru,
2006 Gbps Pontianak, Rantau Prapat,
Sibolga, Tanjung Pakis,
Tanjung Pandan,
Tebing Tinggi,
Bandar Bukit Tinggi
Bifrost 15.000 Jakarta, Davao,

2024 Gbps Singapore, US
SOURCE: SUBMARINE CABLE MAP, TELEGEOGRAPHY, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 27
Submarine Cable Segment Damage
that connected to Indonesia
B2JS SMPCS JAKABARE JASUKA

Cable System Packet-2 Indosat Ooredo Telkom Indonesia
Triasmitra Telkom Indonesia April 2021 September 2021
February 2021 April 2021
Area of Fault Area of Fault Area of Fault Area of Fault

Ancol-Bangka Biak-Sarmi (Papua) Changi, Singapore Batam
Affected Area
Affected Area Affected Area Jawa Timur, Bali,
Affected Area
Jakarta, Bangka, Jawa, Kalimantan, Kep. Nusa Tenggara,
Jayapura (Papua)
Batam, Singapura Batam, Singapore Sulawesi, Maluku,
and Papua
Affected Sevices Affected Sevices Affected Sevices Affected Sevices

Internet in SKKL line Telephone, SMS, LinkNet, First Media IndiHome, Telkomsel
Telkomsel
Causes Causes Causes Causes

Unknown Natural hazard Natural hazard Unknown
SOURCE: TELKOMSEL, INDOSAT, NATIONAL MEDIA, BERITASATU RESEARCH
In April, SMPCS Packet-2 was damaged due to natural hazard,

causing disruptions to Telkom’s fixed and mobile broadband in
Papua (Investor Daily, 2021). In the same month, Jakabare cable
network operated by Indosat broke down, also due to natural hazard,
affecting several internet service providers (ISP) including Link Net.
(Kompas, 2021). B2JS, a 759 km network connecting Jakarta, Bintan,
Bangka, Batam, and Singapore, experienced an outage in February
(Detik, 2021).

REFERENCE
• “Cisco Annual Internet Report - Cisco Annual Internet Report (2018–2023) White
Paper.” Cisco. www.cisco.com, March 9, 2020.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/executive-perspectives/annual-
internet-report/white-paper-c11-741490.html.
• “SubmarineCableMap2021.” SubmarineCableMap2021. submarine-cable-
map-2021.telegeography.com. Accessed Oct 1, 2021.
• Submarine Networks. 2021. “Echo - Submarine Networks.” www.
submarinenetworks.com. Accessed October 23, 2021.
https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/systems/trans-pacific/echo.
https://submarine-cable-map-2021.telegeography.com/.
• Toarik, Mashud. “Gangguan Kabel Laut Jasuka, Telkom Sebut Perbaikan
Rampung Pertengahan Oktober.” investor.id. investor.id. Accessed October 1, 2021.
https://investor.id/it-and-telecommunication/264720/gangguan-kabel-laut-jasuka-
telkom-sebut-perbaikan-rampungnbsppertengahan-oktober.
• Olavia, L. “Telkom Percepat Perbaikan Kualitas Layanan Di Jayapura.” investor.id.
investor.id, May 1, 2021.
https://investor.id/national/telkom-percepat-perbaikan-kualitas-layanan-di-jayapura.
• Liputan6.com, and A M Damar. “Layanan First Media Kembali Pulih Usai
Gangguan Kabel Internet Bawah Laut - Tekno Liputan6.com.” liputan6.com. www.
liputan6.com, April 8, 2021.
https://www.liputan6.com/tekno/read/4526759/layanan-first-media-kembali-pulih-
usai-gangguan-kabel-internet-bawah-laut.
• Media, Kompas Cyber. “Kabel Fiber Optik Indonesia-Singapura Putus.” KOMPAS.
com. tekno.kompas.com, February 19, 2021.
https://tekno.kompas.com/read/2021/02/19/18500097/kabel-fiber-optik-indonesia-
singapura-putus.
• Jati, A S, and V M Putri. “Jaringan Fiber Optik Jakarta-Singapura Putus, Internet
Terganggu.” Detik.com. February 19, 2021.
https://inet.detik.com/telecommunication/d-5385866/jaringan-fiber-optik-jakarta-
singapura-putus-internet-terganggu.
NOVEMBER 2021 29
Appraising Fixed Broadband Reliability
Fixed broadband is the wired technology that delivers high-speed
internet access over a fixed cable or fiber-optic connection. Fixed
broadband penetration has been increasing steadily in most regions
around the globe.
High-speed broadband allows customers to enjoy many benefits,

i.e., triple-play offerings. These packages offer voice, data, and
multichannel video services to customers over one network. Internet
service providers can provide other services such as home security
and smart grid energy monitoring. That has significant advantages
for both businesses and consumers because it cuts down on
installation costs and ensures all services are delivered seamlessly.
A World Bank study noted that a ten percentage point increase in

fixed broadband penetration could increase the gross domestic
product (GDP) by 1.21 percent in developed countries. In developing
countries, the growth is up to 1.38 percent. Meanwhile, every ten
percent strengthening of fixed broadband points can increase GDP
per capita by 1.19 percent in developed countries and 1.35 percent in
developing countries (World Bank, 2016).
SHUTTERSTOCK/CHAAY TEE

FIXED BROADBAND PENETRATION IN INDONESIA
Fixed broadband adoption in Indonesia is growing. The

subscriptions have doubled to more than 10.7 million in 2020, from
just over 5.3 million in 2016 (ITU, 2021). Indihome, Telekomunikasi
Indonesia’s fixed broadband business line, the largest fixed
broadband service in Indonesia, now serves 8.3 million customers in
496 cities and regencies in Indonesia (Telkom, 2021).
In terms of quality, Indonesia’s fixed broadband subscribers may

enjoy a level of service comparable to some of its peers in the region.
Most of the fixed broadband subscribers in Indonesia (89 percent)
enjoy a speed of more than 10 Mbps on their service (ITU, 2020). That
is higher than Malaysia (83 percent). Countries like China, Japan, or
Thailand enjoy more than 10 Mbps on more than 90 percent of their
broadband services.
Fixed broadband penetration in Indonesia is still low. Relative to the

population, Indonesia only has four fixed broadband subscribers
per 100 people, compared to the Asia Pacific region’s median of 14
subscribers. Indonesia is better than India, which registered only 1.6
percent fixed broadband penetration, or Pakistan (1.1 percent). Still,
it is far behind its neighbor Malaysia, which reported more than ten
fixed broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants last year. South
Korea has the highest penetration ratio in the region, with 43.5
subscribers per 100 people, followed by Hong Kong (38.3 subscribers)
and Australia (35 subscribers).
Fixed broadband penetration in the country faces challenges,

particularly in terms of costs. The Indonesian government, under
the 2014-2019 Broadband Roadmap, set a target to reduce the
broadband cost to five percent of GNI per capita (Kominfo, 2014).
The country achieved the target for mobile broadband, but

missed for fixed broadband. Today, fixed broadband subscription
costs almost 11 percent of monthly GNI per capita in Indonesia. In
comparison, the global median cost is just above three percent.
According to the UN Broadband Commission on Sustainable
Development, the price for broadband access in developing
countries should not exceed two percent of monthly GNI per capita.
That ensures that half of the world population—mostly from low-
income groups—can afford and access the internet (ITU, 2018).
NOVEMBER 2021 31
Fixed Broadband Subscribers per 100 Inhabitants
in Asia Paciﬁc by selected country, 2020
0 10 20 30 40 50
South Korea
Hong Kong, China
Australia
Japan
China
Singapore
Viet Nam
Thailand
Brunei Darussalam
Maldives
Iran
Malaysia
Mongolia
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Indonesia
India
Pakistan
Vanuatu
Bhutan
Kiribati
Afghanistan
Timor-Leste
SOURCE: ITU 2020, BERITASATU RESEARCH

Owning internet-connected home devices, like desktop PCs, has
been shown as one of determining factors for a household to adopt
fixed broadband service (Choudrie et al., 2004). Yet, laptops, smart
TVs, or streaming devices are still relatively expensive in Indonesia,
presenting another barrier for fixed broadband adoption. The
price of a desktop PC averages at $441, higher than the country’s
monthly per capita income, and only one in 100 Indonesians buy a
desktop PC each year. The cheapest laptop costs about $198, while
a television with a streaming device fetches around $268 for a set.
(Statista, 2021).
In comparison, one can buy a 4G enabled smartphone for as low

as $28 apiece. Expensive devices, coupled with high subscriptions
fees, may discourage Indonesian customers from opting for fixed
broadband (Statista, 2021).
INDONESIA’S BROADBAND AVAILABILITY
Indonesia’s low fixed broadband penetration can be tracked down

to its low fixed-line telephone penetration. Even at its peak a decade
ago, only 16.9 percent of the country’s population had fixed-line
telephone connections. When affordable mobile telephone service
arrived in early 2000, the importance of having landlines decreased
among Indonesians. Today, only 3.6 percent of the country’s
population has a fixed-line telephone connection, and this number
is expected to continue to trend downwards in the near future.
Low fixed-line telephone penetration has made it harder for local

operators to convert household customers to fixed broadband
subscribers. Indonesia telephone operators or internet service
providers had to start from a low number of customers. Indonesia’s
starting point differs from the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, which
were able to upgrade their existing fixed-line telephone subscribers
to fiber to the home (FTTH) services. Residential internet access in
those countries began with dial-up connections. Analog voice lines
were converted to internet protocol data packets, which were then
routed to internet connections. Dial-up connectivity eliminated the
need for costly wireline last-mile improvements. It had modest data
rates (up to 56 kbps) and required a phone call to join. Operators
began installing always-on broadband connections in the late 1990s
to replace narrowband access. Dial-up had a significant market
share in the US by the early 2000s, but broadband had surpassed it
(OECD, 2014).
NOVEMBER 2021 33
Ratio of Households Served by Fixed Broadband
and Level of Urbanization
by province, 2019
90 DKI
Jakarta
80
70
Fixed Broadband Coverage (%)
60
50
North
Kalimantan
40
30 Riau
Indonesia
Islands
East
Nusa West
20 Tenggara Java
10
North
Sulawesi
0
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Urbanization Level (%)
SOURCE: ITU 2020, BERITASATU RESEARCH

Fixed broadband availability in Indonesia is skewed toward the
urban area. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS, 2020)
showed the percentage of homes passed by fixed broadband
networks in Jakarta reached 82 percent, far higher than the national
average of just 15 percent.
North Kalimantan is the province with the second largest fixed

broadband, with a coverage ratio of 34 percent. East Nusa Tenggara
has a coverage ratio of 12.5 percent despite almost three in four
households in the province being in rural areas. In contrast, less
than one percent of households in North Sulawesi have a fixed
broadband network passing their homes. That, despite the
urbanization level in the province is close to the national average of
56 percent.
The discrepancies in fixed broadband penetration among urban

areas may also stem from permit issues that companies face when
trying to expand their inner- and inter-city fiber optics network.
BeritaSatu Research’s discussion with industry players reveal that
licensing for installing fiber optics often differs from one region to
the next, making it difficult for companies to extend their reach
across regions.
This problem also affects the overall fixed broadband network speed.
The average fixed broadband speed in Indonesia was only slightly
above the mobile broadband speed. High-speed internet of above
50 Mbps are only available in select urban centers.
NOVEMBER 2021 35
FIXED BROADBAND PROVIDERS
The fixed broadband service in Indonesia is dominated by state-

owned telecom company PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk., with around
77.5 percent market share last year. The company’s Indihome service
passes about 22 million houses, more than eight times its closest
rival Link Net, which reported 2.68 million homes passed in 2020
(Link Net, 2021).
Other companies like Biznet, MNC Play, or MyRepublic strive in an

urban area, offering business and home subscribers alike high-
speed internet up service combined with cable TV service. Their
penetration, however, is still behind the two market leaders. MNC
Play had around 1.5 million homes passed last year, followed by
Biznet (800,000) and MyRepublic (775,000).
Telecommunication and mobile operators also participate in the

fixed broadband market. Telkom, the parent company of Telkomsel,
launched a fixed broadband product called Telkomnet Instant,
which was later changed to Speedy and IndiHome. Indosat offers
Broadband Business as its fixed broadband product. Meanwhile, XL
Axiata targets the family internet market through XL Home and XL
Satu Fiber.
Hundreds of small internet service providers (ISPs) spring up in small

cities across the country to serve their close-knit communities. The
latest report (BPS, 2021) showed that there were 473 internet service
providers in Indonesia last year, growing 9.02 percent annually from
298 companies in 2016.

Broadband Speed Indicator
Indonesia, several G20 and Asean members
Fixed broadband Mobile broadband
27.0 Mbps
Indonesia
22.0 Mbps
United
199.0
State of
America 96.3
193.2
China
163.5
93.4
Russia
28.2
95.8
England
80.8
Japan
180.4
61.3
62.5
India
18.0
Malaysia
73.0
23.7
Singapore
188.1
68.3
Thailand 173.4
31.4
Philippines 45.5
18.2
SOURCE: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATICS

SPEEDTEST GLOBAL INDEX, BERITASATU RESEARCH,
NOVEMBER 2021 37
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
Since 2016, the government has allowed local communities

to explore and conduct trials for any telecommunications,
information technology and broadcasting technologies in their
area. Under the 2016 Ministerial Decree about Technology trial on
Telecommunications, Information Technology and Broadcasting,
anyone can deploy and operate any telecommunication technology
under a limited, non-commercial trial-period as long as they submit
the operation proposal to the ministry (Purbo O., 2016).
Before the regulation, only companies or cooperatives could deploy

and operate such technology after securing licenses. The decree
liberated local communities, for example, to install wireless mobile
service using OpenBTS or install fixed broadband networks in their
area, without having to wait for any commercial entity.
One such community initiatives is the fiber-optic network in

Ciptagelar Village in West Java. To reach the 600-year old traditional
village, one needs to ride a four-wheel-drive car for two to three
hours. But, they will arrive in a village that has decent fiber optic
internet. The village began installing an internet network in 2019
with help from Common Room Networks Foundation and a local
ISP, Awinet (Common Room, 2020).
REFERENCE
• BPS. 2021. Telecommunication Statistics in Indonesia 2020.
https://www.bps.go.id/publication/2021/10/11/e03aca1e6ae93396ee660328/statistik-telekomunikasi-
indonesia-2020.html
• “Badan Pusat Statistik.” Badan Pusat Statistik. www.bps.go.id. 22 June 2021.
https://www.bps.go.id/indicator/2/2015/1/persentase-pelanggan-terlayani-jaringan-internet-akses-tetap-
pitalebar-fixed broadband-terhadap-total-rumah-tangga-menurut-provinsi.html.
• Dayu A. 2020 “Pengembangan Jaringan Internet Berbasis Komunitas Di Wilayah Kasepuhan Ciptagelar
– Common Room Networks Foundation.” Pengembangan Jaringan Internet Berbasis Komunitas di
Wilayah Kasepuhan Ciptagelar – Common Room Networks Foundation. commonroom.info, April 10,
2020.
https://commonroom.info/pengembangan-jaringan-internet-berbasis-komunitas-di-wilayah-kasepuhan-
ciptagelar/.
• Link Net. 2021. PT Link Net Tbk 1Q21 Company Presentation.
https://ir.linknet.co.id/static-files/15414120-01e4-4f9e-a31b-b964c7c1cd92
• Choudri J, Dwivedi KD. “Analysing the Factors Of Broadband Adoption In the Household..”
ResearchGate. www.researchgate.net, June 14, 2004.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221408703_Analysing_the_factors_of_broadband_adoption_in_
the_household.
• OECD. 2014. “The Development of Fixed Broadband Networks”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 239,
OECD Publishing. doi: 10.1787/5jz2m5mlb1q2-en
• Onno W. Purbo, “Narrowing the digital divide,” in Edwin Jurriëns, Ross Tapsell (eds.), Digital Indonesia:
Connectivity and Divergence, Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2017.
• World Bank. 2016. Exploring the Relationship Between Broadband and Economic Growth.
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/ 178701467988875888/pdf/102955-WP-Box394845B-PUBLIC-
WDR16-BP-Exploring-the-Relationship-between-Broadband-and-Economic-Growth-Minges.pdf

Mobile Broadband
in the Ascendant
In contrast to fixed broadband services,

mobile broadband networks are now
available to virtually all Indonesian
populations. The latest data from
International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) showed 96 percent of Indonesia’s
population could be connected to at least
4G networks in 2020, a steep increase from
2015 when the connection was only at 5
percent. The share of the population with a
3G network is 98 percent, similar to cellular
network coverage. (ITU, 2021)
The growing number of base transceiver

stations (BTS) towers across the country
supported the improved 4G connection.
Indonesia added more than 2.500 BTS
towers in 2020 to 37,570, growing 7.15
percent from a year earlier. The quality of
existing towers has also improved, with
the number of towers with poor signals
dropping 16 percent to 3,488 last year from
2,927 towers a year earlier.
Still, many customers often experience

subpar mobile internet services. The
strength of the signal received by each
customer may depend not only on BTS’s
transmitting power but also the customer’s
location, elevation, distance, geography,
region contour, and direction toward the
towers.
Real-time data from OpenSignal still

shows many areas with inadequate mobile
JAKARTA GLOBE/DHANA KENCANA
internet coverage. Even in Java, the island

with the most BTS towers, customers can
experience inconsistent 4G or 3G services.
NOVEMBER 2021 39
Base Transceiver Stations in Indonesia
Signal Ability
Number of BTS 2019 2020
Province 2019 2020 Strong Poor No Signal
East Java 4,368 253 4,621 4,169 4,469 199 152 - -
West Java 4,257 219 4,476 3,949 4,224 307 250 1 2
Central Java 4,027 350 4,377 3,845 4,191 182 186 - -
North Sumatra 2,433 134 2,567 2,160 2,347 271 216 2 4
East Sulawesi 1,507 109 1,616 1,361 1,497 146 117 - 2
Aceh 1,494 92 1,586 1,361 1,500 130 85 3 1
South Sumatra 1,398 51 1,449 1,216 1,318 182 131 - -
Lampung 1,270 80 1,350 1,174 1,296 96 54 - -
Riau 1,108 112 1,220 917 1,108 191 112 - -
Banten 1,048 37 1,085 936 971 112 114 - -
NTT 982 49 1,031 785 870 195 159 2 2
West Sumatra 848 64 912 715 797 128 114 5 1
West Kalimantan 822 100 922 586 699 232 222 4 1
NTB 840 52 892 775 828 65 64 - -
South Kalimantan 791 36 827 728 767 62 59 1 1
Jambi 686 41 727 614 677 71 50 1 -
Central Sulawesi 615 66 681 533 614 80 67 2 -
North Sulawesi 618 55 673 555 635 63 38 - -
East Kalimantan 577 44 621 489 538 87 82 1 1
Southeast Sulawesi 584 28 612 535 578 48 31 1 3
Bali 540 17 557 529 542 11 15 - -
Central Kalimantan 513 29 542 420 472 90 66 3 4
Papua 480 55 535 358 417 115 100 7 18
Maluku 413 114 527 325 433 86 92 2 2
Bengkulu 422 17 439 383 415 38 24 1 -
North Maluku 294 98 392 226 296 67 95 1 1
Bangka Belitung-Islands 335 4 339 306 321 29 18 - -
DI Yogyakarta 334 3 337 301 314 33 23 - -
West Papua 271 125 396 235 356 35 35 1 5
Riau Islands 287 12 299 224 234 63 65 - -
Gorontalo 263 30 293 249 283 14 10 - -
DKI Jakarta 244 -5 239 244 236 - 3 - -
West Sulawesi 196 24 220 162 189 33 31 1 -
North Kalimantan 197 13 210 170 163 27 47 - -
Indonesia 35,062 2,508 37.570 31,535 34,595 3,488 2,927 39 48
SOURCE: STATISTIK TELEKOMUNIKASI INDONESIA - BPS, BERITASATU RESEARCH

Mobile services boost Internet Penetration
With the penetration of smartphones, Indonesia is one of the
fastest-growing countries for mobile internet. The Central Statistics
Agency (BPS) in Telecommunications Statistics in Indonesia 2020
recorded that 53.37 percent of the total population aged over five
years accessed the internet in the three months ending September
2020, when the agency concluded the latest of the National Socio-
Economic Survey (Susenas). The percentage increased from 47.69
percent in 2019 and 39.90 percent in 2018. Among the internet users,
40.32 percent live in rural areas, and 64.25 percent live in urban areas.
Based on provinces, the largest percentage population accessing
the internet is in DKI Jakarta (77.61 percent), followed by DI
Yogyakarta (68.68 percent) and Riau Islands (67.72 percent). The
lowest percentage was recorded in Papua (25.2 percent), below East
Nusa Tenggara (32.04 percent).
4G Signal
Data Coverage
Good
Coverage
Bad
Coverage
SOURCE: OPENSIGNAL, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 41
Internet Access in Indonesia
at least 5 years old, until September 2020
5 Provinces with the Most Internet Access

2020 2019
DKI Jakarta 77.6%

73.5%
D.I. Yogyakarta 68.7

61.7
67.7
Riau Islands
65.0
East 66.2
Kalimantan 59.1
61.2
Bali
54.1
5 Provinces with the Least Access to the Internet

2020 2019
Maluku 39.5%
33.9%
38.3
West Sulawesi
31.3
35.8
North Maluku
29.1
32.0
NTT
26.3
25.5
Papua
21.7
SOURCE: BPS, BERITASATU RESEARCH
In July-September 2020, as many as 96.32 percent of the population

aged over five years of the total population of Indonesia accessed
the internet from home. Another 30.29 percent accessed the
internet in offices, schools (12.83 percent), public places (34.58
percent), and moving vehicles (23.84 percent). They accessed the
internet from mobile phones (98.31 percent), followed by laptops or
notebooks or tablets (13.61 percent) and desktop computers (4.52
percent).

Households with Internet
by media, until September 2020
2020 2019 Positive Growth Negative Growth
Laptop
Desktop /Notebook /Tablet Handphone
7.08% 16.4% 99.2%

Riau -0.44% -1.23% 0.88%
7.52% 17.6% 98.3%
Bangka- 4.83 19.0 99.5

Belitung 1.05% 0.55% 0.52%
Islands 3.78 18.4 99.0
11.0 33.5 99.0

DKI Jakarta 2.81% 2.28% -0.10%
8.17 31.2 99.1
North 6.51 23.3 99.9

-1.00% -8.45% 0.92%
Kalimantan 7.51 31.7 99.0
West 5.05 21.8 98.3

Nusa -1.86% -0.12% 1.05%
Tenggara 6.91 21.9 97.3
West 7.85 19.8 97.5

Sulawesi 1.61% -6.91% 0.08%
6.24 26.7 97.4
East 7.49 26.3 98.1

Nusa -1.69% -4.83% 1.82%
Tenggara 9.18 31.1 96.3
North 4.14 25.5 98.1

-2.69% -8.61% 0.08%
Maluku 6.83 34.1 98.0
3,49 18.9 99.0

West
-1.49% -1.01% 1.04%
Papua 4,98 19.9 98.0
7.51 18.8 98.8

Indonesia -0.81% -1.90% 1.05%
8.32 20.7 97.7
SOURCE: BPS, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 43
Indonesia
Average Brazil
Time Spent
India
on Smartphone
Mexico
by country, 2020
Argentina
South Korea
Indonesian
smartphone users Turkey
spend a lot of time on
their personal devices. China
In 2020, Indonesians Japan
spent 312 minutes
per day according to Canada
an internet research
company App Annie.
216
222
234
312
26 24 0
4
26
4
8 27 26
28
6 4
SOURCE: APP ANNIE REPORT VIA TECHNOLOGY INQUIRER, BERITASATU RESEARCH

Cellular phone subscribers in Indonesia reached 355.62 million in
2020, an increase of 4.20 percent from 341.28 million in the previous
year. Around 171 million cellular phone users used the services of
PT Telekomunikasi Selular Tbk. (Telkomsel) in 2019. Of this number,
164 million of them were Telkomsel prepaid card customers. There
were 59.40 million PT Indosat Tbk. (Indosat Ooredoo) subscribers. A
total of 57.78 million of them were registered as prepaid customers.
The use of the internet was for various purposes: social media
(95.56 percent), getting media-based information (79.04 percent),
entertainment (77.60 percent), study (39.0 percent), email-based
communications (18.94 percent), shop (22.35 percent), and financial
transactions through digital facilities (10.91 percent).
STRONG MOBILE GROWTH
Indonesian mobile network operators have been competing

to provide better mobile internet services to their clients after
recognizing this as a market opportunity. Indonesian mobile
network providers are currently optimizing their services using 4G
technology to serve the growing number of mobile users.
By 2025, the number of Indonesians who use mobile phones to

access the internet is expected to reach over 233.5 million, from
188.5 million today (Statista, 2020). That is in line with the number of
smartphone users increasing to 256.1 million from 191.6 million today.
NOVEMBER 2021 45
Currently, Indonesia has five active mobile operators: Hutchison
3 Indonesia (Tri), XL Axiata (XL), Indosat, Telekomunikasi Seluler
(Telkomsel), and Smartfren. Hutchison 3 Indonesia and Indosat
have agreed to merge last September, and the deal is expected to
conclude by the end of this year. (Jakarta Globe, 2021)
The telecommunications industry in Indonesia is competitive by

virtue of its maturity. Competitive pricing and offering of unlimited
local call and text services characterize the current state of the
market. With users preferring extensive coverage and affordable
prices, the mobile network providers have launched plenty of
options to suit the custom needs of the user. The availability of low-
cost devices that allows the increase in the number of smartphone
users in Indonesia and the expansion of the internet has significantly
furthered the need for sound telecommunications infrastructure.
Smartphone Users in Indonesia

2015-2025 (in millions)
300 MILLION USERS
2025
256.1
MILLION
250
2020
200 191.6
2019
171.3
150
Projection
number
100
2015
73.8
50
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020* 2021* 2022* 2023* 2024* 2025*
SOURCE: STATISTA, BERITASATU RESEARCH

Mobile Subscribers in Indonesia
by provider (in million)
200 MILLION
SUBSCRIBERS
169.5 169.1 168
150
100
60.3 60.1 60
56.6 56.0 56
50
Q2 Q1 For the year ending

2021 2021 December 31, 2020
SOURCE: TELKOMSEL, INDOSAT, XL, BERITASATU RESEARCH
In 2019, Telkomsel’s subscriber count amounted to approximately

171 million. In that year, Telkomsel had more subscribers than its
rivals, Indosat and XL Axiata. In Indonesia, it is common to use more
than one SIM card, so the number of total subscribers might not
necessarily correspond to the total number of actual customers.
The aforementioned mobile operators account for a significant
share of the proceeds generated by the services provided by the
telecommunications industry.
NOVEMBER 2021 47
5G ROLLOUT
Unlike countries in the Asia-Pacific such as Australia, China, and

Japan, which have introduced 5G networks, Indonesia is currently
proliferating 4G coverage across the nation, a precedent to the
imminent rollout of 5G services. The market is relatively mature, with
approximately 100 thousand towers growing at a rate of three to five
thousand new buildings every year, which subsequently contributes
to the optimistic forecast of the 4G network development in the
country.
The rollout of 5G is increasingly essential to ensure that the economy

does not suffer. It will provide faster and more reliable connections,
which will be crucial for data-driven technologies.
Especially in emerging markets, where most people are still using

3G and 4G network connections, the higher capacity and lower
latency of 5G will allow them to take advantage of new opportunities
in areas such as IoT, AR/VR, and autonomous vehicles.
Ovum and Informa Telecoms Media, the research institute of

Informa Plc. in 2018, published a study titled “How 5G will Transform
the Business of Media Entertainment”. Partnered with Intel Corp.,
the study seeks to map out the 5G revenue opportunity to the
media and entertainment industry in the coming years. Researchers
in the Ovum study agreed that 5G would open new avenues for
internet subscribers to interact with the media. 5G is projected to
drive the growth of the global online media market from $170 billion
in 2018 to $420 billion in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 9.8 percent over ten years (Intel, 2018).
China introduced 5G in the third quarter of 2019 and began to see

a shift in consumer spending and corporate investments. Over the
subsequent three quarters, at least 23 million units of 5G-based
smartphones were sold in China. The number of transmitter towers
or 5G base stations continues to expand to rural China. Altogether,
there are about 780,000 transmitter towers in 293 urban and rural
China. 5G is projected to contribute $220 billion to China’s GDP by
2030 (Statista, 2021).
Indonesia could see a similar boost to its economy from 5G roll-out.

According to a study by LAPI ITB, a research arm of the Bandung
Institute of Technology, 5G will add Rp 2,874 trillion ($188 billion) to
Indonesia’s GDP by 2030, or 9.5 percent of the economy. The study,
commissioned by Axiata Group and Qualcomm International, found
that 5G may create 4.4 million jobs and improve GDP per capita by
Rp 9.4 million in the next decade (BeritaSatu, 2020).

SHUTTERSTOCK/YMGERMAN
Recognizing the importance of the 5G rollout in the archipelago,

Indonesia pushes for its deployment in the next three years.
The country is in the middle of equalizing the allocation of 5G
frequencies. The allocation is divided into three layers: the low,
middle, and high bands. The low band refers to frequencies below 1
GHz. Middle band in the 1-6 GHz range. The high band is in the 2.6-
2.8 GHz margin. According to the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), frequency below 1 GHz is ideal for indoor connections in
rural and remote areas and areas with minimal telecommunication
infrastructure. 1-6 GHz range for urban and suburban areas.
While frequencies above 24 GHz are for areas that require data
transmission at extreme speeds and densely populated areas.
Key to Indonesia’s 5G rollout is the country’s decision to migrate all

television broadcasts to digital. The migration to digital television
is a mandate of the 2020 Law on Job Creation. A 2021 Government
Regulation on Post, Telecommunications, and Broadcasting further
detailed that analog television broadcasts must stop no later than 2
November 2022.
NOVEMBER 2021 49
The migration frees up 700 MHz frequency, also called the
golden frequency, for the 5G network. Currently, Indonesia’s
mobile operators Telkomsel, Smartfren, and Indosat, which have
obtained a 5G Operation Eligibility Certificate from the Ministry of
Communications and Informatics, use ultra-high frequency for 5G
service.
Telkomsel and Smartfren use the 2.3 GHz frequency. Meanwhile,

Indosat is on a frequency of 1.8 GHz. The government plans to hold
an auction next year to allocate the unoccupied 700 MHz frequency.
(Kominfo, 2021)
Compared to higher frequencies, the critical features of the

700MHz are its low frequency, long wavelength (wide coverage), low
propagation loss, and high penetration capability. The properties
make it ideal for large-scale continuous network coverage, which
translates to low construction and operating costs for 5G operators.
The low-frequency band (less than 1GHz) has a coverage radius
of about 34 times that of the middle band (2.5GHz to 6GHz). That
means 5G operators would need 80 percent less number of 5G base
stations to cover the same area.

5G Frequency Spectrum
in the Asia-Pacific region
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 GHz
Indonesia 1,8 2,3 Ghz
0.7 2.5 5 Ghz 24.75 43.5 Ghz

China
2.5 Ghz 26 28 Ghz

Thailand
3.5 Ghz
Philippines
3.8 4.8 Ghz

Vietnam
0.7 2.3 7.1 Ghz 25.7 37 Ghz

South
Korea
0.7 3.3 3.6 Ghz 24.25 43.5 Ghz

India
0.8 3.5 Ghz

Singapore
3.5 Ghz 26 28 Ghz

Malaysia
3.3 3.5 Ghz 27.9 29.5 Ghz

Taiwan
3.3 4.8 Ghz 26 28 Ghz

Hong Kong
3.4 3.7 Ghz 24.25 39 Ghz 57 66 Ghz

Australia
3.4 3.8 Ghz

New Zealand
3.6 4.9 Ghz 26.6 43.5 Ghz 57 66 Ghz

Japan
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 51
Spectrum Demand
2014-2024
191 Mhz 546 Mhz 1,310 Mhz

2014 2019 until 2024
Total demand
2014-2024
2,047 Mhz
Demand
1,882 Mhz 5G Spectrum
2014-2024
The Ministry of Communication and Informatics estimates Indonesia

needs a total bandwidth of 1,882 MHz by 2024 for 5G.
By the end of 2020, the radio frequency spectrum for mobile

broadband reached 767 MHz. The country aims to add at least 1,310
MHz of the additional radio frequency spectrum, which must be
achieved gradually from 2020 to 2024. As a result, the accumulated
bandwidth at the end of 2024 will be 2,047 MHz (Kominfo, 2021).
REFERENCE
indonesia-2020.html
• Intel. 2018. “How 5G Will Transform the Business of Media and Entertainment”. Accessed October 10,
2021.
https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/10/ovum%E2%80%93intel%E2%80%935g%E2%
80%93ebook.pdf
• “Global 5G Connections Forecast 2021-2025 | Statista.” Statista. www.statista.com. Accessed October 11,
2021.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1005217/global-5g-connections-forecast/.
• Herman. 2020. “Implementasi Teknologi 5G Berpotensi Tambah Pertumbuhan PDB 3,1%.” beritasatu.
com. www.beritasatu.com, September 24, 2021.
https://www.beritasatu.com/ekonomi/680143/implementasi-teknologi-5g-berpotensi-tambah-
pertumbuhan-pdb-31.
• Kominfo. 2021. “Connected Indonesia: More Digital, More Advanced.” Accessed October 10, 2021.
https://web.kominfo.go.id/sites/default/files/%5BFINAL% 5D%20Annual%20Report%20KOMINFO%20
2021_24%2C8x17%2C8cm_EngVers_120821.pdf
• Opensignal. 2021. Mobile analytics and insights on wireless connectivity apps. Accessed November 10,
2021.
https://www.opensignal.com/apps

Enhance Connectivity
under Soaring Satellites
Satellites are the backbone of digital infrastructure. Without satellites,

all digital communications would be limited to line-of-sight distances.
These satellites, which are placed in high earth orbits, provide the
global connectivity that is now central to our economy and society.
Satellite Mission
Communication
Connertivity, Internet of Things
Earth Observation
Nature and border monitoring
Navigation
97
Technology
87
Other 9
27%
1,00
6
7
44
61%
SOURCE: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, STATISTA, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 53
Satellite Capacity
Indonesia and G20 Countries
Number of Satellites
8 167 130 78 58 39
satellite
1.308 356
Country Area
20,000 million km
17,098
15,000
9,985
9,834 million km
9,597
10,000
5,193
5,000 3,287
0,242 0,377
Indonesia United States China Russia England Japan India Canada

of America
SOURCE: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATICS,
SPEEDTEST GLOBAL INDEX, BERITASATU RESEARCH
Space provides a natural platform for IoT devices that can connect
with each other without interference from barriers such as buildings
or terrain features, making it possible for drones and autonomous
vehicles to operate autonomously with a high degree of precision.
With digital infrastructure increasingly being a necessity, satellite
internet is a new form of internet. It is a highly reliable and low-cost
solution for many remote areas that require access to the internet.
In remote areas, people can now access satellite internet as an
alternative to slow and expensive dial-up connections. Satellite
internet provides high-speed broadband services for rural customers
not currently served by cable or fiber-optic providers.

INDONESIA’S SATELLITES
Despite the backbone, mobile network, and fixed broadband in

virtually all the districts and cities in Indonesia, there are still large,
remote areas without access to high-quality internet. Connectivity is
expensive and infrequent.
Satellites can provide internet coverage in these remote areas.

Satellites can also help people living in densely populated urban
centers to experience faster and more reliable connections by
remotely connecting them with a hub station located outside the city
limits.
Palapa A1 Satellite was the first satellite launched by Indonesia. It was

launched from the Kennedy Space, Cape Canaveral, United States
(US) on July 8, 1976. Before decommissioning in 1985, the Palapa
satellite provided service for voice communication and television
broadcast across the archipelago.
Since then, advances in satellite design, manufacturing as well

as launch service capabilities have been supporting the lineup of
satellites in Indonesia. In 2009, PT Indosat Tbk. inaugurated the
operation of Palapa D, a geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite. The
operating system of Palapa D is now replaced by the Telkom-4
satellite (Merah Putih satellite) and BRIsat.
NOVEMBER 2021 55
The Indonesian Satellites
in 2021
Satellite Name Orbit Mission
LAPAN A-1
Non-GSO Disaster management
2007
Indostar-2
(Cakrawarta II) GSO Broadcasting services
2009
LAPAN A-2/ORARI
Non-GSO Maritime surveillance
2015
BRISat
GSO Technology-based banking
2016
LAPAN-A3/IPB
Non-GSO Maritime surveillance
2016
Telkom-3S
GSO Broadband system
2017
Telkom-4
Broadband system in
(Merah Putih) GSO rural areas
2018
Nusantara Satu Broadband system in

GSO
2019 rural areas
SOURCE: LAPAN, MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATICS, BERITASATU RESEARCH
Telkom-4 Merah Putih, as the name implies, is operated by PT

Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. BRIsat is owned by PT Bank
Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk.
Lippo Group in May 2012 successfully launched a communications

satellite Lippo Star in French Guiana, the Caribbean coast, South
America. The active operation period of the 4,350 kg satellite is up to
15 years or until 2027.

The satellite is expected to support direct-to-home (DTH) television to
various parts of Indonesia. Lippo Star is a private partnership between
Lippo Group and two Japanese corporations, SKY Perfect JSat
Corporation and Mitsui Co., Ltd.
Until 2019, there were five non-GSO telecommunication satellites

operating in Indonesia. Iridium, operated by PT Amalgam
Indocorpora, orbits at 780 km above the surface of the earth, carrying
multiple transmitters. PT Imani Prima operates Orbcomm, a satellite
orbiting 720 km, also with multiple transmitters. Meanwhile, the
National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) operates three
satellites for maritime surveillance missions as well as for radio
telecommunication.
In 2019 Indonesia also received proposals from two global

telecommunications companies, UK-based OneWeb and Canada-
based Telesat, which would add to the list of satellite constellations
in the archipelago. OneWeb satellites will orbit 1,000 km with 900
microsatellites. Telesat will operate satellites orbiting 1,000 km with
300 microsatellites. Offering non-GSO satellites, in the future, will
enliven the type of satellite mission intended for broadband internet
(RH Triharjo, 2019).
In January, Kominfo appointed PT Telkom Satelit Indonesia, a

subsidiary of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk., as the 113
East Longitude (BT) orbital slot operator. The vacant slot, previously
occupied by Indosat Ooredoo’s Palapa D satellite, is at risk of slipping
away from Indonesia’s control after the Palapa D replacement,
Nusantara 2 Satellite, operated by Indosat and PT Pintar Nusantara
Sejahtera, failed to orbit in 2020.
ITU has given time for Indonesia to fill in filings at 113 East Longitude
until December 24, 2024. Telkom Satelit Indonesia awarded the
replacement satellite to Thales Alenia Space with a planned launch for
2024 (Kominfo, 2021).
The government is building a new satellite, Satria, for launch in

2023, dedicated to providing broadband services to 150,000 public
facilities in remote areas. That includes 93,900 schools and 47,900
public offices, 3,700 health facilities and 4,500 other public services
across the archipelago. Satria satellite has a capacity of 150 gigabytes
per second (Gbps) using Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS)
technology in the Ka-Band frequency.
NOVEMBER 2021 57
Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (Bakti), an
organization under Ministry of Telecommunication and Informatics,
partnered with PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT) and a consortium of
PT Pintar Nusantara Sejahtera, PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), PT
Dian Semesta Sentosa, and PT Nusantara Satelit Sejahtera in a public-
private-partnership scheme. The public-private- partnership project
with PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT) uses the High Throughput
Satellite (HTS) currently being built by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) from
France. Space-X’s Falcon 9-5500 rocket will carry the satellite to orbit
in the third quarter 2023 (Kominfo, 2021).

The capital expenditure for the project is $550 million. A syndicate
of international banks, namely The Hongkong and Shanghai bank
Corporation Limited (HSBC), Banco Santander, SA (Santander)
and The Korean Development Bank (KDB) which is guaranteed by
Bpifrance Assurance Export (Bpi), the Export Credit Agency from
France, and a multilateral financial institution, the Asia Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) provided $425 million in loan or 77.27 percent
of the total investment. The SNT and PSN consortium provided the
rest in equity (PSN, 2020).
Satria 1 satellite has a capacity of 150 gigabytes per second (Gbps)

using Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) technology in the Ka-
Band frequency.
The Ministry of Telecommunication and Informatics has also planned

for the second Satria satellite program. In July, the ministry said it was
studying to use Starlink, SpaceX’s constellation of low earth orbit (LEO)
satellites for the program. Some considerations include compliance
with national regulations, in addition to benefits for industry and
society.
SHUTTERSTOCK/ANDREY ARMYAGOV
Hovering at an altitude of 2,000 km above the Earth, the LEO

constellation comprises hundreds or even thousands of satellites,
allowing them to provide faster connection speed for their customers.
Until 2021, there are 1,500 LEO satellites moving across the sky around
the world. Thousands more are in the pipeline. The LEO constellations
are predicted to be able to increase internet capacity by more than
10-fold in just a few years (Garrity, 2021).
REFERENCE
• Garrity J, Husar A. 2021. “Digital Connectivity and Low Earth Orbit Satellite Constellations Opportunities
for Asia and the Pacific”. ADB Sustainable Development working paper series.
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/696521/sdwp-076-digital-connectivity-low-earth-orbit-
satellite.pdf
• Kominfo. 2021. “Connected Indonesia: More Digital, More Advanced.” Accessed September 28 , 2021.
https://web.kominfo.go.id/sites/default/files/%5BFINAL%5D%20Annual%20Report%20KOMINFO%20
2021_24%2C8x17%2C8cm_EngVers_120821.pdf
• Kominfo. 2021. “Siaran Pers No. 06/HM/KOMINFO/01/2021 Tentang Kelanjutan Penggunaan Filing Satelit
Indonesia Di Slot Orbit 113BT.” Website Resmi Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika RI. www.
kominfo.go.id, Accessed September 28, 2021.
https://www.kominfo.go.id/content/detail/31916/siaran-pers-no-06hmkominfo012021-tentang-kelanjutan-
penggunaan-filling-satelit-indonesia-di-slot-orbit-113bt/0/siaran_pers.
• PSN. 2020. The SATRIA Project Initiated by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics led by PSN
Consortium to Officially Commence Construction in September 2020.
https://www.psn.co.id/en/press-release-the-satria-project-initiated-by-the-ministry-of-communication-and-
informatics-led-by-psn-consortium-to-officially-commence-construction-in/
• RH Triharjo. 2019. Indonesian Non-GSO Satellites: Current Operations andFuture Predictions. Buletin Pos
dan Telekomunikasi Vol. 17 No.1 (2019) 61–74
NOVEMBER 2021 59
Data Center:
Everything under One Roof
Data centers play an important role in digitization. Managed by

virtually every firm with a large-scale digital presence, data centers
display economies of scale. Nevertheless, the economies of scale can
only be calculated after expenditure of extraordinarily large fixed
costs for structures that occupy outsized plots of land. Thereby it
becomes common practice for data center vendors to keep business
costs down.
With that being the case, they are also looking for operational
locations where there is less competition. They are tactically
and strategically managing the fixed costs, and operating costs
associated with the facilities tend to be low (HBS, 2021). Data
centers operate at the speed of light. This capability allows the
facility to be able to send data that can be accessed without being
geographically proximate (NBR, 2020).
Similar to the industry sectors, the data center is divided into several
types. Based upon the cloud network that supports their operation,
data centers are divided into four categories: private cloud/on
premise, public cloud, hybrid cloud and multi cloud. The use of
public cloud was recorded as the largest in its category in 2019 (62
percent) and 2020 (64 percent). It is followed by private cloud, hybrid
cloud and multi cloud—whose percentage began calibrated in 2020
(26 percent).
The global demand for data storage is predicted to continue to rise,

even before the Covid-19 pandemic. The adoption of telemedicine,
eLearning and home working further enlarges the projection. All
industries, without exception, are increasingly dependent on data
centers. Not only for data center managers, opportunities will also
increase for developers and, in the future, private capital investors.
Information technology companies’ spending on the need for

global data center systems was recorded at $178 billion in 2020.
The number is projected to increase to $192 billion in 2021 and $202
billion in the following year. In terms of global data storage service
providers, the hardware and software spending was recorded at
$89 billion in 2020. The amount decreased by $4.3 billion from $93.3
billion in 2019.

Global Quarterly Market Share
of Cloud Infrastructure
Services by Vendor
100%
Other
Consortium
of Google,
Alibaba,
Tencent
75 Next 10
Alibaba
IBM
50 Google
Microsoft
Amazon
Web
Services
25
Q2 Q4 Q3 Q4 Q2 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q2
2017 ‘17 ‘18 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘20 ‘20 ‘20 ‘21
SOURCE: VERTIV, STATISTA, BERITASATU RESEARCH
JLL Research Report – Data Center Outlook Year-end 2020 found

that data centers occupy an area of 63.4 million square feet or 5.8
million square meters worldwide. Another 4.3 million square feet or
399.4 thousand square meters is under construction.
In 2016, the volume of data center investment in Asia-Pacific was

recorded at $190 million. Four years later, the volume has increased
to more than $2.2 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion from 2019. The
investment is predicted to increase further during the Covid-19
pandemic. In April 2020, Alibaba Cloud announced a $28.2 billion
investment in the data center market. Alibaba Cloud also plans
to build additional data centers in 63 zones available in 21 regions
worldwide, including Indonesia.
NOVEMBER 2021 61
DATA CENTERS IN INDONESIA
Indonesia has seen a massive development of internet-based

industries like e-commerce, ride-hailing, and other digital services.
The value of digital transactions throughout those services is
predicted to grow by 21.2 percent for five years from 2020. Digital
payments are predicted to record the largest valuation in 2025 to
$90.3 billion from $43.8 billion in 2020 (Mordor Intelligence, 2020).
E-commerce revenue is projected to grow by 13.2 percent in the

five years until 2025. With an 86.8 percent share, e-commerce
revenue rose to $30.3 billion in 2020; making this sector the largest
contributor to Indonesia’s digital revenue.
In response to the growing digital transaction, the government

issued Government Regulation Number 71 of 2019 about the
Implementation of Electronic Systems and Transactions. One of
the stipulations requires public-based Electronic System Operators
to store data in Indonesia and set up disaster recovery centers in
Indonesia. That drove up demand for data centers in Indonesia.
Indonesia’s data center market valuation was recorded at $1.53

billion in 2020. The amount is projected to increase by $1.54 billion to
$3.07 billion in 2026 (Mordor Intelligence, 2020).
Mordor Intelligence recorded at least 18 data center providers in

Indonesia. PT DCI Indonesia, the first data center in Indonesia to
apply the standards of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, offers connectivity to more than 22 network service
providers and several cloud providers worldwide. This connectivity
allows customers to become more flexible in choosing a network
provider according to their needs.
Supported by approximately 97 employees, DCI recorded revenues

of Rp 759.4 billion in 2020 compared to Rp 489.9 billion in the
previous year. DCI’s revenue from the collocation segment was
recorded at Rp 721.4 billion in 2020. DCI posted an operating profit of
Rp 311.3 billion in the same period. DCI and Equinix Inc., a global data
center and interconnection company collaborated to open a data
center facility in Cibitung, West Java in 2013.

Digital Commerce in Indonesia
Average transaction value per user ($)
289.8 289.3 297.4 297.5 336.5 355.5 365.3 374.6 375.4

US$
Transaction value and transaction value growth
6.2%
83.0
8.9 million
$
Transaction value 78.1
12.8
(in million $)
71.8
Transaction 19.1
value growth
(in %)
63.6
29.9
53.4
16.3
30.7 41.1
35.3
33.1
27.0
20.3
2017 2018 2019 2020 *2021 *2022 *2023 *2024 *2025
*: Projection number
SOURCE: INDONESIA - STATISTA COUNTRY REPORT, JUNE 2021, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 63
Built on an area of approximately 6,000 square meters, the data
center connects Indonesian customers with 4,000 companies
worldwide. PT Sigma Cipta Caraka (Telkomsigma), a subsidiary of
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. manages three data
centers in Serpong (South Tangerang), Sentul (Bogor Regency) and
Surabaya. Telkomsigma manages 10 data centers serving small
medium enterprises (SME).
In March 2021, PT Xl Axiata Tbk. increased its shares in Princeton

Digital Group, a Singapore-based data center provider. Five
months later, Princeton Digital Group announced their plan to
build a 22 megawatt data center in Cibitung, West Java. Director
of Technology of Xl Axiata, I Gede Darmayusa, said that around 94
percent of the company’s revenue comes from data. XL has 11 data
center cores until this year. The locations are spread from Jakarta,
Bandung, Medan and Manado. XL plans to expand its core to Aceh,
Pontianak and Kupang.
PT Supra Primatama Nusantara (Biznet Networks) through its

business line, Biznet Data Center, has built four data center facilities
in Indonesia—Bali, Yogyakarta and the other two in Jakarta.
Japan-based Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT)

Communications Corporation invested $500 million in 2019 to build
a third data center facility in Indonesia. Located in Cikarang, West
Java, the facility will be built on an area of 18,000 square meters
with a capacity of 45 megawatts. Investors are building more and
more data centers in many parts of Java Island and Bali. In the era
of digitalization, high “shippability” service lowers barriers to trading
with distant customers with similar needs. In this context, the
presence of data centers remodel the definition of proximity.
Apart from local data centers operators, global cloud computing

giants have also made huge investments in Indonesia data centers.
Amazon Web Service is investing $2.8 billion for a data center in
West Java, according to local media reports. Microsoft also came
with an announcement in February 2021 that it will make its most
significant investment in Indonesia for a data center that would
generate $6.3 billion in revenue. Government sources estimated
the investment to be around $1 billion. That would be similar to rival
Google that invested around $0.98 billion in a data center in Jakarta,
its second of such facility in Southeast Asia after Singapore. Alibaba
Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba, is building its third data center
following the first in 2018 and second in 2019.

Cloud Infrastructure Vendor
investment in Indonesia
3.0 billion $
2.8
2.0
1.0 0.98
1.0 0.91
Amazon Web Alibaba Group

Microsoft Inc. Google Inc.
Services. Inc. Holding Ltd.
SOURCE: MICROSOFT, AMAZON, GOVERNMENT SOURCES, BERITASATU RESEARCH
DESIGNING NATIONAL DATA CENTERS
Geostrategy—in addition to technical and security aspects—is one

of the government’s considerations in designing the locations of the
National Data Center. That is why the Indonesian government has
designated Batam, Riau Islands Province as 1 of 4 locations for the
construction of the National Data Center. Some of the islands that
are included in the Batam City area are the outermost areas. Four
of them border Singapore and Malaysia—Nipah Island, Pelampong
Island, Berhenti Island and Nongsa Island. Batam city is about 35
kilometers from Singapore.
NOVEMBER 2021 65
The short distance cuts the cost of extending data network cables to
Singapore, a stopover point of the international data network. Three
other National Data Center locations are planned to be in Bekasi
(West Java), the new capital, and Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai
Regency (East Nusa Tenggara). Bekasi data center construction
will start in 2022 with completion expected in 2023. The National
Data Center will have 25,000 cores processor and a capacity of
40 petabytes. The government claims the capacity will increase
the current capacity by almost four or five times compared. The
Indonesian government expects that the digital divide will narrow
in all regions of Indonesia. Kominfo predicts that the National Data
Center will boost national fiscal efficiency up to Rp 20 trillion per
year.
Accelerating digital transformation through the procurement of a

National Data Center is inseparable from a series of challenges. One
of the challenges is the high cost of renewable energy. Clean energy
sources allow the data centers to lower their carbon emissions,
which has become major concerns of technology companies or
other typical data centers clients (Greenpeace, 2014).
Chairman of the Indonesian Data Center Association or IDPRO,

Hendra Suryakusuma, said all 11 IDPRO member companies
consider the renewable energy cost in Indonesia to be high. The
cost of national renewable energy is around 11 US cents per kilowatt-
hours (kWh). They hope that the cost can be reduced to 8-9 US
cents per kWh. While waiting for a reduction in renewable energy
costs, data center industry players are trying to cut costs through
automation, such as artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
IDPRO hopes that the government can issue policies to support

efficiency in green energy. Moreover, the data center industry
continues to grow in line with the national push for digital
transformation. IDPRO records the Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of the Indonesian data center industry of 30-35 percent.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, several IDPRO members
recorded a CAGR of more than 85 percent.

Electricity is one of the pillars of data center growth. Until this year
IDPRO members manage and operate 120 megawatts (MW) per
capita. IDPRO predicts the need for watts per capita is likely to reach
2.5 gigawatts (GW) in the next five years.
The construction of data center infrastructure costs quite a bit.

Capital per 1 MW is around $9-10 million or around Rp 129-143 billion.
This figure includes infrastructure except land. At the same time,
the room to grow for the national data center industry is currently
around 25 percent, said Hendra. The growth space also encourages
global cloud investors to expand into Indonesia. Usually they are
not independent, but collaborate with local data center providers
in infrastructure development. The minimum data center capacity
in this collaboration is at least 10 MW or the equivalent of an
investment of around $100 million or Rp 1.4 trillion.
NOVEMBER 2021 67
DATA CENTER PROFESSIONALS
A large population accompanied by rapid development of

e-commerce makes Indonesia a main destination for global data
center players. President Joko Widodo has even stated several times
that “data is the new oil.” In order to function properly, this “new fuel”
of growth requires not only physical infrastructure support, but also
human resources. Hendra said individuals who have data center
certification are “still very rare” in Indonesia. In addition, the data
center components are complex. It has mechanical, electrical and
cooling systems.
It takes various special skills to run a data center. In general, a data

center requires about 20 engineers per 1 MW capacity. The 20
engineers are divided into three shifts for 24 hours. The need for
engineers will grow exponentially in 2022-2023, said Hendra. On
the other hand, there is no data center curriculum in educational
institutions in Indonesia.
IDPRO seeks to narrow the gap between data center growth

and limited human resources through collaboration with several
Vocational High Schools (SMK). IDPRO has also opened an
e-learning program, which so far has been attended by around
4,000 participants from various levels of education. Around 2,000 of
them have obtained e-learning graduation certificates.

REFERENCE
• Greenpeace. 2014. Clicking Clean: How Companies are Creating the Green Internet. Greenpeace.org.
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/clickingclean.pdf
• Greenstein S, Fang TP. 2020. Where the Cloud Rests: The Economic Geography of Data Centers. Harvard
Business School.
hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/21-042_41fd0b0b-f225-481e-a40d-f8ee35002c20.pdf
• Gervais, Antoine, and J. Bradford Jensen. “The Tradability Of Services: Geographic Concentration And
Trade Costs | NBER.” NBER. www.nber.org, December 19, 2013.
https://www.nber.org/papers/w19759.
• Mordor Intelligence .2021. Indonesia Data Center Market 2021 - Industry Share, Size, Growth. www.
mordorintelligence.com. Accessed September 24, 2021.
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/ indonesia-data-center-market.
• JLL. 2021. 2020 Year-End Data Center Outlook. www.jll.ca. Accessed September 24, 2021.
https://www.jll.ca/content/dam/jll-com/documents/pdf/research/jll-2020-year-end-data-center-outlook.pdf
SHUTTERSTOCK
• “Data Center Investment APAC 2020 | Statista.” Statista. www.statista.com. Accessed September 23, 2021.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233012/data-center-investment-apac/.
• PDG. 2021. “Princeton Digital Group Announces a $150 Million New Data Center In Indonesia - Princeton
Digital Group.” Princeton Digital Group. princetondg.com, August 23, 2021.
https://princetondg.com/newsroom/pdg-announces-150-million-new-data-center-indonesia/.
Section 3
Soft
Infrastructure
NOVEMBER 2021 71
Soft Infrastructure,
Human-centric Data
Economy
Thrive in the Digital Age
Digital skills are becoming an important requirement for
employment across the economy, as it moves through the process
of digital transformation. When a substantially new technology is
introduced, workers and users are required to acquire new skills in
order to capitalize on the potential productivity improvements. This
phenomenon has been observed in the past and is becoming more
prevalent as high-speed Internet connectivity expands. The impact
of the Internet on employment can be divided into four basic
categories (OECD, 2018):

New jobs. A broadband Internet connection results in the creation
of new jobs. Some of these are directly related to the technology
(engineers, networking professionals, and hardware), while others
encompass the entire ecosystem (e.g. mobile app developers, data
scientists, community specialists in social networks). Most crucially,
the internet has the potential to increase employment in traditional
occupations by facilitating the formation of new enterprises (e.g.
entrepreneurship) or the extension of current businesses (e.g.
growth through expansion into new markets or more effective
marketing). A McKinsey study projected that digitalization and
automation will create 10 million new occupations that did not exist
before (McKinsey, 2019).
Transformed jobs. Existing employment undergoes a

transformation as a result of technological advancements. The
advent of new communication technologies allows for adjusting
work processes but requires people to acquire new skills to take
advantage of the new technological advancements. This shift is also
facilitated in part by the Internet’s ability to outsource certain stages
of the manufacturing process. Additionally, transformed tasks can
be outsourced to other domestic enterprises.
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Outsourced jobs. Additionally, the Internet enables global

outsourcing of jobs to more specialized areas or people (e.g.,
offshore), enabling enterprises with access to broadband networks
to take advantage of differing cost and productivity circumstances,
as well as the availability of specialized talents and firms. This means
that some jobs will be lost directly in one country but will be gained
in another.
Lost jobs. Increased Internet use may also result in the loss of
specific employment as technology takes over duties previously
performed by humans (e.g., as online travel booking has replaced
travel agents). Several studies estimated Indonesia would lose
between 9.5 million to 26 million jobs to digital transformation.
A study from Oxford Economics projected digital disruption and
automation would displace 9.5 million jobs in the country (Oxford
Economics, 2018). Another study from McKinsey found that work
activities in the Indonesian economy, which equal the output of 23
million workers, could be replaced by automation (McKinsey, 2019).
NOVEMBER 2021 73
Regarding digital skills, the International Telecommunication Union
classifies individuals into three groups based on their level of digital
proficiency: basic, standard, and advanced. If a person can copy or
move a file or folder; use copy and paste tools to replicate or move
material inside a document; send emails with attached files; or
transfer files between a computer and other devices, they have a
basic digital skill.
Standard skill comprises actions of creating content using

personal devices like smartphones or computers. These include
using spreadsheet formulas in their work or study and creating
presentations that contain text, pictures, videos, or charts using
presentation software. One is said to have standard skills if they can
find, download, install and configure software, and transfer files
between a computer and other devices. Lastly, one with advanced
digital skills must be able to create computer programs using a
specialized programming language.
INDONESIA DIGITAL TALENTS GAP
In 2019, ITU found 49 percent of Indonesians have basic digital skills.

This is higher than some of the country’s peers in Asia but still lags
behind the high performers in regions like China, South Korea, and
Japan. The number of people with basic digital skills is also growing.
In Indonesia, the number of teenagers and adults with essential
digital skills increased to 64.26 percent in 2020 from 27.04 percent
in 2014 (BPS, 2021), which is in line with the growth in smartphones
among the country’s population.
Still, the number of people with standard or advanced digital skills

remains low. ITU data showed 25 percent had standard digital skills
and only 3.5 percent of the country’s population had advanced
digital skills (ITU, 2021).
Studies from other countries suggested that personal computers or

laptops among the population enable people to engage in activities
and pick up skills beyond basic ones. A case study in Chile found a
difference in skill level between mobile-only users and computer
users (T. Correa, 2020). The study discovered that mobile-only users
have lower levels of competence and narrow usage of the web than
those who also use computers. The study suggested people might
develop higher levels of digital skills while using computers to access
the web.

Share of Households Owning
a Computer in Indonesia
(in percent)
25% household
2018
20.1 2019
2015 18.8%
20 18.7
15
10
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
SOURCE: BERITASATU RESEARCH
In Indonesia, the share of households owning a computer has not

grown in the past five years. The share was 18.8 percent in 2019,
relatively unchanged from 2015.
With the growth of Indonesia’s digital economy and infrastructure

comes the drastic need for emerging talents within the digital field.
The term digital talent encompasses a wide variety of jobs, ranging
from those with business functions, creative functions, and, perhaps
the most relevant, technical functions.
NOVEMBER 2021 75
Despite such training programs and government efforts to increase
digital talent, the Mandiri Institute, through data collected from
LinkedIn, found that many IT firms struggle to find workers with
the right competencies in digital areas, and as a result, decided to
relocate activities to other countries (ADB, 2020).
Moreover, ILO found that the majority (64.45 percent) of ICT jobs
require a minimum of undergraduate education. 42.9 percent of
vacant jobs require computer science as a major for their job, while
39.4 percent of employers are open to applicants from any major
background. Still, the baseline education seems to be at least to the
tertiary level (ILO, 2021).

ICT graduates have also been said to be lacking in their skills, both
ICT skills and other skills required by the employer. For instance,
English language skills are required by 95 percent of the industry.
While there are surplus job vacancies, there are simply not enough
qualified workers to fill the demand.
Researchers from Singapore Management University have

identified multiple challenges that amount to Indonesia’s skill
underperformance within science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) and technical and vocational education and
training (TVET) education as part of their research collection on
Asean. Some of the challenges relevant to the digital talent gap
include:
1. The school industry gap covers “inadequacy of instruction

provided at the tertiary level” and “a weak and dated curriculum.”
SHUTTERSTOCK/MONKEY BUSINESS IMAGES
2. Lack of a comprehensive skill development plan, wherein skill

competency is issued by different training institutes, makes
assessing skills difficult.
3. Reliance on the public sector.
4. Weakness in STEM and TVET education in general.
5. Lack of soft skills and English proficiency amongst workers.
Therefore, with these shortcomings within ICT education, as well as

education surrounding other skills needed in the ICT industry, it is
clear that there is a gap not only in digital talent supply and demand
within Indonesia but also a gap between what the education equips
students to do and what the industry demands from professionals.
Improving curriculum in formal training and legitimizing informal
training is key to solving the issue of under qualified talent. The
industry should work together with educational institutions to clarify
the standard of graduates’ skillset. Moreover, the government’s role
in bridging this gap should be strengthened by further investing in
education to keep up with standards within the industry and in the
baseline skillset of mathematics, language, and science proficiency
in Asean and improving their vocational centers.
President Joko Widodo said Indonesia lacks 9 million digital talents

by 2035, including software engineers, product designers, and
content creators. To close that gap, Indonesia needs 600,000 digital
talents per year (BeritaSatu, 2020).
NOVEMBER 2021 77
In their efforts to increase the digital talent in Indonesia, the
government launched several programs specifically focusing on
improving Indonesian ICT skills. The Ministry of Communication
and Informatics has run several initiatives in the past four years to
improve digital literacy, skills and education.
One of such initiatives is the Siberkreasi National Movement

for Digital Literacy (GNLD). Launched in 2017, the initiative aims
to promote “a comprehensive and sustainable digital literacy
advocacy and education” (Kominfo, 2021). The initiative trained
213,143 participants in digital literacy in 2020, growing five times
from 39.740 participants in 2018. The initiative also got international
recognition, winning from the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) Prizes in 2020.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technologiy

also launched Digital Talent Scholarship (DTS), a scholarship
for fresh graduates, young professionals and public officials,
and entrepreneurs in digital skills such as artificial intelligence,
cloud computing, data science, digital marketing and digital
entrepreneurship, among others. The ministry has made 60.000
scholarships available in 2021, up from 50.000 in 2020. The
scholarships recipients can choose to enroll in eight academies
under the initiatives, namely: Fresh Graduate Academy (FGA)
Thematic Academy (TA), Professional Academy (ProA), Government
Transformation Academy (GTA), Digital Entrepreneurship Academy
(DEA), Digital Leadership Academy (DLA), Talent Scouting Academy
(TSA).
Digital Leadership Academy offers online and onsite learning at

three universities: Harvard Kennedy School, National University
of Singapore, and Tsinghua University. The best performing
participants will have the chance to attend onsite learning in the
universities. In 2021, DLA will be open to 300 public and private
sector leaders (Kominfo, 2021).
Still, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics initiatives

approach the talent gap issues from downstream, by training
people who already finished their school years. More efforts are
needed to ensure that the country’s education system can produce
talents able to function in an ever changing digital landscape.

DIGITAL SKILL EDUCATION
In 2019, OECD published a report stating that within the broad

fields of education, nine percent of all Indonesian graduates of
tertiary education in 2017 studied information and communication
technology (ICT), with majors such as computer security, information
technology management, computer science, and programming.
While this seems like a huge percentage, over double the G20’s
average of four percent, this number must be weighted with the
fact that only 16 percent of young adults in Indonesia attained a
tertiary education in the first place, below the average of 38 percent
within the G20. Additionally, tertiary education attainment rates
in Indonesia are the lowest of all Asean nations. Around 250,000
graduates from STEM programs at Indonesian universities annually.
There are also 350,000 students who finish their vocational school in
ICT every year (Kemendikbud Ristek, 2021).
In the past five years, numbers of STEM graduates in Indonesia have

been growing by an average of 2.7 percent every year. The number
of graduates in provinces like Bali, North Maluku and West Nusa
Tenggara grew at a double digit rate. The numbers of ICT vocational
school graduates increased at a faster pace in 2017-2020 period.
The distribution of science and technology program graduates

also remains uneven among provinces in Indonesia, in line with
the distribution of universities and vocational schools. Yogyakarta,
for example, has 4.6 STEM graduates per capita, almost five times
the national average. The ICT vocational school graduates are
less unevenly distributed. West Papua has 0.75 vocational school
graduates per 100 people, only half of the country average.
NOVEMBER 2021 79
STEM University Graduate per 1,000 in Indonesia
by province
Region Growth* STEM Graduate per 1000 people
Yogyakarta 1.8% 4.64
Jakarta 8.6% 3.31
West Sumatra 1.0% 1.37
South Sulawesi -0.4% 1.28
Southeast Sulawesi 9.3% 1.12
East Kalimantan 4.7% 1.09
Bali 18.7% 1.07
South Kalimantan 4.9% 0.94
North Sumatra -0.2% 0.91
Indonesia 2.7% 0.90
West Papua 5.5% 0.84
East Java 1.6% 0.82
Riau -0.5% 0.79
South Sumatra 2.5% 0.78
West Java -1.9% 0.77
Banten 3.4% 0.75
North Sulawesi 5.1% 0.74
Gorontalo -1.0% 0.72
Riau islands -2.7% 0.70
Aceh 0.8% 0.70
Central Java 4.8% 0.68
North Maluku 13.6% 0.63
Bengkulu 2.0% 0.57
Central Sulawesi 8.8% 0.56
Lampung 3.9% 0.53
Bangka Belitung 9.8% 0.46
West Kalimantan 5.3% 0.45
West Nusa Tenggara 10.7% 0.38
North Kalimantan -5.2% 0.32
Central Kalimantan -2.1% 0.31
Maluku -14.4% 0.29
Jambi 9.4% 0.29
East Nusa Tenggara -0.2% 0.29
Papua 6.7% 0.23
West Sulawesi -5.6% 0.20
*Average annual growth rate from 2017 to 2020

SOURCE: KEMENDIKBUDRISTEK, BERITASATU RESEARCH

ICT Vocational School Graduate per 1,000 in Indonesia
by province
Region Growth* Graduate per 1000 people
Banten 6.4% 1.87
West Java 7.6% 1.81
West Sulawesi 3.1% 1.79
North Sumatra 5.6% 1.66
East Java 3.6% 1.36
Indonesia 6.3% 1.30
Lampung 8.6% 1.28
Central Java 6.0% 1.24
North Maluku 2.8% 1.22
East Kalimantan 5.0% 1.21
North Sulawesi 5.4% 1.21
Central Sulawesi 6.2% 1.17
Bangka Belitung 7.2% 1.15
South Sulawesi 4.8% 1.12
Riau islands 7.8% 1.11
West Nusa Tenggara 4.7% 1.06
South Kalimantan 7.1% 1.05
Jakarta 7.0% 1.05
Jambi 7.7% 1.03
Yogyakarta 2.1% 1.02
South Sumatra 10.1% 1.00
Riau 7.5% 1.00
Bengkulu 7.0% 0.99
Southeast Sulawesi 8.5% 0.99
Central Kalimantan 11.5% 0.88
Gorontalo -3.0% 0.83
West Kalimantan 11.2% 0.82
Bali 3.5% 0.81
East Nusa Tenggara 16.3% 0.80
West Papua 15.9% 0.75
West Sumatra 2.8% 0.72
Aceh 8.6% 0.60
North Kalimantan 1.2% 0.59
Maluku 8.7% 0.50
Papua 7.7% 0.44
*Average annual growth rate from 2017 to 2020

SOURCE: KEMENDIKBUDRISTEK, BERITASATU RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 2021 81
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and
Technology have devised several strategies to
improve the quantity and quality of digital talents
in Indonesia. These includes initiatives to provide
freedom to learn for students and teacher, scheme
to improve education and private sectors linkage,
spending for digital devices and tools for schools, and
programs to strenghen vocational schools.
The following are excerpts from BeritaSatu Research

interview with Nizam, the interim Director General of
Higher Education, Research, and Technology, about
the strategy for developing digital talent in Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo targets Indonesia to produce at least 9

million digital talents by 2035. What is the role of the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in realizing this
target?
In these challenging times, we need to adopt technology in

education. Technology has become a necessity and an opportunity
for us to move forward towards a better future. By implementing
the “Merdeka Belajar” (Freedom to Learn) program, the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Research, and Technology supports teachers
who adopt online learning.
Soon, the Ministry will launch Merdeka Belajar-15 on the Merdeka

Teaching Platform to help teachers develop their potential in
producing creative works that can be applied to more exciting
learning methods and inspire students in teaching and learning
activities. On this platform, teachers can also easily download the
curriculum and choose the curriculum in the form of modules so
that the learning process will be much more efficient.
Also, we have equipped teachers through several programs, one of

which is the ICT-based Learning program (PembaTIK) which targets
teachers of all levels of education, from preschool (PAUD) to high
school (SMA). In May 2021, 80,000 teachers were applying for the
PembaTIK program. And from the 80,000 teachers, a thousand
teachers were selected to join the PembaTIK program.

Besides PembaTIK, we also launched the “Kita Harus Belajar’’ (We
Must Learn, or KiHajar) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics) program. We held the International Symposium
on Open, Distance, and e-Learning (ISODEL) 2021 with the theme
“Educational Technology in the New Normal Era: Now and Next.”
This year’s ISODEL comes with a new spirit and collaboration
with more education stakeholders, researchers, teachers, the
academic community, and practitioners worldwide to respond to
the dynamics and challenges of educational technology in the new
normal era.
Through the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and

Technology and the Directorate General of Vocational Education, the
Ministry also collaborated with several companies in the technology
sector for the Merdeka Campus programs. Several flagship
programs of Merdeka Campus, such as Certified Internships and
Certified Independent Studies, have supported the emergence of
young digital talents ready to innovate and contribute.
In addition, with the support of the Matching Fund for Vocational

Campuses, we encourage vocational colleges to develop Centers
for Excellence in Technology and Vocational Campus Startups in
collaboration with businesses.
ANTARA FOTO/HARVIYAN PERDANA PUTRA
NOVEMBER 2021 83
What resources in terms of facilities or human resources
need to be added to realize the target?
Indonesia’s position as a major player in digital transformation

and technology creation still needs to be pursued. The young
generation in Indonesia needs to be continuously encouraged to
show off in competition in the digital era. Moreover, Indonesia is
projected to experience a demographic bonus in 2028-2030, when
the productive age (15-64 years) will make up to 67.2 percent of the
total population (Bappenas and BPS, 2018). But, a 2015 report from
the Asian Development Bank stated that 52 percent of the working
population in Indonesia is underqualified for their jobs.
With this fact, the first thing we at the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Research, and Technology do is take a budgetary approach. We have
a Special Allocation Fund for Physical Infrastructure (DAK Fisik), an
integral part of budget planning at the Ministry of Education and
Culture.
In 2022, DAK Fisik will prioritize two initiatives. The first is the
fulfillment of information and communication technology
(ICT) facilities, namely the school digitization program, which in
the coming years will become the essential infrastructure for
students and teachers in learning, and the second infrastructure
rehabilitation for schools — ranging from Early Childhood Education
(PAUD), Elementary School (SD), Junior High School (SMP), High
School (SMA), Vocational High School (SMK), Learning Activity Studio
(SKB), and Special Schools (SLB).
In the provision of educational facilities, especially in ICT, it is

required to use e-catalogs unless there are conditions that make it
impossible to use other relevant and accountable methods following
laws and regulations. In addition, the rehabilitation and construction
of educational facilities must involve the regional public works
agency from the proposal process to implementation.

What else has the Ministry done to hopefully achieve the
digital talent target sooner than the 2035 deadline?
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology

supports the government’s efforts to encourage domestic product
spending, especially in the education sector for Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) products. That is also in line
with the spirit of Merdeka Belajar. It is expected that spending on
ICT products will encourage school digitization to realize future
classroom and school infrastructure.
In the 2021 State Budget, the ministry has spent Rp 1.3 trillion to
meet the needs of 12,674 schools ranging from elementary, junior
high, high school, and special education levels. the purchase of
189,840 laptops, 12,674 access points, 12,674 connector peripherals,
12,674 projectors, and 45 speakers. For selecting products and
brands for each need, refer to the options available in the LKPP
e-catalog.
The Ministry has also issued a Minister of Education, Culture,

Research and Technology Regulation number 5 of 2021 to control
schools ICT spending through DAK Fisik —a budget from the central
government transferred to local governments — worth Rp 2.4 trillion
in 2021. Under the plan, 16,713 schools get 284,147 Indonesia-made
laptops and supporting equipment such as 17,510 wireless routers,
10,799 projectors and screens, 10,799 connector peripherals, 8,205
printers, and 6,527 scanners.
In addition to the procurement of ICT as described above, the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Higher Education and Technology
encourages Merah Putih laptops development by a consortium of
local universities University of Indonesia (UI), Bandung Institute of
Technology (ITB), Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS), and Gadjah
Mada University (UGM). The consortium has prepared a roadmap
and product design and will be fully involved in laptops and the
industry production starting in 2022. In addition, vocational students
and vocational college students will be involved in assembly and
post-sale activities.
NOVEMBER 2021 85
How does the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and
Technology see the role of the private sector and industry in
developing digital talent?
The Ministry has made various efforts to increase the private sector’s
contribution to education, including establishing cooperation to
organize training. Some of them are:
a. Training program from Huawei Indonesia. Training organized by

an industry that has an excellent reputation provides a significant
advantage for SMK. The students are not only taught by teachers
but also by well-known experts and companies with international
reputations. The ICT program by Huawei Indonesia is part of the
company’s commitment to supporting 100,000 local digital
human resources by 2025 through the Huawei 100,000 Digital
Talents corporate movement. That is also a form of support for
government policies, one of which is Merdeka Belajar.
b. Cooperation program to improve the quality of education

and culture through support for equal access and enhancing
information and telecommunications technology with ICON+.
There are three points of agreement in the cooperation
document, namely accelerating the digitization of the education
and culture sector through the development of ICT infrastructure,
increasing the capacity of educational and cultural human
resources in the ICT sector, as well as exchanging data and
information for the provision of infrastructure and ecosystem
development in the world of education and culture.
c. To improve the digital literacy of society, especially among

students in Indonesia, the Ministry through the National
Achievement Center (Puspresnas) also cooperated with Telkom
University to organize the National Student Show in Information
and Communication Technology (GEMASTIK) for the 14th time
on 4 to 7 October 2021. This event is a tangible manifestation of
preparing and identifying top Indonesian talents who can utilize
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) effectively in
helping human affairs in the world so that they are more effective
and efficient.

How does the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and
Technology see the role of vocational schools in developing
digital talent?
One of the critical components that determine digital

transformation success is the availability of competent digital
human resources. They include vocational high schools (SMK)
graduates and other vocational education institutions who are
capable and meet industry qualifications. To meet the availability
of human resources, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research,
and Technology continues to collaborate and synergize with the
information and communication technology (ICT) industry to
prepare digital human resources through training and workshops.
In addition to presenting “Link and Match,” the Ministry has also

continued to work to revitalize vocational schools since 2019 so
that Indonesian digital talents from the younger generation who
have been educated can meet the needs of industry 4.0. Several
regulations support the advancement of SMK to answer the
needs of industry 4.0, such as Teaching Factory and Super Tax
Deduction. There is a synergy with industry so that there is a link
and match between education and industry. It is expected that the
industry can be directly involved in developing the competence
of prospective skilled workers through knowledge and technology
transfer programs.
How can non-formal education integrate into the country’s grand

scheme of digital talent development, and what are the Ministry’s
policies to support it?
In addition to formal education, the Ministry of Education, Culture,

Research, and Technology also focuses on developing digital talent
in non-formal education units. Among others, the ministry allocated
a budget in the Special Allocation Fund for Physical Infrastructure
(DAK Fisik) for the Community Learning Activity Center (PKBM)
and the Learning Activity Center (SKB). The fund will be given to all
types of education centers with all levels of accreditation for SKBs or
A-level accreditation for PKBM. Except for affirmation regions, the
centers must have a minimum number of students of 40 people.
There are several technical criteria in applying for DAK Fisik assistance
for equipment and infrastructure. Only centers with less than 15
computers and must access electricity and the internet will get ICT
assistance. In addition, the centers also did not receive ICT assistance
previously from the Ministry or physical DAK in 2020 and 2021.
NOVEMBER 2021 87
Studies in several countries, one of them in Chile, show that
smartphone penetration introduces basic digital literacy to the
population of these countries. However, the study also found
that many people cannot upgrade their digital skill to the next
level because they do not have the means to learn the skills, like
personal computers or laptops. How does the Ministry plan to
address this issue in Indonesia?
The Ministry of Education and Culture has a school digitization

program, prioritizing schools in the frontier, remote, and
disadvantaged areas to receive laptops, projectors, and information
and communication technology (ICT) devices. Digitizing schools is
not only about the provision of ICT facilities. It’s how to make it easier
for teachers to choose what is most suitable for their children.
The digitization program is carried out in collaboration with the

Ministry of Communication and Information. The Ministry of
Communication and Information, in this case, will meet the needs
of the internet network in all target areas. Meanwhile, the Ministry
of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology ensures that digital
tools are available in every school.
Not only related to the procurement of electronic devices, but the

school digitization program also created a platform where teachers
can easily download the curriculum and choose the curriculum in
the form of modules so that the learning process will be much more
efficient.
In addition, to prevent the digital skills stagnation like ones

observed in Chile, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and
Technology through the Digital Literacy Movement carry out the
following steps:
INCREASING THE NUMBER AND VARIETY

OF QUALITY LEARNING RESOURCES.
Increasing the number and variety of quality learning resources

in schools is a necessity that schools must implement. The rapid
development of science in the digital era demands continuous
renewal of knowledge in the school environment. In this case,

schools must increase the number and variety of quality learning
resources for school members, especially students. Schools can
do several initiatives below to increase the number and type of
quality learning resources related to digital literacy in the school
environment:
a. Addition of Digital Literacy Reading Materials in the Library

The library is one of the hearts of school knowledge. The addition
of literacy reading materials in various forms of learning resources
needs to be improved. For example, providing reading materials
with digital themes, providing reading materials in the form
of soft copies, or providing teaching aids as learning resources
related to digital literacy.
b. Provision of Educational Sites as Learning Resources for School

Members
All school members can use educational sites. For example,
teachers can use the site ruangguru.com or
learn.indonesiamengajar.org or other sites to develop self-
knowledge related to learning. The principal can use the
sahabatkeluarga.kemdikbud.go.id or sekolahaman.kemdikbud.
go.id as learning resources for school development.
c. Use of Educational Applications as Learning Resources for School

members
There are several educational applications targeted for students
including Jelajah Seru, Anak Cerdas, 101 lagu Anak-Anak,
Kumpulan Dongeng, etc.
Principals and teachers can direct students to use these
applications to increase knowledge and creativity. Teachers can
also link these applications in learning.
d. Making School and Class Posters

Wall magazines are periodicals that school members often use
to provide information and to learn. Concerning digital literacy,
school members can fill in the contents of the wall magazine with
digital-themed information. They can also use ICT to research for
the periodicals.
NOVEMBER 2021 89
EXPANDING ACCESS TO QUALITY LEARNING RESOURCES
AND COVERAGE OF STUDY PARTICIPANTS
a. Provision of Computers and Internet Access in Schools

The provision of computers and internet access is one of the most
critical efforts in developing knowledge in this digital era. The
learning resources needed can be obtained by using internet
access very quickly and efficiently. The needs of school members,
especially students in studying information and communication
technology, must be supported by the availability of computers
and the internet.
b. Provision of Information Through Digital Media

The provision of digital information screens and boards at several
strategic points in the school environment can assist school
members in obtaining new information and knowledge. The
contents of the development of world science, simple science
facts, the latest news, challenging educational games, and so on
can be displayed and provided as additional insight for school
members.
ANTARA FOTO/IGGOY EL FITRA

INCREASING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
a. Sharing Session
Sharing sessions can be done by inviting experts to share how
they apply digital technology in their profession and daily life.
The involvement of experts, practitioners, and professionals
personally or institutionally related to the world of information
and communication technology in schools can improve the
digital literacy of school members through various fun activities,
such as inspiration classes and sharing classes. Materials shared
by experts, practitioners, and professionals can be adapted to the
needs of school members.
b. Stakeholder Involvement
The stakeholders referred to here are the central government,
local governments, business and industry, education volunteers,
and the media. Involvement of all stakeholders in the context
of developing digital literacy in schools can be done in various
forms, for example, making digital literacy activities in the
form of exhibitions of student work in terms of digital literacy,
providing facilities and infrastructure to support digital literacy,
and facilitating the training of digital literacy facilitators in the
environment school.
c. Strengthening the Forum with Parents and Communities

The school committee has accommodated a joint forum
between schools, parents, and the community around the school
environment. Forums that involve parents and the community in
all matters relating to school development, especially those that
will impact students, need to be adapted to the development
of increasingly sophisticated information and communication
technology. For example, communication between parents and
schools can be established well and quickly by using social media.
The joint forum can also encourage parents to oversee students’
access to devices and the internet outside of school.
NOVEMBER 2021 91
STRENGTHENING GOVERNANCE
a. Development of an Electronic Administration System

(e-administration)
Schools develop a digital administration system by providing
applications or formats that make it easier to administer all
school needs. For example, in recording student data, a list of
school expenses, and others. School administrative officers are
also trained with skills in managing administration by utilizing an
electronic-based organizational system.
b. School Policy Making on Digital Literacy

Making school policies related to technology and digital media
can support the development of better and innovative schools.
For example, teachers are required to use technology-based
learning media and use report cards applications that are
integrated with school principals and parents. Teachers must
also encourage students to play specific educational game
applications, use gadgets and internet access at certain times,
manage school libraries by utilizing technology and digital media,
and manage the infrastructure regularly.
As several studies show over the years, there is still a wide gap
between the needs of the industry and vocational skills provided
at formal education institutions. What is the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Research and Technology’s plan to bridge the gap?
Last May, the Ministry has launched the 11th episode of Merdeka
Belajar - Kampus Merdeka Vokasi (Vocational Freedom Campus).
The program has two main focuses: Dana Kompetitif Kampus Vokasi
(Vocational Campus Competitive Fund) and Dana Padanan Kampus
Vokasi (Vocational Campus Matching Fund).
The vision of the Kampus Merdeka Vokasi is to integrate vocational

higher education with the world of work to produce more
competent, productive, and competitive graduates. Therefore the
integration of vocational universities with the world of work will lead
to successful results, not just through MoU but also through the
“Link and Match 8+i” initiative.
Kampus Merdeka Vokasi takes its first step by offering competitive

funds to vocational colleges for opening SMK-D2 Jalur Cepat (Fast
Track). The program is a collaboration-based initiative between
vocational high schools (SMK), vocational colleges, and businesses to
improve the qualifications of skilled labor in a short time.

Vocational colleges can also use the Vocational Campus Competitive
Fund to upgrade their D3 program to an applied undergraduate
(D4), improving the level of the program to a higher level. In that
way, the qualifications and soft skills or students’ characters would
be in line with the needs of the business world.
Vocational Campus Matching Fund in the future can be used for

three programs. First, the development of a technology center;
second, manufacturing applied research products; and third,
vocational campus startups, built in a partnership scheme between
vocational campus and businesses.
For years basic skills in STEM and English have been identified
as a significant gap in digital talent development. Ministry of
Education, Culture, Research and Technology’s plan to bridge this
gap?
Merdeka Belajar’s policy encourages teachers to apply project-based

learning methods to improve literacy and numeracy competencies.
This method strongly supports the learning process in the STEM
area, given its active learning, which requires students to participate
not just in class but also in the field of experiments.
Along with the process, improving basic literacy and numeracy skills
encourage students to have good practice in critical thinking. They
will have the skills to process information from many languages.
As of 2021, as many as 338 teams from all levels of education

throughout Indonesia and Sekolah Indonesia Luar Negeri or
Indonesian Overseas Schools (SILN) simultaneously participate in
the final implementation of the 2021 Kita Harus Belajar (Kihajar)
program in the fields of STEM.
NOVEMBER 2021 93
Kihajar STEM 2021 is being held in three levels: basic, intermediate,
and final. Participants must pass three more steps in the final stage:
making’ problem solving’ videos, making these videos, and doing
the presentations.
More than 685 STEM-based videos are produced by finalists of

Kihajar STEM 2021. They applied the Engineering Design Process
(EDP) when making their video. EDP develops the student’s ability
to identify problems, conduct a brainstorming, determine problems
and or solutions. Each process is fundamentally ‘a teacher’. It will
prepare the students to solve problems in the real world.
REFERENCE
• ADB. 2020 Innovate Indonesia, Unlocking Growth Through Technological Transformation.
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/575806/innovate-indonesia-unlocking-growth.pdf
• AHK Indonesien. 2021. “In Indonesia, the Fight for IT Professionals Is Getting Tougher.” AHK Indonesien.
indonesien.ahk.de. Accessed September 20, 2021.
https://indonesien.ahk.de/id/infocenter/in-indonesia-the-fight-for-it-professionals-is-getting-tougher.
• BeritaSatu.com. “Jokowi Minta Siapkan Roadmap Transformasi Digital Untuk Sektor Strategis.”
beritasatu.com. www.beritasatu.com. Accessed November 24, 2021.
https://www.beritasatu.com/nasional/661737/jokowi-minta-siapkan-roadmap-transformasi-digital-untuk-
sektor-strategis.
indonesia-2020.html
• Korn Ferry Institute. 2016. “The Future of Growth: Global Talent Crunch.”
https://www.kornferry.com/content/dam/kornferry/docs/pdfs/KF-Future-of-Work-Talent-Crunch-Report.pdf
• McKinsey. 2019. Automation and the future of work in Indonesia: Jobs lost, jobs gained, jobs changed.
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/asia%20pacific/automation%20and%20
the%20future%20of%20work%20in%20indonesia/automation-and-the-future-of-work-in-indonesia-vf.
ashx#:~:text=Indonesia’s%20positive%20story%3A%20many%20more,than%20are%20lost%20to%20
automation.&text=Indonesia’s%20jobs%20story%20can%20be%20a%20positive%20one.&text=While%20
as%20many%20as%2023,created%20in%20the%20same%20period.
• OECD. 2019. Education at Glance - Indonesia.
https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2019_CN_IDN.pdf
• Oxford Economics. 2018. “Technology and the Future of Work Asean Jobs.
https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/en_sg/assets/csr/pdf/technology-and-the-future-of-asean-jobs.pdf.
• Roach, Eric. “Education In Indonesia.” WENR. wenr.wes.org, March 21, 2019.
https://wenr.wes.org/2019/03/education-in-indonesia-2.
• Correa T et. al.. 2017. “Digital inclusion through mobile phones?: A comparison between mobile-only and
computer users in internet access, skills and use”. Information Communication and Society 23(2017):1-18.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329821225_Digital_inclusion_through_mobile_phones_A_
comparison_between_mobile-only_and_computer_users_in_internet_access_skills_and_use
• Wiryasti CH et al. 2021. Rapid Assessment of Information and Communication skills demand in
Indonesia. ILO.
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-jakarta/documents/publication/
wcms_766461.pdf
• Tan, KS, Tang, JTH. 2016 New skills at work: Managing skills challenges in Asean-5.Research Collection
School Of Economics.
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/1891

There Should be Limits on Personal Data
Two years after the initial drafting of the personal data protection
bill, the Indonesian government has yet to pass the bill into law.
The drafting of the bill has been in the works since 2014. The
Directorate General of Informatics Applications of the Ministry of
Communications and Informatics completed the bill in 2018 before
it was submitted to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Two years
later, the Ministry submitted the bill to the House of Representatives.
Until September 2021, several parts of the bill were still being
debated in a meeting between the Ministry of Communication and
Informatics representatives and the House of Representatives. The
latest difference in opinion between the government and legislators
were the position of the personal data supervisory authority.
Initially, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and the

House proposed that this authority directly reports to the president.
Soon after, The Ministry of Communication and Informatics
corrected the proposal. The Ministry specifically proposed the
supervisory authority to be under the Ministry of Communication
and Informatics control.
Apart from the persistent disagreements between the two

institutions, debates also accelerated among academics, the
associations of financial service providers, and the public in general.
The government has been trying to accommodate mixed views,
objections and proposals from various communities.
Two main points of the debate are: (1) in the future, the
implementation of the Act will also unfold the personal data to
the government, (2) in terms of national defense and security,
supervision of the financial services sector, and data aggregate
related to the state administration, the government does not need
the consent of the data owner to access their personal information.
Referring to the results of a study compiled by Graham Greenleaf,

the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) argues that “allowing
the government to access personal data of citizens bears the risk of
data being used for political and even economic interests.”
NOVEMBER 2021 95
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the non-departmental
agency that oversees the protection of personal data in the United
Kingdom, realizes the possibility of how personal information is
used in modern political campaigns. Digital political campaigning
“can involve a range of organizations in a complex ecosystem—
political parties, campaign groups, social media companies, data
brokers, and data analytics providers,” the ICO wrote in the report
of its findings. One of the most concerning findings from ICO’s
investigation was a “significant shortfall in transparency and
provision of fair processing information. In response, ICO officials are
calling for an “ethical pause” to allow “key political campaign players
to recall their responsibilities in respect of the use of personal data in
the era of big data” (ICO, 2018).
It is hard to value data precisely, especially in terms of data economy.

On the one hand, the data economy radically transforms many
economic activities and creates a new level of prosperity. On the
other hand, it “presents the possibility of a perilous dystopia,” the
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
wrote in its report. In this ‘perilous dystopia”, participants in the data
economy can face trust deficits and insecurity. Consumer protection,
DESA wrote, “is generally weak in the data economy.” The collection
and use of personal data, designed to influence behavior, carries
with it an “ever-present potential for abuse” (DESA, 2019).
PROTECTING AGGREGATE DATA
We’ve grown to accept massive data aggregations as an essential

side effect of the internet. Hundreds of millions of people
have created personal information on social media platforms
to communicate and socialize. Like humans, computers will
understand information through technologies like natural language
processing and machine learning—a branch of Artificial Intelligence
(AI) that uses data and algorithms to imitate how humans learn—
to improve its accuracy. The technologies enable organizations,
like social networks operators, to gain granular insights about an
individual from Big Data, which describes a pool of data with high
volume, variety, and velocity.

An increasing number of economists and legal specialists have
claimed that these social networks’ underlying business structures
are faulty from a consumer standpoint. Facebook has come
under the spotlight by weighting user “News Feeds” with factors
stimulating polarized views on political issues in recent years. The
company asserted that “users control their experience by picking
the friends and sources that populate their News Feed. In reality,
an AI created by Facebook engineers controls every aspect of that
experience. It was a process that could be manipulated by other
parties with malicious intent, undermining one’s autonomy
(Aben A, 2020).
On the other hand, true data confidentiality can only happen when
all the information relating to one’s identity is obscured entirely from
the data, using encryption. But, that would hinder the computation
process on the data, which creates significant value in the current
digital economy (Yu, 2012). Examples of such processes include
user profiling—essential for providing service personalization, user
experience, user journey, or advertising.
European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR,

tried to address these points by regulating how organizations
process the data for statistical purposes. According to the GDPR,
statistical purposes imply that the processing results are not
personal but aggregated data. Union or Member State law should,
within the limits of GDPR, determine statistical content, control
of access, specifications for the processing of personal data for
statistical purposes, and appropriate measures to safeguard the
rights and freedoms of the data subject and ensure statistical
confidentiality.
In early 2021, the personal data protection bill in Indonesia requires

companies to supply data to the Central Statistics Agency or
Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS). The data includes company identity—
operational licenses, number of employees, transaction value, and
operational payment methods. The regulations are scheduled to
come into force in February 2021.
Two months later, in a press statement, BPS ensured that the data
collected online in the 2020 Population Census was protected and
would not leak. In compiling the online censuses process, BPS
applied several methods, including captcha—a security check
system to avoid automatic spam and passwords in the login process.
NOVEMBER 2021 97
General Data Protection Regulation - European Union
7 Principles Relating to Processing of Personal Data
Lawfulness,
fairness and
transparency
Purpose
Accountability limitation
Integrity & Data

confidentiality minimisation
Storage
limitation Accuracy
SOURCE: GDPR-INFO.EU, BERITASATU RESEARCH
The push for the bill’s ratification was even more critical when data
on 279 million participants from the Social Security Administering
Body (BPJS)-Health was confirmed to have leaked. Data in the form
of National Identity Number, name, address, telephone number,
and e-mail address were sold through the dark web. The leaked
data may cause Rp 600 trillion ($42.1 billion) in economic damage,
according to one estimation from an independent research team
Indonesia Cyber Security Independent Resilience Team (CSIRT).

Major Indonesian Data Breaches
in the past three years (in million)
Reported Account Leaks Private Government

Alleged Account Leaks companies institutions
BPJS
Kesehatan
KPU, Reported
DPT Pemilu 0.1
Reported Alleged
2.3 222,5
Alleged
200
Tokopedia
Reported
15
Alleged
91 Universitas
Indonesia
Reported
0.005
Kemendikbud
Alleged Alleged
1.3 0.125
BRILife
Indonesia Reported
Bukalapak Bhinneka GVN Covid-19 0.46 eHAC,
Alleged Reported database Alleged Kemenkes
13 1.2 Alleged 2 Alleged
0.23 1.3
Mar May May May May Jun Jan May Jul Sep
‘19 ‘20 ‘20 ‘20 ‘20 ‘20 ‘21 ‘21 ‘21 ‘21
SOURCE: VARIOUS SOURCES, BERITASATU RESEARCH
Apart from managing data between government and citizens, the

bill is expected to protect consumers’ personal information from
possible data leaks. In Indonesia, the digitization of traditional offline
businesses is accelerating. Shoppers have been increasingly turning
to online channels to make purchases. More and more people are
borrowing money through financial technology platforms. In those
digital platforms, user data leaks have occurred several times.
NOVEMBER 2021 99
Number of e-commerce
Users in Indonesia
250 million users
Indonesia
221,1
million
200 users
158,7
150
138,1
Projection
Number
100
70,1 Vietnam
70,9
Phlippines
50 55,8
Thailand
43,5
Malaysia
18,3
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
SOURCE: IPRICE GROUP, SIMILARWEB, STATISTA, BERITASATU RESEARCH
Data privacy is much more than just the security and protection
of personal data. It boils down to how organizations use personal
data and how data privacy should be processed ethically and
legally (PWC, 2020). Data privacy concerns sensitive data, such as
specific financial data and intellectual property data. It needs to be
protected. The data privacy landscape is complex and constantly
evolving. Data privacy presents many challenges for organizations
about how and when to process personal data in the future.

Data security is the most essential element to protect personal data
from external and internal threats. Data security will determine with
whom one can share data. In the ever-evolving digital world, data
security should be supported by data confidentiality (SNIA, 2021).
Data confidentiality is the right of individual data subjects. The
practice refers to the purpose of data collection, processing, privacy
preferences, and, ultimately, how certain institutions manage
personal data.
In Indonesia, law enforcement on data security and data

confidentiality is carried out by the Directorate of Cyber Crimes at
the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) of the Indonesian
National Police (Polri) or the Patroli Siber (Cyber Patrol). Patroli
Siber deals explicitly with two groups of crimes: computer-based
crimes and computer-related crimes. The public can file complaints
regarding alleged crimes that fall into the two criminal groups
through the Patroli Siber online portal.
The alleged crimes include defamation, spreading hoaxes,

blasphemy, fraud, and threats. The types of citizen complaints
are not limited to computer-based alleged crimes. Furthermore,
a computer that is accessible to the internet. In the statistics of
complaints related to the spread of harmful content, for example,
the most significant number of complaints is in West Java (633),
followed by East Java (325) and Central Java (252), which are marked
with a red gradation. Meanwhile, the Maluku Islands and Papua
are all green. On their site, Patroli Siber doesn’t specify the types of
internet-based content defined as “negative.”
In 2019, several mass media reported the Patroli Siber’s periodic

policy of accessing WhatsApp groups. The Indonesian public has
been split into opposing camps. The contradictive communities
think that the Patroli Siber’s approach didn’t interfere with citizens’
right to privacy. Because, according to them, national security is the
most crucial matter of all.
NOVEMBER 2021 101

Public Complaints through Patroli Siber
(August - September 2021)
Complaints Area 51 251 501

<50
(by province) -250 -500 -750
East North
Kalimantan 78 Sulawesi
54
123
DKI
North 529
Jakarta South
Sumatra
Sulawesi 56
51 259 647 263 331 52

Riau Banten West Central East Bali
Java Java Java
Negative Content (2,991 Cases)
Threat 1,165
Defamation 1,057
Extortion 378
Document forgery 75
Hoax 70
Other 246
Reported Platform (3,347 Cases)
WhatsApp 2,232
Telepon dan atau SMS 706
Instagram 199
Facebook 154
Email 56
SOURCE: PATROLI SIBER, BERITASATU RESEARCH

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION
The debate is a response to the absence of comprehensive

regulations on the protection of personal data. The discussion
heated up following significant data breaches in the past two years,
with personal data from public institutions and businesses leaked to
the internet.
As of today, cybersecurity has only been controlled through two

Kominfo regulations: UU ITE No. 11/2018 (amended to become the
Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law No. 19/2016) and
Government Regulation (PP) No. 82/2012 concerning Electronic
Systems and Transactions. In Indonesia, the ratification of a bill into a
law is also preceded by preparing an academic paper.
The manuscript published by the Ministry of Law and Human

Rights (Kemenkumham) contains the main ideas underlying the
reasons for the bill’s formation. The academic paper is a reference in
preparing a bill in Indonesia.
The academic paper for the data protection bill outlines several
issues, including the personal data protection regulations in several
countries and regions around the world, as a reference for preparing
the personal data protection bill.
Comparisons include Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South

Korea, and the EU. One of the academic texts on several countries
and regions is related to the supervisory commission model. The
existence of a supervisory commission is highly dependent on its
independence, impartiality, and effectiveness. The neutrality of the
supervisory commission is an essential factor because it is the only
agency that is truly in the midst of industry and government, reads
the academic paper (BPHN, 2019).
An independent supervisory commission, the ministry wrote

in its academic paper, “can minimize conflict, especially when
determining whether the information is open or closed.” EU
countries follow the independent commission model as does
Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Although the
supervisory committee has the authority to protect personal data,
they are sometimes unable to carry out their role due to limited
funds, the ministry reiterated.
NOVEMBER 2021 103

Why is Data Privacy Important?
from companies and consumer side
Regulatory Reputational
Data protection regulators may Non-compliance with the law
enforce mandatory audits, request could result in brand damage,
access to documentation and loss of consumer trust, loss of
evidence or even mandate that an employee trust and customer
organization stops processing attrition.
personal data.
Financial and Criminal

Fines and, in some countries
potential prison sentences, could
be enforced depending on the
violation. Company may also
experience loss of revenue and
high litigation and remediation
costs.
Operational
Most data privacy laws give people
more rights over their data, such as
the right for it to be deleted. This can
be a significant operational burden if
it is not implemented effectively.
SOURCE: PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS (PWC), BERITASATU RESEARCH
The Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights recommends

two options for the data protection supervisory commission model.
First, an independent commission that specializes in the protection
of personal data. Second, the attachment of the duties and functions
of the personal data protection supervisory commission to the
Central Information Commission (KIP). KIP is an independent state
institution. The European Union, through the GDPR, establishes
the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) as an independent
body for the protection of personal data. Not only resolving disputes
between countries included in the EU, but the EDPB also organizes
discussion sessions with the public to become more literate about
personal data protection.

The public is the owner of personal data. And, the spirit of GDPR is
to involve the owner of personal data, said Center for Indonesian
Policy Studies (CIPS) researcher Thomas Dewaranu. Hence, the GDPR
allows the deletion of personal data from the internet at the owner’s
request. “Right to be forgotten,” the term personal data destruction in
GDPR, applies when personal data is no longer needed in an online-
based application. Or when an organization processes personal
information unlawfully. As long as the data privacy protection bill
has not been passed into law, the public cannot really protect their
own data. Moreover, demanding the implementation of the right to
be forgotten. Cases of leakage of personal data that are misused in
criminal acts, especially fraud, are still unavoidable to this day.
REFERENCE
• “Policy Brief | Data Privacy In the Indonesian Personal Data Protection Legislation.” CIPS. www.cips-
indonesia.org, March 21, 2021.
https://www.cips-indonesia.org/post/policy-brief-data-privacy-in-the-indonesianpersonal-data-protection-
legislation.
• Greenleaf, Graham. 2017. “Global data privacy laws 2017: 120 national data privacy laws, including
Indonesia and Turkey”. University of New South Wales
• Information Commissioner’s Office. 2018. “Democracy Disrupted? Personal information and political
influence’. Accessed November 18, 2021.
https://ico.org.uk/media/2259369/democracy-disrupted-110718.pdf
• Katadata. 2021. Kebocoran Data BPJS Kesehatan Disebut Bikin Rugi Negara Rp 600 Triliun - Teknologi
Katadata.co.id. katadata.co.id, June 25, 2021.
https://katadata.co.id/desysetyowati/digital/60d58c9c4538a/kebocoran-data-bpjs-kesehatan-disebut-bikin-
rugi-negara-rp-600-triliun#:~:text=Teknologi-,Kebocoran%20Data%20BPJS%20Kesehatan%20Disebut%20
Bikin%20Rugi%20Negara%20Rp%20600,sehingga%20bisa%20 mengganggu%20program%20pemerintah..
• Law Research Series. Accessed September 22, 2021.
http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLRS/2017/45.html
• PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2020. Data Privacy Handbook - A starter guide to data privacy compliance.
https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/assurance/risk-assurance/documents/data-privacy-egypt-what-you-
need-know-en.pdf
• Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). “What is Data Privacy?”
https://www.snia.org/education/what-is-data-privacy. Accessed September 22, 2021.
• Badan Pembinaan Hukum Nasional (BPHN). 2019. Naskah Akademik RUU Perlindungan Data Pribadi.
https://www.bphn.go.id/data/documents/na_perlindungan_data_pribadi.pdf
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). 2019. “Data Economy: Radical
transformation or dystopia?”. Accessed November 18, 2021.
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/FTQ_1_Jan_2019.pdf
• Shucheng Yu, ... Kui Ren. 2012. Data Security in Cloud Computing. Handbook on Securing Cyber-Physical
Critical Infrastructure.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/data-confidentiality
NOVEMBER 2021 105

Closing Remarks
To stimulate economic growth, Indonesia must make more
innovative investments in digital infrastructure. The purpose of
Beritasatu Research’s Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report is to
present a complete picture of the country’s current ICT landscape to
key stakeholders.
Indonesia is on track to meet its digital infrastructure needs, with

4G and mobile broadband network now virtually available to all its
population. Investment in local data centers further ensures network
speed and reliability for local digital services and businesses.
Access to the infrastructure, however, remains uneven. For one, fixed

broadband service is still less affordable to most of the population.
The country still lacks digital talents that can leverage the
infrastructures, hence the need for the concerted effort to develop
digital skills in Indonesia. Critical regulatory support for personal
data protection is also urgently required.
We are all accountable for this work to see a digital-based economy

underpinned by a robust and sustainable digital infrastructure
system. All sectors must demonstrate strong leadership to develop
and advance a coherent and organized digital infrastructure
agenda.

BeritaSatu Research is a
research and data-journalism
division of BeritaSatu Media
Holding. We aim to provide
timely and comprehensive
information on various issues
in digital infrastructure,
environments, healthcare and
education.
BERITASATU PLAZA, 7TH FLOOR

JL JEND GATOT SUBROTO KAV 35-36
JAKARTA 12950, INDONESIA
PHONE +62 21 2995 7500

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Indonesia

To that end, BeritaSatu Research, the research arm of BeritaSatu

In this report, we look at Indonesia’s digital infrastructure, including

This Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report is the first of a series

We would like to acknowledge the financial support from

We benefited from the insights and comments of five external

We are grateful to Nizam, the interim Director General of Higher

The inclusion of certain businesses or manufacturers’

Innovation and utilization of digital technology have become

The Covid-19 pandemic affected the current national development

The various potentials related to demography and the digital

1. Increase access to 4G networks in the disadvantaged, frontier,

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics organizes digital

The ministry also continues to deploy fiber optics as the backbone of

The development of digital infrastructure has benefited various

As G-20 chair, Indonesia encourages constructive cooperation agenda

1. Connectivity and recovery post-Covid-19,

Various innovations in the digital technology sector continue to occur

I appreciate the Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report in the Economic

*) Abstracted from the opening remarks delivered at the launch event

The World Bank estimates that Indonesia’s digital economy will

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology

1. Distribute various ICT equipment to schools, such as laptops,

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we present a learning and sharing

Along with the platform, we introduced School Procurement

Although many teachers and schools have already benefited from

We are also preparing our students to become digital talents. For

Kampus Merdeka’s flagship programs that support the rise

This year, 302,000 students registered on the Kampus Merdeka

Let’s strengthen our collaboration to prepare digital talent and build

*) As delivered at the launch event of the Indonesia Infrastructure

• Indonesia has invested in digital “hard” infrastructure in the past

• Indonesia is a mobile-first country as many people connect to

8 Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report

• Indonesia relies on satellites to cover areas unreachable by

• The data center industry is booming in Indonesia, partly because

• Indonesia strives to ensure that it has an up-to-date regulatory

Today, three in four Indonesians use the internet. That is roughly

Most of the users are young, in their 30s, reflecting Indonesia’s

Indonesian internet consumption is blessed with one of the lowest

12 Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report

Thankfully, recent investments have allowed users of all five major

It is on the side of soft infrastructure for the digital

The 2020 Law on Job Creation (Omnibus Law) also provides

The productive use of infrastructure can reduce global infrastructure

Inadequate infrastructure in developing countries has been a major

In its broadest definition, infrastructure describes the

Institutional, personal, and material infrastructure are three sub-

Network • Internet backbone in addition to national

Cloud Data storage and cloud computing

Personal devices Equipment for end-users such as mobile

Meanwhile, soft infrastructure includes human capital that is used

The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 discusses the hard

16 Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report

Automated System Simulation Augmented Big Data Internet Artiﬁcial

Submarine Fiber Built Last Mile Fiber International

The surge in data demand, driven by bandwidth-intensive

Around 406 submarine cable systems exist or are planned globally.

SUBMARINE CABLES IN INDONESIA

In Indonesia, telecommunication companies own and operate

20 Indonesia Digital Infrastructure Report

Indonesia Digital Network

Telkom had successfully