Surakarta, Kominfo – The government has designated the Jabodetabek area and 8 other cities for the start of implementing Telkomsel’s 5G technology. The pilot 5G service operations carried out by Telkomsel will cover the cities of Medan, Batam, Bandung, Surabaya, Balikpapan, Denpasar, Makassar and Surakarta.
Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G. Plate stated that the selection of Surakarta City and 7 other locations as pilot cities for implementing 5G technology was based on considerations of commercialization opportunities and ecosystem readiness.
“Choosing Surakarta, of course, there are commercial considerations, not only considerations like this, and in the implementation of 5G, commercial considerations are certainly very important,” he explained at the Inauguration of 5G Telkomsel, at the Surakarta City Hall, Central Java, Thursday (03/06/ 2021).
The Minister of Communication and Information stated that together with the cellular operator PT. Telkomsel as the first to implement 5G, the Government maintains Surakarta and several other cities also from a commercial aspect.
“Of course the printing of the city of Surakarta is not only in 5G, not only in a game changer for telecommunications and digital transformation in Indonesia. But Surakarta is already well-known as a pioneer city, starting from the beginning of sports, the press and many government ideas also emerged from this city, ” he explained.
Policy Consistency
Minister Johnny emphasized that the Indonesian government remains consistent with the policies implemented. This started with the direction of President Joko Widodo, one of which was to ensure the development of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure to reach all regions of the country.
“Specifically, the President said no one is stay and left behind, so we build the whole thing,” he said.
According to the Minister of Communication and Information, the Government will continue the foundation of Indonesia’s digital transformation based on and relying on its backbone, namely the 4G network that is evenly distributed throughout Indonesia. However, the Minister of Communication and Informatics also emphasized not to confuse the development of 4G and 5G technology infrastructure.
“4G remains the backbone of our national digital transformation. Therefore, deploying ICT infrastructure in the 3T (Outermost, Frontier and Disadvantaged) areas is carried out by Kominfo through the BLU (Public Service Agency) BAKTI Kominfo, and for areas of the country in commercial or Non 3T, where 4G signal coverage is not yet available, is the duty of the cellular operator,” he explained.
Minister Johnny reminded cellular operators to ensure and complete construction and provide 4G BTS in all villages and sub-districts in commercial areas, with the hope that by 2022 the whole will be connected to the internet network.
“Thus, today (the inauguration of 5G in Surakarta), and starting on May 27, we will carry out simultaneous operations, coexistence between 4G and 5G,” he said.
The Minister of Communication and Informatics hopes that the simultaneous operation between 4G and 5G will not be misunderstood by various questions about why starting 5G, if 4G has not been completed or the internet speed is still slow.
“We understand, we know that, but we have to make breakthroughs. And the breakthrough that has been made is the co-existence of 4G and 5G. 5G technology cannot be immediately deployed to all regions of the country. But it will be implemented according to the 5G ecosystem. Therefore deployment 5G will be carried out in stages according to the maturity of the ecosystem in the 5G work area itself, especially in the 9 pioneer cities,” he added.
In this activity, Minister Johnny was accompanied by the Director General of Postal and Information Technology Equipment Resources; Ismail, Director General of Post and Information Technology; Ahmad Ramli, and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Communication and Informatics Dedy Permadi, as well as Member of Commission I DPR-RI Muhammad Farhan.
Also present were Mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Deputy Mayor of Surakarta Teguh Prakosa, President Commissioner of PT. Telkomsel Wishnutama Kusubandolio, President Director of Telkomsel Hendri Mulya Syam, and the commissioners of PT. Telkomsel.