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Palapa Ring Facilitates Operator Penetration for Fast Internet

- | November 2020 The Palapa Ring fiber optic backbone network facilitates the penetration of telecommunications operators to build high-speed 4G-class internet services in remote areas. Palapa Ring guarantees better signal quality than satellites and lower operational costs. The Palapa Ring network facilitates 4G penetration in remote areas. Once the ecosystem is ready, it will be possible to build 4G services in the 3T (third-to-third) regions, providing higher bandwidth and more cost-effectively than using satellites.

The Palapa Ring network provides an incentive for Telkomsel, as a national telecommunications operator, to build 4G-capable cellular towers (Based Transceiver Stations/BTS) in remote, outermost, and interior areas.

Currently, 97 integrated BTS have been installed in the West Palapa Ring network, covering 44 locations in Riau and the Riau Islands, and 53 locations in the Central Palapa Ring, covering Central Sulawesi and Kalimantan. Meanwhile, in the East Palapa Ring, integrated base transceiver stations (BTS) will be built in 449 locations across Papua, West Papua, Maluku, and Nusa Tenggara.

Telkomsel, as of September 2019, has built 210,000 cellular towers in 57,000 locations across all regencies/cities to strengthen its high-speed broadband network across the country. To expand broadband coverage in remote or poorly signaled areas, Telkomsel is collaborating with the Ministry of Communication and Information's (Kominfo) BAKTI to build 841 USO BTS. Furthermore, Indonesia's largest telecommunications operator is also building 241 Merah Putih BTS in border areas.

The Palapa Ring fiber optic backbone network facilitates the penetration of operators like Telkomsel into remote areas, enabling them to build fast 4G internet services. Currently, they have 78,000 4G BTS throughout Indonesia, reaching district/city capitals. Of the 57,000 locations, 51% are covered by the fiber optic network, with the remainder using radio links (microwave and satellite). It is hoped that the Palapa Ring will provide wider coverage in the future due to the more stable fiber optic signal and lower operational costs.

News & image source: indonesiabaik.id