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BAKTI President Director: Palapa Ring Unlocks Digital Economic Potential in 3T Regions

Jakarta | March 10, 2020 Jakarta, Kominfo – Anang Latif, President Director of the Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) of the Ministry of Communication and Information, believes that the Palapa Ring Project can unlock the potential of the digital economy in Indonesia's Frontier, Outermost, and Disadvantaged (3T) regions.

"We are trying to help, exploring the potential that exists in 3T regions. There is a lot of potential, especially tourism," said the President Director of BAKTI Kominfo at a seminar themed "Capturing the Potential of the Digital Economy in 3T Regions in Indonesia" at The Energy Building, Jakarta, Tuesday (March 10, 2020).

President Director Anang stated that the tourism sector is one of the government's current focuses in boosting the national economy. This aligns with Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G. Plate's high hopes for promoting the digital economy in 3T regions. The Palapa Ring project has completed its construction phase and was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on October 14, 2019.

"The Minister of Communication and Informatics wants the digital economy to be present in villages. There are up to 83,000 villages in Indonesia. How can these village economies become integral and support the Indonesian economy internationally?" he said.

The potential of the digital economy in the 3T regions, continued President Director Anang, further clarifies Indonesia's opportunity to become a major digital nation. Therefore, BAKTI Kominfo is always striving to increase the utilization of Palapa Ring for digital economic equality in Indonesia.

In his presentation, the President Director of BAKTI Kominfo mentioned that market reviews, marketing strategies, and potential economic surveys in the 3T regions were conducted at 57 Palapa Ring Network Operation Centers (NOCs) within a 30 km radius. "Of the 57 NOCs, BAKTI involves sectoral industries, the community, public services, and Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes)," he explained.


Bridging Operators and the Community

President Director Anang emphasized that the ICT infrastructure built by BAKTI Kominfo in Indonesia does not make his institution an operator. Rather, BAKTI Kominfo's position is in the middle between the needs of supply (telecommunication operators) and demand (the community).

"Our position is in the middle. How to bring together supply and demand, of course, the supply from operators and the demand from the community, we try to bridge, we try to solve the biggest problems first," he said.

Meanwhile, MarkPlus Indonesia CEO Iwan Setiawan said that the government's serious attention through BAKTI Kominfo to advancing the digital economy in the 3T regions can reach large market potential if the connectivity ecosystem works together to realize interconnection.

"Optimizing the use of internet connectivity through various positive activities can stimulate local economic progress in the 3T (frontier and lower-most) regions," he added.

The seminar by BAKTI Kominfo, which discussed the potential of the digital economy in 3T (frontier and lower-most) regions, also received support from Markplus Indonesia and its telecommunications operator industry partners in Indonesia. (aik)

News & photo source: Kominfo