Heaptalk, Jakarta – Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) has finished the development of the 4.988 Base Transceiver Station (BTS) 4G in those least development, frontier, and outermost regions also often referred as 3T. The Minister of Communication and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi declared that president Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo will announce officially the usage of BTS built by Badan Aksesibilitas Telekomunikasi dan Informasi (BAKTI) Kominfo.
“The project development has finished and is only waiting for the official announcement by the President of the Republic Indonesia. So, later on Jokowi can inaugurate the operation of the BAKTI Kominfo 4G BTS,” he explained at the Ministry of Communication and Information Office, Central Jakarta, Monday (18/12/2023).
Kominfo Minister admitted to have communicated with the president regarding the inauguration. He perceived, during the ceremony, the Ministry of Communication and Information would hold a press conference at the location of the BTS 4G development, mainly in the 26 locations that would be connected through the video conference.
“The schedule is extremely packed. Yesterday, he just got back from his state visit to Japan. We are now planning for the BTS official ceremony, but still within this year,” he said.
Until December 2023, Budi Arie declared there had been 4.988 BTS from the total of 5.618 that are targeted to be fully operated. Meanwhile the rest will be rushed to be completed while also paying attention to the geographical conditions and its challenges.
“The finalization is targeted for this year because Jokowi emphasized that the BAKTI Kominfo 4G BTS project must be finished. There are 630 locations remaining that are potential to be carried over next year after going through security consideration, hard-to-reach geographical factors, and so on,” he explained.
The Minister of Communication and Informatics will always cooperate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Local Government to find solutions for the remaining developments in those locations.
“So, we involve the multi stakeholders to wrap up the construction. We continue to discuss telecommunication access, mainly for the 3T regions to have connectivity and get decent services on using the internet,” he elaborated.
Budi Arie Setiadi believed that a discussion is necessary to decide which solutions that can be comprehensive and appropriate based on the geographical conditions and its challenges at those locations.
“Hopefully, this project can serve locals better. And we express our gratitude because this is a joint effort from BAKTI Kominfo Task Force, law enforcement officers (APH), financial supervisory institutions, and others,” he added.
The financial for the construction of 4G BTS came from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) and Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) that are managed by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics. In fact, BAKTI Ministry of Communication and Information also continues its work contract with previous partners for 4G BTS operations in 3T areas.
“This is done as an effort for equality of the national digital infrastructure. The development of BAKTI BTS 4G tower is the real effort of Ministry of Communication and Informatics in order to fulfill the commitments on delivering 4G cellular service for locals in the 3T regions gradually, because this project is one of the national strategic agendas,” explained Minister of Communication and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi.
Editor: Wulan Dari, Prazna Alyfia Ghefira
