Heaptalk, Jakarta — The 5G internet connectivity arrived in Indonesia three years ago. Unfortunately, since its launch, it has only attracted a few users.
According to the Minister of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) on Monday (08/05), the issue does not lie with the operators, as all cellular operators in Indonesia have adopted this network. However, its usage is still limited to certain locations.
“The coverage of residential areas with 5G signals is only 2.5%. This is still very small compared to other networks, such as 4G, which reaches 96.84%. The number of 5G sites in Indonesia is also limited, totaling 376. In comparison, 4G has more than 442,000 sites,” explained Marvels Parsaoran Situmorang, Director of Broadband Development at Kominfo.
Marvels explained that the 5G network differs from previous networks. This network has use cases that must consider both demand and supply. He explained, “For instance, if I were a businessman or an operator, I would need to know if there is already demand for it. For example, one use case might be in the IKN, where autonomous buses operating with sensors would run on 5G.”
Moreover, supporting infrastructure also influences the adoption rate of the 5G network. The infrastructure must be connected to a reliable backhaul and cannot use inferior technology. Thus, the 5G network will provide significant improvements over previous networks, such as low latency and the best quality.
“Another contributing factor is the supporting infrastructure, which is still insufficient because sensors must be connected by reliable backhaul. It can’t use a microwave; it must use fiber optics. Since it requires low latency and is quality-intensive, this becomes a contributing factor,” Marvels concluded.
