Internet users still find service glitches<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The popularity of the Internet in Indonesia has
\nstamped it as a new urban phenomenon in the country's major
\ncities.<\/p>\n
Some subscribe to support their work or education, and others
\nuse it just for fun. But as information on the net is uncensored,
\nthere is also concern about misuse of this technology, as people
\nmay put indecent or offensive materials on the system.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post talked to several Internet subscribers about
\nwhy they use the service.<\/p>\n
Emmy Hafild, chairwoman of the Indonesian Forum for
\nEnvironment (Walhi): I subscribe to the Internet at home and in
\nmy office. I've used the service since I was a student in America
\nmany years ago.<\/p>\n
The Internet is very useful but we have to be selective.
\nOtherwise, we could end up wasting time looking at junk mail.<\/p>\n
Things that I'm looking for on the Internet deal with the
\nenvironment, such as the results of research, environmental
\nanalyzes, regulations and articles.<\/p>\n
When my father-in-law got cancer, we sought information on the
\nInternet on food for those suffering from cancer.<\/p>\n
I allow my children to access the service, but only if I
\naccompany them. Here we don't yet have the program to block
\ncertain sites, for example Playboy, like they have in the United
\nStates. So we sit together to access the data. I won't let them
\nhandle the keyboard to access by themselves. That's too
\ndangerous.<\/p>\n
Azrul Azwar, chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association
\n(IDI): We have installed the Internet since last year. We even
\nopened a homepage (www.idola.net\/id), which is open to the public
\nin a question and answer format.<\/p>\n
Many people ask questions through the IDI homepage. Every day
\nwe get about 10 questions concerning diseases and health
\nproblems. We have people in the office to copy the questions and
\ndistribute them to doctors concerned. It's not an easy job, but
\nit shows that the public is very interested.<\/p>\n
Most of the questions come from big cities, like Jakarta,
\nSurabaya and Bandung. Maybe this is because there is no Internet
\nservice in other cities.<\/p>\n
We also put items from the Internet in our monthly magazine.
\nBut we only select a number of important articles.<\/p>\n
Mas Achmad Santosa, the executive director of the Indonesian
\nCenter for Environmental Law (ICEL): We have used the Internet
\nsince ICEL's establishment three years ago.<\/p>\n
Most of data we look for is about the environmental law. We
\nhave limited time so we only look for data we need to support our
\njob.<\/p>\n
For example, we're asked to give input to the government about
\nbiosafety, which is really new. We therefore need to view data in
\nforeign countries through the Internet.<\/p>\n
ICEL very often gets e-mail from foreign students asking for
\ndata on Indonesia's environmental law. They ask us because we do
\na lot of research in cooperation with foreign experts.<\/p>\n
I plan to get the Internet service for my children at home.
\nBut I have to accompany them every time they want to access data
\nfrom the Internet.<\/p>\n
Samsuridjal Djauzi, medical advisor at the Pelita Ilmu, an
\nAIDS foundation: The Internet is very useful. It contains a lot
\nof data. It's a pity if it cannot be utilized well.<\/p>\n
I've been using the Internet for one year at my house and my
\noffice because I am a member of the AIDS discussion group. The
\ngroup consists of 15 people, including those from the United
\nStates and other foreign countries.<\/p>\n
We usually discuss new issues concerning AIDS.<\/p>\n
Once I had a patient suffering with HIV who was suffering from
\na serious disease. I asked questions (on treatment) through the
\nInternet at night. And in the morning I found there were already
\n18 answers on how to treat the patient.<\/p>\n
Through the Internet we can easily communicate with other more
\nexperienced people. They might not answer our questions if we
\nasked them through conventional letters.<\/p>\n
Debby Manthey, marketing manager of an Internet Service
\nProvider: I find the Internet business developing well here. Now
\nwe have 30 companies providing services.<\/p>\n
But the market hasn't fully absorbed the supply. As you know
\nnot many people have computers in their houses. For most of the
\npeople here, using the Internet is still part of a lifestyle
\nrather than satisfying their need for information.<\/p>\n
The hit rate in Indonesia's internet services has not yet
\nreached a level where companies will be encouraged to place their
\nadvertisements. There are some advertisements but not many.<\/p>\n
I think we still need to educate the internet market here. But
\nanyway, I'm not being pessimistic. By the time globalization
\nprocess gets accelerating, the internet service will be booming.<\/p>\n
Once the internet business is booming, the government, I
\nthink, will not need to refute (critical) internet data directly.
\nWhat the government should do is to develop its own public
\nrelations in order to promote all its policies.<\/p>\n
Alexander Irwan, manager of the Internet service division in
\nthe Bisnis Indonesia daily.<\/p>\n
The supply of the Internet exceeds the demand. The
\ninfrastructure here is also not good. We see many service
\nproviders but not many content providers.<\/p>\n
But I am optimistic that we'll see the internet business
\nbooming here. It is increasingly needed by professionals.<\/p>\n
I expect that the internet service providers and content
\nproviders will get a lot of advertisements.<\/p>\n
I think the products of the content providers need to be
\ndeveloped. They should diversify their products and dovetail them
\nwith the needs of many people.<\/p>\n
Bambang Christianto, a communication observer of Indo Pacific
\nPublic Relations: I find the Internet very useful. I can access
\nall kinds of data from Indonesia and foreign countries. It can
\nhelp me to improve my profession. But what bothers me is that it
\noften takes a long time to download a file. I have to wait up to
\n10 minutes before I get the file. It should be less than five
\nminutes.<\/p>\n
Ari, a journalist: I just bought a new computer and it comes
\nwith an Internet program and a 100-hour, or one-month free,
\ntrial. The trial period will soon end but I still can't find
\nthose exciting things all my friends talk about on the net. I
\ndon't have much time to surf the net, and when I do, it is really
\ndifficult to get connected to the Internet. The line is always
\nbusy.<\/p>\n
I was told the provider had a high access speed, that it had
\nmore than 100 phone lines, and the number of the subscribers is
\nstill low. I don't know what's wrong. (bnt\/ste)<\/p>",
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