RI to invest $4b annually in information technology<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Investments in Indonesia's information
\ntechnology such as telecommunications infrastructure and
\nmultimedia facilities may reach US$4 billion a year, according to
\na senior official.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
\nTelecommunications, Jonathan L. Parapak, said yesterday that
\nabout 80 percent of the total investment would come from the
\nprivate sector.<\/p>\n
\"In fixed telephone lines alone, we predict that total
\ninvestment per annum will reach at least $2 billion. The figure
\nwill reach $3 billion if we include cellular services. Another $1
\nbillion must be added if we include multimedia services,\" he told
\njournalists on the sidelines of a meeting held as part of the
\nfive-day Asia-Pacific Telecom '97 Forum at the Jakarta
\nfairgrounds, which will end Wednesday.<\/p>\n
There are currently about 4.7 million fixed telephone lines
\nand some 1.1 million mobile cellular phones in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In accordance with the rapid development of information and
\ntelecommunications technology, people have altered the way they
\ncommunicate. Indonesia is also developing its information
\ntechnology services to meet public demand.<\/p>\n
In its recent report, \"Challenging to the Network:
\nTelecommunications and the Internet\", the International
\nTelecommunications Union (ITU) ranked Indonesia 44th out of 45
\nreviewed nations in multimedia access. The ranking is based on
\npenetration of telephone line density, TV set density and
\nInternet hosts density.<\/p>\n
Hoping not to lag behind further, a number of companies have
\ncreated partnerships in Indonesia to prepare for the further
\nemergence of multimedia services and the convergence of equipment
\nand services from the telecommunications industry, computers,
\nnewspapers, movies, cable television, publishing, broadcasting
\nand related commercial activities.<\/p>\n
Telecommunications infrastructure is necessary and important
\nfor multimedia services.<\/p>\n
At least five firms have been set up in Indonesia to run
\nmultimedia or multimedia-related services: PT YTC, PT Indonusa
\nTelemedia, PT Multimedia Nusantara, PT Multi Media Asia (M2A) and
\nPT Datakom Asia.<\/p>\n
PT YTC is building a multimedia center claimed as the first
\nintegrated and largest multimedia facility in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Among the companies participating in the multimedia business
\nare the state-owned companies PT Indosat and Telkom. State-owned
\ncompanies are the only institutions allowed to run
\ntelecommunications services, including multimedia.<\/p>\n
Cyber law<\/p>\n
In a related development, Coordinating Minister for Production
\nand Distribution Hartarto said yesterday that Indonesia had set
\nup a ministerial-level coordinating body called Telematika
\nIndonesia to prepare Indonesia to enter the global information
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
\"The development and implementation of Indonesian information
\ntechnology requires the establishment of law and regulations
\n(Cyber Law) for intellectual property rights, electronic
\ncommerce, electronic data interchange and information culture
\ncreation,\" Hartarto said in his written speech at the Asia-
\nPacific Telecom '97 Forum.<\/p>\n
The conference is focusing on competitiveness through
\nmultimedia and wireless technology in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has also launched Nusantara 21, an information
\ninfrastructure project which is part of Indonesia's vision to
\nmake the country a fully-fledged member of the global information
\nsociety by early next century.<\/p>\n
Nusantara 21, a multibillion dollar communications project, is
\ndesigned to connect the whole archipelago to the information
\nsuperhighway. The project will include the development of
\nmultimedia technology in several big cities and wide-band super
\nlanes by 2001.<\/p>\n
Parapak said yesterday that the government also will set
\nclearer definitions in multimedia services.<\/p>\n
\"We have to be more specific in licensing any firms dealing in
\nmultimedia services, whether as content or infrastructure
\nproviders, operators or something else,\" he said. (icn)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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