Govt targets 500,000 Internet kiosks by 2004

JAKARTA (JP): The government is planning to boost the number of Internet kiosks across the nation from 2,500 to 500,000 in 2004 to popularize Internet among the public, a top government official said on Tuesday.

Assistant to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dipo Alam said the Internet kiosk development was one of the programs proposed by the government to donor countries interested in helping Indonesia bridge its digital divide.

Many countries are offering grants to help Indonesia bridge its digital divide, said Dipo, who is also chairman of the application working group of the ministry's Coordinating Team for Indonesian Telecommunication and IT.

"We must try to obtain these grants, otherwise the money would go to other countries who are more advanced than us," he said in a media conference on information, communications and technology (ICT) here.

Dipo said ICT development had been proven to be important in improving the economy.

"For example for Singapore and Hong Kong (which have developed information, communications and technology), investments come easily to them," he said, quickly adding that security assurance was also another reason why both countries are a favorite with investors.

The Japanese government has offered US$15 billion to help Asian countries, including Indonesia, develop ICT.

Aside from the Japanese government, Dipo said, the United States's agency USAID had also expressed interest in helping Indonesia develop its ICT.

Furthermore, the South Korean government has also offered Indonesia a $2.5 million grant, he added.

"Indonesia with its more than 200 million population is considered a captive market for Japanese ICT products," Dipo explained.

He said Indonesia had proposed 75 programs to the Japanese government with five programs on the priority list, including the development of the Internet kiosks.

Indonesia expected the Japanese government's response to the proposal sometime in September this year.

Dipo said the private sector should also take the initiative to develop Internet kiosks across the nation.

"If we wait for the government to build the infrastructure, it would take too long," he said.

Dipo did not specify the steps planned by the government to boost the number of kiosks across the nation, but he said his team would organize a workshop called "National Dialog", involving all concerned parties, on July 12 to discuss ways to reach the target of 500,000 Internet kiosks.

He said Internet kiosk was seen as an ideal solution to bridge the digital divide in the country as it could quickly reach a wider segment of the public and was cheaper for the public than having to buy Internet equipment themselves.

Dipo said some of the issues to be discussed at the workshop at the Jakarta Convention Center include how to upgrade the existing 187,000 telecommunications kiosks into Internet kiosks and provide credit for people to open Internet kiosks.

"For that reason we've also invited major banks such as Bank Mandiri and BRI," he added. (tnt)