'Info infrastructure vital for competition'

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs to build a national information infrastructure (NII) to help maintain high economic growth and to improve competitiveness on the global market, an expert said.

Building NIIs has become a worldwide trend that Indonesia should follow, said Setyanto P. Santosa, former president of state-owned telecommunication firm PT Telkom at a seminar in Jakarta on Friday.

"A number of countries have started developing NII because it is seen as the strategic medium for maintaining and improving competitiveness into the 21st century," Setyanto said.

Existing NIIs from these countries have been interconnected to form a global information infrastructure -- a network of networks -- which improves the flow of information across countries, he added.

NII programs begin with the development of an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and a wide band network. These networks are connected to all government institutions, universities, private firms, and other organizations, which feed information in the network.

Information should be accessible to all parties through the internal network which is then connected to the global information network, the Internet, he said.

ISDN evolved from a "telephony integrated digital network" into a network that provides end-to-end digital connectivity. The network supports a wide range of services which users can access through a limited set of standard multi-purpose user network interfaces.

Indonesia's ISDN, known locally as Pasopati, was launched last year with state-owned telecommunication firms PT Indosat and PT Telkom as sponsors.

A wide band network, which uses fiber optic and enables large amounts of information to be transferred at the lowest possible cost, has not yet been introduced in Indonesia.

Setyanto, currently secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the development of Indonesia's NII needed support from all parties, including the government, the private sector, universities and the public.

"The government must provide a healthy environment to attract the private sector, state-owned firms and people in general to participate in the development of Indonesia's NII," Setyanto said.

He suggested the government soon provide the public with a transparent framework policy, master plan and proposed budget for the development of the NII.

The government could initially use foreign loans to build the network. The people and the private sector, who benefit from the network, can be targeted to help finance its further development, Setyanto suggested.

"The funds needed to build Indonesia's NII could be realized from foreign loans, the private sector and the public. It will work as long as the master plan is clear and transparent," he said.

The government should encourage the establishment of public databases which could be accessed through the NII.

Public databases should be prepared in individual nodes of the NII to reduce the future cost of supply, development and maintenance.

"For this purpose, we must establish now a basic standard that is easy to access," Setyanto noted.

Governance

Indonesia's NII will create new jobs, propel economic growth, increase the efficiency of public services, expand education and health services, and so on, he said.

"Government services supported by the NII, will gradually become more efficient, effective and responsive to demand," Setyanto said.

In the education sector, the NII will provide educators and students alike with unprecedented access to information centers, such as libraries and museums. Tourism will be promoted via the internet, and in the domestic economic sector, the NII will help the country run the economy more efficiently as electronic commerce can significantly reduce transaction costs.

The NII is expected to boost the country's exports by providing information on products needed on the foreign market.

International transaction costs can be reduced by up to 35 percent, with electronic data interchange by customs offices.

Electronic data interchange is one feature of the NII currently being considered by Indonesia's Directorate General of Customs and Excise. Malaysian and Singapore customs offices are already using electronic data interchange systems. (rid)