Internet mania hits Indonesia

Internet mania hits Indonesia

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): The gateway to the information superhighway is
now widely open to people in the country. With just one touch,
you can gain access to the largest global computer network of the
century, the Internet. The hottest issues of a number of topics
are at your fingertips.

Surfing the net has become a fast-growing global trend. Today,
around 32 million people in more than 160 countries all over the
world can link their computers to telephone lines to reach the
network. The Internet was first developed by the U.S. Defense
Department in the 1970s and became popular among Americans about
ten years ago. Tinkering with the Internet is now a new
phenomenon in Asia.

Getting into the Internet is like entering the magic kingdom.
Everything is there. You can learn of the latest development in
the bloody Bosnian war, check out the best tourist destinations
in China, read your favorite comics, or download Playboy bunnies.
You can read and also spread gossip about Hollywood celebrities,
chat with the other net users, or find a date through the
electronic matchmaker. Of course, not all the material offered in
the network is worthwhile. There is much that is foolish,
uninteresting, nasty and subversive.

The negative aspect of entering the cyberspace has raised
concerns among nations. The U.S. Senate has recently approved a
measure that would make online service providers criminally
liable for any obscene communications passing through the
systems. In New Zealand, parliament is pondering the anti-
pornography bill, which covers the transmitting of "objectionable
material" over the network.

Singapore has stated it would take legal action against
cultural and political subversion in the cyberspace. Hong Kong,
which temporarily closed down seven out of eight providers for
not having licenses, said it was cautious about the "cyberporn".
China announced last week that the government would limit local
users' access to the Internet. Time reported in its latest issue
that there are about 2,000 people in China who use the network.

The Internet is relatively new to most Indonesians. The first
local provider, PT Indo Internet, started its operation only in
September 1994. In the past few months, however, three other
companies, PT Rahajasa Media Internet, PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta
and PT Sistelindo Mitralintas, officially launched their services
as providers of Internet. Several other companies are also
planning to provide access to the network.

Director General of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication
Jonathan L. Parapak, said he did was unconcerned about there
being many Internet providers in the country as he sees great
advantages in the use of information through the network.

He said he was aware of the negative aspects of the Internet,
but he did not seem too worried about this.

"The Internet is not like TV. In television, once a program is
on air, it will be seen by all viewers. But the negative things
spread through the Internet will not automatically reach the
users," he told The Jakarta Post early this week.

Owing to the fact that the flow of information can not be
stemmed, people themselves should be able to strengthen their own
moral resilience, Parapak said.

But he said that the government would not hesitate to take
action against those who spread negative issues through the
Internet. Parapak admitted that current legislation might not be
adequate to deal with problems that could emerge from the
cyberspace. Issues on copyrights and ethics relating to the
Internet, as well as the economic aspects, should be anticipated,
he said.

Copyrights

At the International Seminar on Property Rights Protection and
the Role of Non Government Organizations in Hong Kong last month,
Mark Traphagen, a counselor of Software Publishers Association,
drew the attention of seminar participants to the opportunities
and threats for property rights that exist on the Internet.

Computer analyst Zatni Arbi, who attended the seminar, quoted
Traphagen as saying that some users believe that, once a
copyrighted work finds itself on the Net, the copyright
protection is no longer fully in effect. Others even propose that
there should be no protection at all.

Software Publishers Association's opinion is that "the
existence and scope of copyright and other intellectual property
rights should not depend on the form in which they subsist." This
opinion is based on the fundamental principle of copyright laws,
that is, that a work is protected regardless of the medium of
expression in which it is recorded, Arbi said.

"Back in Indonesia, where the Internet is clearly gaining
momentum, we're confronted with the fact that our existing
copyright law is still ill-equipped to handle even conventional
copyright infringements," he told the Post.

"It's a formidable task for our legislature, as we have to
keep up with the rapid advances of technology and information
infrastructure, updated international conventions and laws. We
need more experts in the fields of information technology, law
and law enforcement.

"But, most of all, we need to realize that talks alone will
not get us anywhere if we really want to protect the rights of
our own property rights holders as they, too, take advantage of
the Internet," he said.

While the discussion on the legal aspects of the Internet is
still lingering, more and more people are being connected to the
network.

"The business prospect of the Internet is very good," Dikdik
Hasan, a director of PT Sistelindo, said. PT Sistelindo is a
joint company of USI IBM, Sisindosat of Indosat and Kopegtel of
Telkom.

Hasan said Indonesia was the fourth country in Asia Pacific
after Australia, Japan and New Zealand, to get access to IBM's
Internet services. IBM expanded the service to Hong Kong late in
May and is planning to eventually reach the Philippines, Thailand
and Taiwan.

The target of IBM's global network is business executives and
professionals.

Since PT Sistelindo opened access to the Internet early in
May, about 350 people have registered for membership.

PT Lintas Artha launched Indonesia Online Access (Idola) on
May 24 with a two-month free trial period. Arya Damar, head of
commercial division of PT Lintas Artha, claimed that about 1,000
people have shown an interest in plugging into the system.

He said users are able to get the latest news and information
not only from overseas, but also from inside the country as Idola
cooperates with the Kompas daily as well as several government
institutions, such as the Coordinating Board of the National
Family Planning Board, the Office of the Ministry of Environment
and the Ministry of Industry.

Idola operates in 11 cities throughout the country.

About 2,000 people have entered the information superhighway
through Radnet, which was launched by PT Rahajasa recently. When
the trial operation was over, around 600 people, including
expatriates, and several corporations had signed up as fixed
members, according to Eko Priyono, the company's managing
director. Most of Radnet users are Indonesians who used to ply
the information superhighway when they previously lived overseas.

Radnet has 90 telephone lines and is planning to install
between 100 and 150 more lines to accommodate more user-access to
the Internet.

PT Indo Internet, with only 50 telephone lines, provides the
service to 2,600 users.

"Many of them use the Internet to communicate with their
children who live aboard," the company's support official Chairul
Rachman said.

Registration fees to get into Internet starts from Rp 50,000,
while the lowest monthly membership fee is Rp 40,000 for 15 hours
of connection time. For an additional hour, the charge is between
Rp 2,000 and Rp 4,500 (US$2.00).

Corporates have to pay much more. Radnet, for instance,
charges up to Rp 4 million for the registration/installation fee
and Rp 5 million for unlimited use of the network.

Free

The online electronic network is also used by educational and
governmental institutions, including the University of Indonesia
in Jakarta, the Petra Christian University in Surabaya, and the
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology. People
can also read the electronic bulletin board of the United States
Information Service, which provides the service for free.

The Data Center of the Trade Ministry, which is associated
with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of
Technology's network, Ipteknet, provides an online bulletin board
service, especially for those interested in business and
investment.

"If you are connected to our system, you can get access to the
Internet. But our basic idea is not the Internet. We want to
disseminate information on market opportunity, investment,
technology and human resources in Indonesia," Putu Surya Wirawan,
head of the Data Center, said.

There are about 2,500 users of the Data Center file, but not
all of them have access to all of the information. Putu said that
the full service is provided strictly to serious users. Some
people have registered at the Data Center online service just for
fun because everything is free.

"We are planning to charge the users so that we can support
our operation by ourselves," Putu said.

The two key instruments to get access to the information
superhighway, computers and telecommunication facilities, are
widely available. Around five million new telephone lines will be
installed throughout the country within four years. As for the
computers, reports said that the shipment of personal computers
to Indonesia reached 252,000 in 1994, a 51 percent increase from
the previous year.

Information has become a basic need in human life. The
Internet is still relatively new in Indonesia, but obviously it
will soon become a trend among people. True, there are negative
aspects of the Internet, which need to be anticipated, but there
are great advantages to be gained from the network, if we can
make use of it wisely.