Internet providers have good business prospects

Internet providers have good business prospects

JAKARTA (JP): Business prospects for service and information-
providers of the Internet superhighway are still good, but the
network's rapid growth in Indonesia may slow down if the
government decides it has a negative impact, an academician says.

Professor Dimyati Hartono of Diponegoro University's School of
Law in Semarang, Central Java, said yesterday that there are
presently less than 10 Internet service providers in the country.

"This, in addition to the fact that the government has decided
to open up the information business, will allow more companies to
enter the business," he said.

Dimyati said, however, that the government may restrict or
even close the sector if it considers the number of providers is
enough or if the network seems to have a negative effect on the
country.

He made his remarks during a seminar on the prospects and
future challenges of the information business in Indonesia, which
was held yesterday to commemorate the Antara news agency's 58th
anniversary.

Dimyati said that a company which intends to enter the
Internet service business in Indonesia may presently face hurdles
caused by poor infrastructure.

"But the aspect of infrastructure I am talking about is not
the hardware and software facilities, but rather the licensing
procedures," he said.

"What is needed is legal certainty from the government and
consistency in applying the law," he added.

Companies intending to enter the information business, he
said, must pay special attention to the requirements and expiry
date of the permits awarded by the government because they are
crucial to determining the company's investment and return on
investment strategies.

Dimyati felt the government should concentrate less on
creating regulations for the information sector and understand
that openness, democratization and free access to global
information is inevitable.

He pointed out that Internet users, for example, presently
have access to U.S. President Bill Clinton, Congress members and
other U.S. government institutions.

Singapore, he added, is also aware of the power of information
and currently 30 percent of the country's population use the
superhighway.

There are presently five Internet service providers in
Indonesia, the newest one being PT Cyberindo Aditama (CBNnet),
which was launched last month.

The other four are PT Indo Internet (Indonet), PT Aplikanusa
Lintasartha (Idola), PT Rajasa Media (Radnet) and PT Sistelindo
Mitralintas (Inet).

According to Onno W. Purbo from the Bandung Institute of
Technology's Computer Network Research Group, there are presently
about 10,639 Internet users in Indonesia.

Of this number, 29.5 percent are in universities, 5.8 percent
in research institutions, one percent in non-governmental
organizations, 20.9 percent in government institutions and 42.8
percent in industry and commercial centers.

Approximately 71.7 percent of the users are in Jakarta and
25.7 percent live in Bandung.

Onno said the Internet's global market already reaches 32
million users and is growing at a rate of 10 percent a month.
(pwn)