Mastel Urges Global Platforms to Contribute to National Digital Infrastructure
The Indonesian Telematics Society (Mastel) is encouraging the creation of an ecosystem that involves global digital platforms, or Over the Top (OTT) services, in contributing to the development of national digital infrastructure.
Mastel Chairman Sarwoto Atmosutarno stated that the increasing growth of the digital economy needs to be accompanied by a more balanced distribution of roles among all digital ecosystem players. “So far, we have mostly seen the benefits of the presence of global digital platforms, ranging from digital economic growth, efficiency, to various service innovations. However, at the same time, the need for digital infrastructure investment continues to increase and is mostly still borne by the telecommunications industry,” Sarwoto said in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday.
Sarwoto noted that this condition shows that the development of the digital ecosystem can no longer be the responsibility of just one sector. “The involvement of all elements of the digital ecosystem is essential, especially since global digital platforms have been utilising telecommunications networks, so they need to take part in maintaining the sustainability of Indonesia’s digital infrastructure development,” he said.
He appreciated the views of Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid regarding the importance of retaining national digital economic value domestically, including through a fair share scheme between global digital platforms and national infrastructure providers. According to him, this idea is a strategic step to ensure that digital economic growth goes hand in hand with strengthening national capacity.
“With the increasing need for connectivity, it must be balanced with a more proportional contribution from all digital ecosystem players,” Sarwoto said. He also expressed support for the strengthening of digital platform governance, both within the government and the House of Representatives (DPR RI).
He assessed that a number of ministries and agencies, such as the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), as well as Commission I, Commission VI, and Commission XI of the DPR RI, have shared views on the importance of this policy. “This way, national digital infrastructure development can take place sustainably and provide greater benefits for Indonesia,” Sarwoto said.
The statement was made during a series of activities at the Digital Transformation Indonesia Conference & Expo (DTI-CX) 2026, which was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Head of the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) Nugroho Sulistyo Budi, and Director General of Digital Ecosystem at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs Edwin Hidayat Abdullah.