Multimedia project continues amid crisis
JAKARTA (JP): The country's ambitious multimedia project to link the archipelago with information technology and superhighway networks would continue as scheduled despite the currency crisis, an official said Wednesday.
The secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, Jonathan L. Parapak, said there would be some revisions and adjustments to the Nusantara 21 project due to the currency crisis, which had hit Indonesia since last July.
However, he said adjustments would not affect the project's schedule because most parts of the project were already underway.
"Among related projects to continue are satellite and fiber optic networks," he said.
Adjustments would take place in the form of the selection of cities to be linked with the information technology infrastructure and superhighway networks, he said.
Due to the monetary upheaval, the government has decided to cancel indefinitely the licensing of 11 new cellular operators. The new cellular licenses were originally scheduled to be awarded late last year.
Nusantara 21's plans include the development of multimedia technology in several big cities and wideband superlanes by 2001. The project will be implemented in various stages.
In the first phase, the project will link the country's 27 provincial capitals with connections appropriate to each province's economic development plan.
All existing telecommunications infrastructure, including satellites, conventional and terrestrial cables, submarine cables and terrestrial radio links, are to be linked to the new massive telecommunications network.
"Infrastructure development has been completed in Jakarta. Big cities in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Sulawesi will soon have such networks," Parapak said.
He said Jakarta would be a multimedia city by 1999.
"A multimedia city means the city will have a service capacity in wideband superlanes next year," he said.
After the capital, Medan, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Ujungpandang, Batam, Kuala Kencana and Balikpapan would also become multimedia cities, he said.
When the plan was announced in late 1996, the government estimated that Nusantara 21, which would involve both private and government participation, would cost at least Rp 33 trillion (US$4.7 billion).
Nusantara 21 will include the archipelago superlane, multimedia cities and Nusantara multimedia community access centers. The archipelago superlane will connect the 27 provincial capitals with backbone transmission facilities.
Multimedia cities will cover big and small cities' commercial and economic centers with fiber optics and medium and wide-band facilities. The number of multimedia cities will increase gradually into a "telecommuting", long-distance system.
Nusantara multimedia community access centers are set to provide broadband pay phones, broadband business centers, multimedia community kiosks and network e-libraries.
Major cities and district capitals should be hooked up by 2001. By that time, educational and cultural, health, trade, research and scientific, tourist, public service and governmental applications should be sufficiently developed to benefit from the telecommunications highway. (icn)