T

he Surabaya municipality will equip every park and public area in the city with WiFi Internet access points, or hotspots, by teaming up with state-run telecommunications firm PT Telkom Indonesia as part of its efforts to accelerate the Surabaya Cyber City program.

After inaugurating a Broadband Learning Center (BLC) at the Prestasi Park in Surabaya on June 10, Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said the municipality would also provide Internet connections free from pornographic sites in every school in Surabaya in stages and then in city parks and public areas.

The municipality has thus far set up five BLCs in the city — three in residential flats and two in city parks. The three BLCs are at the Tanah Merah, Penjaringansari and Urip Sumoharjo flats and the other two are at Prestasi and Flora parks.

Surabaya is home to nine flats for lease and a flat for private ownership. The municipality has also built 10 city parks with different themes as public areas.

PT Telkom Indonesia eastern region consumer service executive general manager Iskriono Windiarjanto said on Monday that PT Telkom had also donated 20 computers and four laptops to the five BLCs.

Rismaharini expressed hope the free Internet services could optimally be used by Surabaya residents, especially small and medium-scale entrepreneurs in Surabaya to market their products.

“As almost all transactions are carried out online, I hope the presence of the BLCs could bring positive impacts for SMEs by marketing their products more easily and effectively through the Internet,” said Rismaharini.

Wiwien, a resident of Oro-Oro, Pacar Keling subdistrict, Tambaksari district, said he was happy with the presence of the BLC in Prestasi Park as he could learn about the Internet from tutors at the facility. “Initially I never accessed the Internet. Now I know how to access the Internet after being taught by the BLC. After this I will promote my business through the Internet,” he said.

Surabaya Information and Communications Office head Chalid Buhari said the presence of the BLCs was expected to act as a barometer for the national model of technology development for urban residents.

PT Telkom Indonesia’s Iskriono said he supports the Surabaya municipality’s efforts to support residents who are savvy in information technology.

“We have initiated the 1 million WiFi and 2 million Internet connections program. Hopefully the program could improve the city residents’ IT knowledge. In addition to that, we have planned to set up 800,000 hotspots in Surabaya,” Iskriono said.

He said the program was aimed at encouraging people in Surabaya to access the Internet. “Growth in ideal broadband access must be encouraged, keeping in mind that Internet access could be more effective with a huge broadband,” said Iskriono.