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n the world’s most Twitter-happy city, Internet connection is everything.

But when the Jakarta administration announced it would provide a free Internet connection along four busy roads in the capital, the response from Jakartans was surprisingly lukewarm. Is this that what the city really needs?

Syalinda Citra, 24, said she did not think she would regularly use the free Wi-Fi access because she was already connected to the Internet 24/7 through the 3G service on her Blackberry and iPhone.

“I don’t think Jakartans really need free Internet access along those roads since most of them use smartphones to connect,” she said on Saturday.

“However, I see it as something that is good, if it exists. I mean who doesn’t want free Wi-Fi? But if it doesn’t exist, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

As of Saturday, Jakartans passing four city thoroughfares, namely Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta, Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta and Jl. MT Haryono in East Jakarta, can now access the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection for no charge.

This is part of the grand plan by the city administration to provide free Internet access in public spaces across the capital.

Citra, who tried the free Wi-Fi when she was driving to the Grand Indonesia shopping mall on Jl. Thamrin, said she used the service to check her Twitter and Facebook.

She believes the service might not be completely useless, saying that it could be useful for tourists who found themselves in need of a free Internet connection to check information about the city while they were sightseeing.  “I would probably just use the Wi-Fi to kill time if I was stuck in a traffic jam. I don’t think I will use it for work,” she said. “I prefer to use a stable Internet connection when I am working.”

Citra, who lives in Rawamangun in East Jakarta and works for a mining company, said the free Wi-Fi connection range was not broad enough, as she could not detect the connection as soon as she turned at the Bundaran HI traffic circle into the shopping mall.

Another user, Yenny Sulaiman, struggled with poor reception while she was driving within the vicinity of Sarinah and Bank Indonesia on Jl. Thamrin. “The signal was very poor,” she said.

In 2011, 42.7 percent of the Jakartans were Internet users, according to last year’s study by research firm Markplus Insight. The percentage was lower Bandung, Semarang, Denpasar and Medan.

Budi Andriyan, 25, doubted the free Internet would be useful for pedestrians, who have been deprived from their right to walk safely and comfortably in the capital.

“It’s probably useful for people stuck in a traffic jam, but not for people walking on the street,” he said as he walked in front of Plaza Indonesia on Jl. MH Thamrin.   

The city administration said it had not spent a single cent to provide the service. Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, who is seeking re-
election, said private companies provided the free Internet service as they installed fiber optic networks along the roads.

Fauzi denied he had launched the service because he wanted to gain support ahead of the runoff election. “Do you want Jakarta to be more modern or not? We have planned it for quite some time,” said Fauzi, who will face Surakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the Sept. 20 runoff. (han)