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T Indosat CEO, Alexander Rusli, says he plans to propose Jakarta as part of a project implementing integrated mobile technology in the running of a city, from administrative procedures documenting citizens to the use of electronic payments.

Mobile operators have shown great interest in the deployment of mobile solutions, given that they see them as their future revenue stream as voice and text revenues stagnate as the market shifts toward data.

A study by research firm Frost & Sullivan shows that this year data will contribute 40.7 percent of the average revenue per user and by 2017 that figure will rise to 46.3 percent. The data also shows that between 2013 and 2017, the 2G telecommunications subscription base will slip 61.8 percent to 11.7 million subscriptions while 3G and 3.5G will surge by 94.3 percent to 164 million subscriptions.

'€œSince I am now a member of a board overseeing the implementation of integrated mobile technology in a major city, I would like to involve Jakarta as well,'€ Alexander said.

Alexander has recently became an advisory board member for a project under the GSM Association (GSMA) '€” a worldwide association of telecommunications operators as well as sectors connected to that industry '€” piloted by the Barcelona administration.

The board consists of ten members, six of them from different markets with the remainder from technology companies.

'€œThe current team is still drafting the concept of the project. Thus, it is a good time to propose Jakarta as a sister city to Barcelona given that many aspects of the project are still under discussion,'€ he noted.

The Jakarta administration envisions turning the capital into a smart city, by for example, providing WiFi access points in public areas.

Alexander said that if Jakarta was to become a sister city, the capital could '€œget a taste of the latest mobile technology'€.

'€œOne of the things suggested in the creation of a mobile city is to have mobile-based personal identification systems,'€ he said.

The Jakarta administration has already rolled out electronic identification cards, or e-KTP. However, the project has hit stumbling blocks, such as the limited amount of equipment for producing the cards.

'€œAnother important format is mobile-based payment systems in conducting transactions in the city, such as paying public transportation fares,'€ he said.

The administration has issued electronic cards for the payment of Transjakarta bus fares, although not all Transjakarta bus stops have the technology to accept the cards.

Mobile operators see mobile payments as a future revenue source and have launched their own brands of applications. Indosat has DompetKu whereas PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) has TCash.

However, operators say that the adoption of these applications by subscribers has met challenges given that people were unaccustomed to digital means of transaction.

Alexander said Jakarta was in a good position to become Barcelona'€™s sister city given that both city'€™s shared common characteristics.

He pointed out that like Barcelona, the adoption of mobile technology had become widespread in the city, a microcosm of Indonesia.

Frost & Sullivan predicts that by the end of 2013, there will be 326.4 million mobile subscriptions in Indonesia, with the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicting that as many as 59 million mobile phones would be shipped into the country by the end of the year.