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Proposed IoT regulation to boost digital economy, govt says
The government is finalizing a proposed regulation that will standardize Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the country as part of its efforts to boost the growth of the digital economy to help narrow the income gap, a minister has said
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span>The government is finalizing a proposed regulation that will standardize Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the country as part of its efforts to boost the growth of the digital economy to help narrow the income gap, a minister has said.
Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said in a forum recently that his ministry expected the regulation to be issued in the first quarter of 2019.
In this regard, the IoT is defined as an interconnection via the internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to exchange data, often in the form of chips.
Rudiantara cited smart farming as an example of IoT implementation, in which a farmer in Ubud, Bali, could grow her crops efficiently with the help of the internet. The farmer showcased her activities in a forum held by Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta.
“It was presented in [a farm] in Ubud, where the owner, Bu Hesti, explained how the IoT helped her measure nutrients, the growth of soil, fertilization and many other things,” the minister said. “All of those are being done by sensors and not by humans.”
Aside from agriculture, he said the IoT could be used in any sector, such as transportation and construction, which includes 3D-printed houses. For the 3D-printing innovation, he said he had started discussion with Revolution Precrafted, a unicorn from the Philippines, as the government was implementing its One Million Houses program to reduce the housing backlog in the country.
“Here’s the thing, if we use human workers, how long would it take for us to build 1 million type-21 houses?” Rudiantara remarked. “Moreover, with 3D printing, it will only cost US$10.000 per house; while with conventional materials, it would definitely cost more.”
Rudiantara stressed that the government threw its support behind helping the IoT to develop, including in microrobotics, artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots and cloud computing. In order to ensure better internet connection, he said the government had targeted that every city and regency could be connected to the broadband network.
According to the ministry’s data, broadband connection in the western part of Indonesia has reached around 99.5 percent, far higher than in other areas. The government expects to complete the network development in the central part of Indonesia before the end of 2018.
“In the east [of Indonesia], [the connection] is the least progressive; 80 percent but we hope in the first quarter of next year, the construction will wrap up so everything will be integrated next year,” Rudiantara explained.
He added that the government regarded the digital economy as a way to reduce the country’s income inequality given its ability to create new forms of jobs, citing local unicorns Go-Jek, Tokopedia and Bukalapak as the pioneers of digital small and medium enterprises (SME). Currently, the number of SME business owners in Indonesia amounts to 6 million people.
The digital economy, he said, would also create a sharing-based economy and help boost efforts at financial inclusion, giving greater access to the unbanked population.
Indonesia’s Gini ratio, which measures a country’s level of inequality on a scale of 0 to 1, fell slightly to 0.389 in March, according to Statistics Indonesia data, after sitting as high as 0.41 in 2011.
A country with a Gini ratio of 0.0 would be considered to have total equality in income distribution, while a score of 1 would indicate a country with total inequality, in which one person controls all income.
While the digital economy might improve people’s welfare, Atma Jaya Catholic University rector A. Prasetyantoko said society might have to confront questions emerging from technological disruption.
“In the years to come, technology will become more intensive in every aspect; in the industrial, financial and educational sectors,” he said. “Furthermore, in this economic system shifts in social entrepreneurship become clearer, which means social perspectives will become stronger.”
Prasetyantoko believed technological disruption had prompted institutions to transform their systems in order to stay relevant. Atma Jaya has recently developed two digital products, a chatbot named Savira and an online course program called Atmazeds. (aak)
