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‘Justice for all’: Jokowi calls for productive use of internet with launch of Palapa Ring
Against the backdrop of poor internet connection in Indonesia’s outermost regions, President Jokowi conducted on Monday the operational launch of the Palapa Ring project, a billion-dollar fiber optic development program to connect all corners of the country with broadband internet.
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Against the backdrop of poor intrnet connection in Indonesia’s Palapa Ring project is aa billion-dollar fiber optic development program to connect all corners of the country with broadband internet. (Communication and Information Ministry/-)
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n a video conference discussing internet connection between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace in Jakarta and representatives from the five outermost regions of Indonesia, laughter broke the silence over a report from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
“Bapak President, a more proper [expansion] for NTT is Nyalanya Tidak Tentu. [The internet] is sometimes strong, other times weak,” said East Nusa Tenggara deputy governor Josef Nae Soi from Rote Ndao, the southernmost island of Indonesia.
The story from Rote is also shared by some of the country’s easternmost parts as West Papua deputy governor Mohamad Lakotani told Jokowi in the same video conference that many surrounding regencies were also still faced with slow internet.
Against the backdrop of poor internet connection in Indonesia’s outermost regions, President Jokowi conducted on Monday the operational launch of the Palapa Ring project, a billion-dollar fiber optic development program to connect all corners of the country with broadband internet.
Monday's event marked the operation of the Palapa Ring's east package, which covers the country’s eastern region including Papua, West Papua and East Nusa Tenggara, while the Ring's west and central package have already been operational since last year.
“The Palapa Ring is hoped to be able to bring justice to all Indonesian citizens from Sabang to Merauke, from Miangas to Rote, to have an equal chance of accessing advanced technology and high-speed connectivity,” said Jokowi.
Although Indonesia is home to a huge proportion of the world’s Facebook and Twitter users, when it comes to internet usage, the country suffers from unequal access, proficiency discrepancies and inadequate infrastructure.
