TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Hello from the other side: 75 years of connecting the archipelago
As the biggest archipelagic country in the world, a connection between islands is essential for the country’s development. The telecommunications sector in the country has enjoyed massive progress, despite the challenges in access, inclusivity and high costs.
Change Size
Poor connection: Biology teacher Wahyu Adi Prasetyo (left) and English teacher Rantiyani use their smartphones to teach virtually
in a so-called 'taman tunanetra' (blind park) managed by the Raudlatul Makfufin Foundation in South Tangerang, Banten, on Monday. Stable and affordable internet access is a major barrier for online learning in Indonesia. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
“Documenting 75 years of resilience” is a series of special reports by The Jakarta Post to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day, August 17, 1945.
As the biggest archipelagic country in the world, a connection between islands is essential for the country’s development. The telecommunications sector in the country has enjoyed massive progress, despite the challenges in access, inclusivity and high costs.
In the 1980s, there was only one fixed-telephone subscriber for every 400 inhabitants in the country, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data show.
Fast forward four decades later and the number of internet users in the country has reached 175.4 million, making Indonesia one of the countries with the largest number of internet users globally, according to the DataReportal January 2020 report.
“It was an investment-heavy and challenging task to build telecommunications infrastructure, especially for landlines in rural areas,” Indonesia Information Communication Technology (ICT) Institute executive director Heru Sutadi told the Jakarta Post over the phone on Aug. 6.
Eventually, it is the technological development and the changing policy in the telecommunications sector that has made connectivity more affordable and accessible in Indonesia.
The game changers
