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Widespread 5G still far ahead for Indonesia
Indonesia recently welcomed the first two commercial 5G in the country but mass 5G availability would still be in the far future as the government focused on 4G network rollout in rural areas.
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Telkomsel launches its 5G network service in Jakarta on May 27. (Courtesy of Telkomsel/-)
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ndonesia is projected to take more than six years to see widespread 5G adoption, despite recent milestones in 5G deployment, as the government is expected to focus on expanding 4G services at least in the medium term, experts and studies say.
Telecommunications Network Providers Association (Apjatel) chairman M. Arif Angga said 5G would likely follow a similar trajectory as 4G, which has yet to fully cover rural Indonesia, despite having been commercially available since 2010 and popular since 2014.
“Technological developments move so quickly that, even as we welcome 5G, many areas in Indonesia still do not have access to 4G, even after being around for six years. I would say it is impossible to have widespread 5G by 2022,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Arif went on to say that, because 5G-supporting applications such as virtual reality games were still scarce, 5G’s early use cases would be similar to 4G, such as video streaming and household WiFi, among other consumer-related uses.
“So, if people are still satisfied with 4G services, they don’t necessarily need 5G,” he said, but added that expanding 5G remained important over the long run so Indonesia did not fall behind other countries.
“I think the government’s focus on providing 4G is wise and makes sense,” Arif said.
Recently, two of the biggest telecommunication companies in Indonesia, state-owned Telkomsel and state-owned Indosat, launched the first-ever commercial 5G service in the country, marking Indonesia's entry into a global trend that is being led by China, South Korea and the United States.
