Indonesia has brought three priority issues to the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG): Equitable digital access, digital literacy and secure cross-border data flow.

From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia has experienced unprecedented growth in digital transformation. In fact, digitalization was the backbone of the government’s pandemic response and COVID-19 recovery strategy, and enabled businesses to survive during the crisis. Since the start of the pandemic, the digital industry has remained among the highest growing sectors, reaching 10.58 percent year-on-year in 2020 and achieving 7.78 percent cumulative growth in the first half of 2021.

This trend is putting pressure on telecommunication networks, such as 4G/LTE cellular networks, which are the most widely used means to connect to the internet among consumers today. The introduction of 5G technology will offer relief to mobile service providers to keep up with the ever increasing demand on their capacities, while at the same time opening massive opportunities to support digital transformation in vertical markets such as mining, manufacturing and health care. Service providers have positioned the 5G vertical market as a cornerstone in their strategy to achieve sustainable growth in coming years.

In 2021, China’s ZTE Corporation helped the Indonesian government and mobile network operators implement commercial 5G technology. The government aims to achieve even distribution of commercial 5G networks by 2025. The preparations to welcome 5G technology, including infrastructure, spectrum and devices, continue to be a priority of the government, operators and businesses.

To support inclusive digital transformation as a G20 priority issue, super-fast 5G connection will bring with it massive technological advancements. The industry is eagerly anticipating the allocation of new bands in the 5G spectrum range, as stipulated in the communications ministry’s 2021-2024 strategic plan for massive 5G implementation. In particular, the plan to allocate low frequency bands this year, as the result of successful analog TV switch-off for mobile broadband, will bring 5G coverage to the wider public in this vast archipelagic nation.

In order to gain optimum value from 5G technology and digital transformation, Indonesia needs to address the following challenges.

First, the sudden shift to digital transformation makes cultivating new digital talents an immediate and urgent matter. International consultant Korn Ferry estimated a global shortage of 4.7 million tech talents by 2030.

With the commercialization of 5G and the technological advances it promises, such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the demand for information and communications technology (ICT) talents will surge. The mismatch between technological developments and the skills and experience workers need to leverage these advanced tools will lead to the technology being unable to deliver the promised productivity.

Digital literacy and digital talent are among the priorities issues of the G20 DEWG, which shows how seriously the Indonesian government takes this matter. In collaboration with Indonesia’s top national universities, ZTE has launched the 5G Rising Star program, offering opportunities for university students to continue developing their ICT skills.

Second, although 5G is still at a fledgling stage, it has a critical window of opportunity for rolling out. Higher technological requirements means more inputs and greater returns. As developing 5G networks and coverage requires continuous improvement, a long-term strategy is needed.

As Indonesia promotes global economic recovery through the G20 forum, including via the digital economy, the government is continuing to improve the country’s digital infrastructure. Potential investments in the country include 5G infrastructure to support commercial networks and broader coverage. This also needs to be followed with improvements in network coverage, business innovation, ecosystem development and multi-technology integration.

We believe that technologies need ingenuity and investments need long-term plans to secure greater returns. Just like its predecessor, 5G transformation will take time to go from "technology" to "experience", and then to "value". Some applications of 5G technology, such as ultra-high definition, 8K machine vision and automation to replace human power in harsh work environments, are becoming increasingly successful today. In the future, successful 5G applications must create differentiated value, such as ultra-large bandwidth video, ultra-low latency control and smart network-computer coordination.

Addressing the challenges is just as important as planning for the future. By strengthening information security and promoting the cultivation of highly skilled ICT talents, supported by long-term strategies and investments, Indonesia will progress in technology developments that bring great value in promoting the digital economy and contributing to global economic recovery.

Third, adopting 5G, especially to enable the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), is one of the keys to developing the industrial sector. In industrial applications, 5G offers real-time capabilities and supports automation toward developing smart factories, augmented reality, drone inspection and video services.

To support key industrial applications that have rapid and high volumes of traffic, as well as numerous interconnected devices, it is critical to ensure that networks perform seamlessly. Even with the growing complexity of networks, there is no room for downtime or disruption. Low latency also has many significant industrial uses that are critical for process control, as 5G is used to control equipment and data exchange across networks in real time.

For many industrial applications, private networks might offer a better outlook through a separate 5G network created specifically for devices and data transmission for implementing at a particular location. This means a 5G network can be customized for a company’s particular needs, all the while ensuring high levels of security and service.

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The writer is president director of ZTE Indonesia.