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Alleged graft threatens RI digital development
Regions set to get 4G in 2024 have longer to wait.
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n alleged corruption in the 4G base transceiver station (BTS) provision for the frontier, outermost and remote regions (3T) will cause great damage to the Indonesian people, experts say, as the case will most likely halt the government’s priority program to fast-track high-speed network deployment throughout the archipelago.
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is currently investigating a suspected corruption in the BTS project meant for 4G infrastructure spearheaded by Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) under the Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo).
“Due to this case, the regions that were meant to get telecommunication service in 2024 will have to wait longer. [We] feel sorry for the people in the 3T regions because of the delay,” said chair of Indonesian Internet Providers Association (APJII) Arif Angga to The Jakarta Post, on Tuesday.
Arif explained that his organization values proper and affordable telecommunication service as a primary need, hence the importance of the government’s presence in providing it within the 3T regions.
“For APJII, the most important thing is how our brothers and sisters in the 3T regions can get telecommunication service,” said Arif.
Not only in BTS, he continued, but any project debilitated by embezzlement will impact said project’s continuity immensely. And this is “not the first time that embezzlement in telecommunication projects has happened in Indonesia,” said Arif, referring to one example in the case of District Internet Service Center Car (MPLIK).
Heavy toll
The fund for that project came from the universal service obligation (USO) fee of telecommunication operators -- in which APJII was involved -- and the people paid a heavy toll due to the embezzlement.
Sigit Puspito Wigati Jarot, head of national telematics infrastructure at the Indonesian Telematics Society (Mastel), also told the Post on Tuesday that BAKTI is “absolutely necessary” in pushing for digital transformation in the country.
“People, especially those who are in the 3T regions, are putting great expectations on BAKTI. They hope BAKTI can pioneer BTS provision in their regions,” said Sigit.
“If [BAKTI] is halted or hampered, it may result in a significant digital disparity. This [suspected corruption] must not obstruct the BAKTI project overall,” he added.
For his part, Arif said that, be it funded by the state budget or by a USO fee, the telecommunication infrastructure project must be thoroughly, accountably and responsibly evaluated, in a manner that involves all stakeholders in the telecommunication industry.
The reason for that, Arif revealed, was because those stakeholders understand the technical necessity as well as the challenges on the field, as they are the ones who can provide spot-on suggestions regarding effectivity.
“Just so the telecommunication services [project] in the 3T regions can proceed, APJII hopes that thorough evaluation [on BAKTI] will be done,” said Arif.
He went on to say that when the evaluation is done, the association hopes that the government can pour money back into the project for the sake of the regions, under the condition of it being closely monitored by the Development Finance Controller, the AGO and every stakeholder.
BAKTI’s network-deployment project kicked off in 2020 and was targeted to cover 7,904 blank spots until 2023. It was meant to be carried out in two phases: the first was to finish in 2022 with 4,200 BTS towers being established, while the rest was supposed to be done in 2023.
Up until the second quarter of 2022, the project had only managed to erect 2,060 to 2,070 BTS towers.
From industry perspective, Steve Saerang, Indosat Ooredo Hutchison (IOH) senior vice president-head of corporate communications said that telco players are now still coordinating internally to follow up on the alleged corruption case.
“That case notwithstanding, the implementation of 4G service infrastructure project in non-3T villages is still underway. Right now, around 61 percent of our duty on 4G services in non-3T villages are operational, and we try our best to complete [the project] as per the target, which is the end of 2022,” he noted.
In the future, Steve added, IOH would continue to expand the 4G services across Indonesia to give “marvelous customer experience” to support Indonesian people’s digital lifestyle.
New investigation status
Last week, the assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes raised the project’s status from preliminary investigation to investigation. This Monday, the investigation team searched through the Kominfo’s office to confiscate certain undisclosed documents and digital evidence related to the case.
On the same day, the AGO carried out similar actions in one of the suspected project vendors’ offices, namely that of PT Adyawinsa Telecommunication and Electrical.
“From the search, we have found several important documents believed to be related to said case management and now [the investigation] team is undergoing evaluation and inquiries according to the documents found,” said the assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes director Kuntadi on Monday.
PT Fiberhome Technologies Indonesia, PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta, PT Infrastruktur Bisnis Sejahtera, PT Sansasine Exindo, PT Moratelindo, PT Excelsia Mitraniaga Mandiri and PT ZTE Indonesia are also suspected to be involved in the case, as revealed by Kuntadi on Nov. 2.
An Aplikanusa Lintasarta spokesperson told the Post on Tuesday that the company cannot yet give an official statement regarding the case until further notice.
Kominfo, on the other hand, did not respond with an immediate comment; its mouth has been sewn shut on the topic, releasing zero official statements on the case.
Moreover, BAKTI president director Anang Achmaf Latif was not available for immediate comment, as Association of Cellular Telecommunication Indonesia (ATSI) refused to comment on the matter.
The assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes questioned 60 witnesses before deciding to turn this case into an investigation and it afterward claimed to have enough evidence to do so.
