The government continues to strive to accelerate the development of internet access so that it can be enjoyed very evenly by all people in Indonesia and even remote areas of Papua. This is intended so that the Papuan people can experience equitable development.
In 2024, the Papua Province Communication and Information Service (Diskominfo) will have an internet service program for education and also government facilities using the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT).Head of the Biak Numfor Communication and Information Service, George Kbarek, revealed that the VSAT internet service has a very big role in the development policies planned by the government to equalize access to information distribution in all districts and villages in Bumi Cenderawasih.Moreover, if we talk about the geographical conditions in Papua, it is still a remote area and it is still very limited to be able to get internet access services. So it is clear that the VSAT internet service provided by the government can further advance the distribution of information to remote villages.With the VSAT internet network, access to information technology can make it easier for the government to provide optimal and equitable services for the needs of the entire community.The VSAT service can also be used at Community Health Centers (Puskesmas) to support health services, then it can also be used in the education sector, digital entrepreneurship, digital literacy, village funds and various other internet information needs that can be realized easily.Please note that VSAT internet services do not limit users in accessing information because the satellite uses a transmitter and modem which will process and extract the signal so that it can be read by the user.The Indonesian government is also moving through the Ministry of Communication and Information’s Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) to successfully build and operate 4,990 4G BTS in 3T areas (underdeveloped, frontier and outermost) as per data as of December 2023.Furthermore, BAKTI Kominfo will continue to intensify the construction and operation of 4G BTS at 628 points which have not yet been completed because some of these points are force majeure areas in the interior of Papua where construction is very challenging.Regarding this, the Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Budi Are Setiadi said that he had prepared a solution to overcome security problems in Bumi Cenderawasih.This is because President Jokowi himself has also given direct instructions that the development and distribution of internet access in Papua must be completed. Therefore, the Ministry of Communication and Information immediately coordinated with security forces to provide security backup.The entire community, even in the interior of Papua itself, actually really supports the government’s development program and equal distribution of internet access through 4G BTS in their area. Even the local Regent immediately requested it based on requests from the community.However, the construction of 4G BTS in Papua has its own obstacles, namely due to geographical conditions such as in mountainous areas and valleys. Moreover, their population distribution can also be said to be quite scattered in small numbers. Therefore, combined technology is used.The Main Director (Director) of BAKTI Kominfo, Fadhilah Mathar, said that there were indeed geographical challenges and also several cases of security and vandalism from a handful of certain groups such as KST Papua. so that the 4G BTS that had been built and was half-finished had to be dismantled. It is not uncommon for the device to have to be replaced.However, with all these obstacles, it is certainly not an obstacle for the Indonesian Government through the Ministry of Communication and Information because of its strong commitment that if a village meets the USO criteria, then they will still be visited there directly while continuing to consider the safety of the team.Not only is it just preparing infrastructure development in the form of 4G BTS so that people in Papua can enjoy access to internet services, but the Indonesian Government through the Ministry of Communication and Information is also continuing to make efforts to improve the quality of human resources (HR) by encouraging young people to be actively involved in digital literacy together. together to maintain digital space on Earth of Cenderawasih for the sake of the nation’s progress.Currently, the majority of internet users are surfing social media. Moreover, information in all forms ranging from text, images to videos is very easy to obtain through social media with very abundant distribution, so good digital literacy is also needed so that people can distinguish between true information and information that is fake news or hoaxes.Collaboration with cross-sectors is carried out in an effort to build digital literacy for the young generation in Papua, so that they are accustomed to accessing positive content, have digital skills, digital ethics, understand digital security and also digital culture.In order to realize equitable development in all corners of the country, the Government continues to accelerate development of internet service access to the interior of Papua. Because current developments require people to be able to access the world or digital space so that Earth of Cenderawasih is not left behind by other regions.