According to World Bank Indonesia’s 2021 flagship report, half of the country’s adult population is still without internet access despite the rapid progress in internet connectivity over the past 10 years.
Although Indonesia fares well compared with regional peers in mobile broadband penetration (at slower speeds), it still lags behind on 4G/LTE and fixed broadband rollout. Affordability issues also further exacerbate the divide. Regions such as Sumatra are faced with high prices for fixed broadband or fiber-to-the-home subscriptions, while areas in Papua and Nusa Tenggara have no providers at all.
In 2019, Indonesia’s Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo) appointed a consortium headed by domestic satellite operator Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) to deploy and operate a telecommunications satellite. The consortium selected Thales Alenia Space, Thales’ aerospace arm and Europe’s largest satellite manufacturer.
Olivier Rabourdin, Thales Indonesia Country Director
The full Ka-band SATRIA satellite is expected to carry more than 150 gigabytes per second over Indonesia’s most remote areas with its fifth-generation (5G) digital processor.
It will connect around 145,000 areas including 90,000 schools, and 40,000 hospitals and public buildings alongside regional government sites currently not linked to existing satellites and terrestrial infrastructure.
Furthermore, Thales Alenia Space will enforce a complete training program for PSN engineers, with several joining the project team in Toulouse and Cannes, in France, during the duration of the program.
Indonesia’s modernized urban regions may have better connectivity, but they still have a long way to go before becoming truly “connected”.
According to a World Bank report, Indonesia as the world’s fourth most populous country has been largely transformed by urbanization. In 2019, over half of the Indonesian population (around 151 million people) lived in cities and towns. By 2045, 100 years after its independence, approximately 70 percent of Indonesians (roughly 220 million people) will be urban dwellers.
However, the unprecedented growth of urban areas has also brought about negative effects associated with the pressure of urban agglomeration on the infrastructure, basic services and more, thus undermining city livability for all. The report also raises concerns about negative human capital outcomes due to rural areas being left behind by the urbanization process.
But there are ways for cities and municipalities to tackle the impact of urbanization. Namely, by taking the smart way. By leveraging innovative Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, governments are adopting smart city strategies to better their citizen’s quality of life.
A smart city is more than just a vision —it's a framework largely consisting of ICT technologies to develop, implement and promote sustainable development practices to overcome growing challenges posed by urbanization.
In a smart city, the physical security of citizens and assets becomes the key for any government, to improve the quality of life, as well as retaining the city’s attractiveness for business or tourism to flourish. Critical infrastructure like ports, airports and military facilities need to reinforce the safety of their sites, while mastering operational costs.
There is therefore a strong need to anticipate future threats, not only physical ones but also in cybersecurity. Thales Security Digital Platform brings together our decades of expertise in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure security, and harnesses the power of data analytics to provide accurate insights that can help with situational awareness and decision making.
The Greater Jakarta Metropolitan (Jabodetabek) Transportation Master Plan includes a government objective to promote the use of public transportation. By 2029, public transportation is expected to represent 60 percent of the residents’ commute and cover 80 percent of the region's territories including Jakarta and satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang and South Tangerang.
In 2021, Jakarta public transportation integration company JakLingko assigned another consortium led by PT Jatelindo Perkasa Abadi and comprising Thales, Lyko and PT Aino Indonesia. They signed an eight-year contract to operate and maintain a ticketing platform and a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solution.
With the Thales TRANSCITY™ platform as the system’s backbone, Thales designed and developed an integrated payment system for intermodal transportation. Passengers can use contactless travel cards or scan their smartphones to switch between different public transportation modes seamlessly.
The resulting JakLingko application can read every passenger’s profile and propose different fares according to their needs. There are a total of 14 fare categories, including rates for students and elderly passengers, making travel equitable for everyone. The integrated solution was inaugurated by Jakarta Governor, Anies Baswedan, on Oct. 7, and is operating to support all residents of the Greater Jakarta area.
Indonesia’s vast terrestrial, nautical and aerial territory also means that it requires an enormous effort to maintain its territorial sovereignty. In the meantime, rapid development of ICT threatens to blur geographical definitions, rendering the world increasingly borderless.
Indonesia’s complex security requirements means it will need similarly advanced technology in its defense arsenal. To enable Indonesia to be more self-sufficient in its defense sector, the country pushes for its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to their its level of expertise with the goal of having at least 50 percent of locally produced, homegrown solutions by 2024.
On April 20, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo launched DEFEND ID, a state-run defense industry holding that consists of defense-focused SOEs, namely parent company PT Len Industri (PT Len), PT Dirgantara Indonesia, PT PAL Indonesia and, PT Pindad, and PT Dahana. Thales is proud to be a key collaborator in the DEFEND ID initiative.
Recognizing the importance of having a strong “Made in Indonesia” policy, Thales is pleased to bring its expertise to the table in core defense topics, including radars, air defense capabilities like StarStreak, and naval combat mission capabilities like TACTICOS.
Electronics enterprise PT Len has joined forces with Thales due to its strong position in air surveillance and role as the appointed supplier of surveillance radars to the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU). Today, 13 long range radars are installed across the country and are connected to Thales C4I systems to provide a full operational picture of the Indonesian airspace.
PT Len and Thales marked another milestone for Defend ID by signing a contract for Thales GM403 radars to provide enhanced situational awareness. In response to the rise of electronic warfare tactics, GM403 is equipped with a digital architecture that makes it resilient against cyber attacks.
Following the signing of the GCI radar contract, Thales will be responsible for the manufacturing of the radar and command and control system as well as in supporting PT Len in the construction of radar stations, installation and system integration, as well as civil works management. To further help build Indonesia’s local capabilities in radar technology, some components will be locally manufactured by PT Len.
“Our expertise, together with PT Len’s leading role in driving Indonesia’s defense industry, makes this a winning partnership with a common vision to enhance Indonesia’s military ambitions. We look forward to working together on these renewed topics, to build local knowledge and expertise and by doing so, further reinforce our commitment to Indonesia,” said Thales Asia, Eurasia and Latin America senior-vice president, Guy Bonassi.
This year, Thales will once again present its solutions at Indo Defence 2022 to continue demonstrating its commitment to helping Indonesia realize its digital ambitions and more importantly, empowering Indonesia’s digital industry to stand on its own feet.
