Communications in Indonesia

Indonesia has had a complex history of communications due to its spread over an extended archipelago - the importance on non-electronic means in the past has given away to a considerable infrastructure of telecommunications in the contemporary Indonesia.

History

Indonesia has long since been using traditional forms of slayed communications^{[clarification needed]} between various islands and villages. It was not until the sixteenth century when the Dutch colonized Indonesia, constructing a more elaborate communication system, both within Indonesia and to other countries. The first connection to Australia was an undersea telegraph cable that was completed on 18 November 1871, connecting Java to Darwin, and eventually to the Australian Overland Telegraph Line across Australia.

After gaining Independence, Indonesia started to develop its own communication system, generally following the rest of the world. The construction of communication towers and launch of the Palapa series of communication satellites was done during the New Order period.

Infrastructure

A number of lines connect Indonesia to international communication routes. For example, the SEA-ME-WE 3 optical submarine telecommunications cable lands at both Medan and Jakarta connecting Europe with South eastern Asia (several countries up to Japan) and Australia (Perth).

Domestically, Indonesia has good coverage for media across most major islands, although smaller and less populated Islands do not always receive attention from media companies, and rely on satellite communication.

Printed Media

See also: List of newspapers in Indonesia

See also: List of magazines published in Indonesia

Indonesia has a vast list of printed media, in the forms of newspapers or magazines. Some, such as Kompas and Koran Tempo are circulated around Indonesia daily and are relatively simple to obtain. Others are island- or city-specific, and is usually not distributed to other regions.

Telephone

See also: Telephone numbers in Indonesia

• Telephones - main lines in use: 9.99 million (2004)
• Telephones - mobile cellular: At end of 2010, the mobile cellular penetration rate standing at around 67 percent (22 percent at end of 2006).^[1]
• Telephone system: domestic service fair, international service good
  • domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net; domestic satellite communications system
  • international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)

Radio

See also: List of radio stations in Jakarta, Indonesia

• Radio broadcast stations: AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998)
• Radios: 31.5 million (1997)

Television

Main article: Television in Indonesia

See also: List of Indonesian language television channels

• Television broadcast stations: 11 national TV, 60 local TV (From AC Nielsen Report - first Semester 2005):
• Televisions: 13.75 million (1997)

Internet

Main article: Internet in Indonesia

• Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 24 (1999)
• Country code (Top-level domain): .id

By June 2011, all sub-districts in Indonesia will be connected with internet.^[2]

Regulations

The control over media in Indonesia is governed by the Ministry of Communications and Informatics

Telecommunications Regulatory Environment in Indonesia

LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarizes stakeholders’ perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. The tool measured seven dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile and broadband sectors.

Below-average scores received in all sectors and across dimensions reflect general dissatisfaction of the TRE in Indonesia. However, this does not mean that respondents have ignored recent developments. The relatively healthy growth in mobile sector is reflected in the higher TRE scores received by the sector for most dimensions, when compared to the fixed sector. On average, the mobile sector scores best, with fixed and broadband following.^[3]

References

1. ^ http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/05/16/indonesia-mobile-market.html
2. ^ http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/71751/internet-service-to-reach-all-sub-districts-in-june
3. ^ Chanuka Wattegama, Juni Soehardjo and Nilusha Kapugama. "Telecom Regulatory and Policy Environment in Indonesia: Results and Analysis of the 2008 TRE Survey". LIRNEasia. http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/TRE_Indonesia_2009Mar18.pdf. 

See also

Indonesia portal