5G Network Technology Will Enter Indonesia Soon, says Senior Minister

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Fifth-generation (5G) cellular network technology will soon be available in Indonesia, just a few years after a wireless broadband technology 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) entered the country, a senior minister said on Tuesday, March 23.

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the 5G services are mandatory although the charges for its services are higher.

“In the 4.0 industry, the need for 5G technology to support wireless autonomous systems is inevitable,” said Airlangga during the 2021 Katadata Indonesia Data and Economic Conference.

Also read: Indonesian Government Targets Equal Access to 4G Network by 2022

“Therefore, the government will prepare the prototypes even though we know that the costs for 5G services are higher, but with the productivity of automation the industry will be able to use the facilities with 5G,” he said.

Even though the Communication and Information Ministry has yet decided on which 5G technology base will be used, the government is currently reviewing several areas to develop the prototypes.

Besides, the government must also consider the growing concern on geopolitical risk related to the 5G development. Therefore, the government will be selective in choosing the technology base for the 5G services, he said.

“This is about the geopolitical issue. The 5G technology is a geopolitical matter, so we have to be smart in sorting out and maintaining geopolitics because Indonesia is the largest country in ASEAN and the largest digital market,” he added.

(Writer: Mutia Fauzia | Editor: Yoga Sukmana)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/03/23/181133226/menko-airlangga-sebut-jaringan-5g-bakal-segera-tersedia-di-indonesia.