Government Gets Free Internet Worth $2 million for 500 Hospitals in Indonesia during Covid-19

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Sampoerna’s telecom unit PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Net1Indonesia) has provided through the government one-year free internet access to 500 hospitals in Indonesia.

The assistance aims to accelerate the handling of Covid-19 and to recover the national economy.

Chief Executive of the Covid-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee Erick Thohir expressed his appreciation to Sampoerna Strategic Group for the company’s steps in supporting the public communication strategy for the Covid-19 handling and recovery program in the country.

Also read: Indonesia Faces Delays in Covid-19 Vaccination

"Internet connectivity certainly plays a very important role in the process of delivering clear and transparent information, especially regarding the development of vaccine status to increase public confidence," said Erick on November 2.

Erick, who is also the State-Owned Enterprises Minister, said the assistance can contribute to the achievement of three priorities in the country’s future, namely towards a Healthy Indonesia, Indonesia Works, and Indonesia Grows.

"The government always wants to synergize with strategic partners in the future to build the nation," he said.

Meanwhile, Sampoerna Strategic Group CEO Michael Sampoerna said the connectivity is a key factor in managing the handling and recovery program from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will cover the dissemination of the latest health developments, coordination between government agencies at the central and regional levels, and the need for facilitating work and learning activities from home.

Also read: Indonesia to Follow Global Standards for Safe Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution

"Learning from other countries' disaster response infrastructure, which is known as the National Management Crisis Network, the characteristics of the 450 MHz network that we have are very precise to cover a wide area, and have been proven for emergency services,” Michael said.

“We hope that we can contribute to the country on a similar role,” he added.

Meanwhile, PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia CEO Andri Pranata said that currently the free internet devices and services have already been installed and utilized by 141 hospitals across Indonesia.

"We will continue to fully provide the support to 500 hospitals. With this 30 billion rupiah [$2 million] aid, we hope that Indonesia's Net1 service network can play a role in helping to contain the spread of COVID-19,” Andri said.

(Writer: Akhdi Martin Pratama | Editor: Erlangga Djumena)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/11/02/090900326/pemerintah-dapat-bantuan-akses-internet-gratis-di-500-rs-untuk-penanganan.