The World’s Largest Island Nation? Satellites Provide the Answers
A Newtec Case in Point
I
by Junio Doriez, Country Manager, Indonesia, Newtec
n a world where Internet access is coming to be regarded as an
essential utility, not having access to broadband connectivity can
severely affect the quality of people’s lives.
Large parts of the globe, especially those in isolated or rural locations,
find themselves cut off from the digital revolution that is happening
everywhere, harming their potential for growth and development by
restricting access to vital services such as health and education.
There are very few places on the planet that pose broadband service
providers with more of a challenge than Indonesia. Spanning more than
17,000 islands and nearly 2,000,000 square kilometers, the country
possesses a significant geographical and technical conundrum for those
looking to deliver even the most rudimentary connectivity.
Despite these challenges, there is a real hunger and demand for
broadband services within the country. More than half of the country’s
263,000,000 population currently use the Internet on a regular basis, but
the vast majority of those are on the large islands of Java and Sumatra,
which house Indonesia’s main commercial and population centers.
56
A Challenging Environment
Away from those areas, broadband penetration is very
low, with many of the country’s islands lacking
the basic connectivity to keep pace with its
more populous neighbors. This—combined with
the need for Base Transceiver Stations to cover
regional blank spots—prompted
Indonesia’s
Ministry of Communications and Information to introduce a Universal
Service Obligation (USO) through the Central Financing Provider and
Manager of Telecommunications and Information Technology (BP3TI).
This USO—which covers all of the 3T (Frontier, Outermost,
Disadvantaged) regions—is a key strategic cornerstone in reducing the
telecommunication gap and includes the provision of mobile telephony
services in areas that do not get a base mobile signal. This program is part of
the wider Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology Year 2015-2019, in which the Ministry of Communications has
the task of guaranteeing national broadband connectivity, and has seen
the installation of 21 base stations in previously blank spots along the
Indonesian border by October 2016.
SatMagazine — May 2017
A lack of infrastructure is one of the main reasons that millions of people
in rural areas around the world remain deprived of Internet connectivity.
Infrastructure challenges caused by geography will continue for the
foreseeable future and it is in these situations where satellite technology
can provide the answers and become the optimum connectivity solution.
With so many villages and islands isolated to connect, and the varied
and diverse topography of Indonesia, delivering broadband connectivity
through cables and terrestrial networks was out of the question, physically
and financially. In cases such as this, satellite technology has to deliver
affordable and reliable broadband connectivity.
Connecting the Island Dots
With many satellites already in place that could cover the region, BP3TI
agreed that satellite technology was the best option for delivering on the
USO, providing a solution that matched the goals of increased speeds while
still giving value-for-money to service providers and end-users alike.
In this case, the technology also had the added value of providing
cellular backhaul across the country, which is in high demand in Indonesia
due to the nation’s bandwidth-hungry mobile networks.
Working together with Newtec and the company’s local partners PT
Akses Karya Dinamika and PT Infokom Elektrindo, an access solution was
developed that was capable of meeting the conditions of the USO and
fulfilling the anticipated high demand.
At the start of the project, it became apparent that the successful
delivery of the project would depend on using a return technology that
provided the efficiency of SCPC while also retaining the flexibility of MFTDMA. This would give the best possible combination of on-demand
variable bandwidth allocation and enhanced efficiencies, which would in
turn reduce OpEX for the operator and deliver the best possible service
to customers.
This combination was provided through Newtec’s unique Mx-DMA®
return technology, combining the best elements of SCPC and MF-TDMA
within the Newtec Dialog® multiservice platform.
As a multiservice platform, Newtec Dialog enables tailored services and
guarantees optimal modulation, bandwidth allocation, service availability,
reliable automation of link setups and flexible workflow support, whether it
is being used to provide broadcast, consumer broadband, cellular backhaul
or mobility services. Six of the hubs’ systems have been delivered to
Indonesian operators already, with several additional orders in the pipeline.
These operators are already reporting significant improvements in
bandwidth efficiency—one satellite provider which covers the region
is seeing gains providing between 2.9 bits/Hz and 3.6 bits/Hz extra
capacity. This has given them the technical advantage over many of their
competitors and also enabled them to offer improved broadband services
to their customers.
These customers are
“We value Newtec as our strategic
now able to realize
partner. With the Newtec system,
we provide an efficient and flexible
and harness the
solution to meet our expectations
incredible
power
providing a massive broadband
solution across the nation.” —
of the Internet to
Widhy Nugroho,
improve their quality
Managing Director, Infokom.
of life. With this
enhanced connectivity, simple things that many of us take for granted—the
ability to check emails and e-banking, or hold a Skype call with loved ones
—are now open to many millions more people across Indonesia.
On a wider scale, the connectivity is a step towards fulfillment of the
state’s obligations to society in meeting public demand for access to
telecommunications and information technology, strengthening national
unity, healthcare, security and defense. Most of all, it builds Indonesia
from its periphery, strengthening the role of these areas and villages in the
framework of the republic.
www.newtec.eu
www.infokom.id
SatMagazine — May 2017
57
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Worldwide Satellite Magazine — May 2017
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