Jakarta, Villagerspost.com – The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) has been asked to improve digital infrastructure to support President Joko Widodo's vision of improving national infrastructure. Public policy observer Perkumpulan Prakarsa AH Maftuchan said that physical infrastructure development in the Jokowi era must be accompanied by progress and technology and productive economy from the digital sector.
"Jokowi has actually not only been able to infrastructure such as roads, he understands and has an interest in digital infrastructure. Jokowi understands the progress that Indonesia can achieve by improving digital infrastructure such as optimizing frequency and the better use of BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) or broadband wireless access and others, which until now have not been optimal," said Maftuh, in a discussion held by the Digital Culture Syndicate. , in Jakarta, Monday (12/11).
Maftuh explained that information communication technology infrastructure must be developed in order to support the development of the national digital economy and people's welfare. "Development of good data/internet access will resolve the backwardness of information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure, create equal distribution of internet services and reduce economic disparities and access to information throughout Indonesia," he said.
“Frequency optimization can create the availability of affordable/cheap internet access rates. So, the utilization of broadband frequency must be optimized so that the frequency does not become a 'sleeping ground' because it is controlled by the operator but not utilized,” added Maftuh.
The same thing was also stated by the Communication and Telecommunications Expert at the University of Gadjah Mada, Kuskridho Dodi Ambardhi. According to him, broadband access is also a matter of infrastructure. The problem is not only transporting goods, but also transporting data. “Improving access networks is one of President Jokowi's agenda. The President also asked for the best possible facilitation for startups so that they could become new unicorns. Therein lies the urgency of broadband and network issues,” said Dodi.
Therefore, broadband becomes a strategic thing. First, apart from being Jokowi's main vision, this issue is also about equity. "But the problem so far is how is the allocation? So far, it has not facilitated much public interest even though it is closely related to the President's vision and mission," said Dodi.
He explained that there was a need for restructuring, including an evaluation of whether or not the licensing had been maximized, and how much state revenue came from the sector and the extent to which the Ministry of Communication and Information had developed the digital industry. "That's where we hope the new Kominfo can hurry up and focus on paying attention to strengthening and maximizing startup development," he said.
“Once again, this is because the broadband and licensing issues are attached to the president's long-term vision. Regarding employment and national economic development, especially in today's digital world," said Dodi.
Adequate internet and superior human resources and strong manufacturing are the keys to future industrial development in the 4.0 era. Adequate internet penetration is the most crucial factor in long-term economic development. China and India have far surpassed Indonesia.
According to Tax and Public Policy Observer from CITA, Yustinus Prastowo, this is unfortunate because so far Indonesia has only been able to achieve revenue from license auction permits, or has not been able to create a multiplier effect from the technology sector. The basic income is still small and has not had a significant impact.
“Are we going to extend licenses to companies that for the past ten years have not had a commitment?” said Prastowo.
The state has been losing money by neglecting the license granted. The state must take over the license. Call it from the auction frequency only 2T. “It should be 12 trillion to be obtained by the state over 10 years. Or 3 times the license that has been running for ten years,” said Prastowo.
According to Prastowo, the Minister of Communication and Information should not hesitate to take over or give it to a new company with a better commitment. This is a matter of taking sides and supporting efforts to create a productive economy from the digital economy sector
"Opportunity in terms of PNBP alone, the potential that can be obtained is around 12 trillion rupiah, while the actual is only 72%. Therefore, if the PNBP licensing basis is not optimal, then do not expect multiplier effects such as PPH for individual PPH entities, value added tax and others," he explained.
During the last 10 years, state revenue from this sector has never been achieved. PNBP should be a new potential. “In 10 years it didn't appear because there was no network development. So the choice in the future is to extend the permit to operators who have never built such as land bank rulers. In terms of land tenure, the HGB can be taken back by the government if it's just an idle land,” said Prastowo.
Pratowo revealed the reason. The potential PNBP from the auction could reach Rp12 trillion over the next 10 years. The important thing is that the auction is transparent and accountable. This is fresh money directly to state revenue.
“Rent seekers must be eliminated. It's a new pnbp source in plain sight. So it's time to optimize the intagable assets. The new Ministry of Information must understand the situation and the need for such alignments," he concluded.
To note, we are currently dealing with the poor condition of the use of BWA. BWA operators fell one by one, until finally until 2019 there were only 3 operators, namely Berca, Telkom and Indosat M2.
Editor: M. Agung Riyadi
Sumber: Villagers Post