What comes to your mind when you hear the news that the internet in Indonesia is in danger of dying? Surely you will be worri/worrianxious because our lives today depend a lot on internet connection. If the internet dies, you cannot access information in cyberspace, cannot access e-mail, there will be no such thing as “bbm, whatsapp”, even the economic value generat from internet transactions will also stop. According to telecommunication experts in Indonesia, the loss could reach IDR 90 billion per hour or more than IDR 2.1 trillion per day if the internet in Indonesia is down.
This could have happen due to the impact of the Corruption
Court which had sentenc the Main China Mobile Number Database Director of PT Indosat Mega Media (IM2) Indar Atmanto to 4 years in prison and a fine of IDR 200 million, a subsidiary of 3 months in prison on charges of corruption at PT Indosat for using network 2, 1 GHz which has permanent legal force. In addition, IM2 must also pay a penalty of Rp. 1.358 trillion which must be paid after the decision has permanent legal force.
So far, IM2, which does not have a 3G frequency license, in its operations leases bandwidth to the operator Indosat, which already has a 3G frequency license. The same business model us by IM2 and Indosat is also us by internet service providers in Indonesia, which number more than 200 ISPs.
The Ministry of Communication and Information and the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Body (BRTI) themselves have issu statements and defenses stating that what IM2 and Indosat did did not violate regulations in force in Indonesia.
Many consider this punishment to threaten telecommunication services in Indonesia, and that there will even be an ‘internet apocalypse’. Because if this decision applies consistently, then all internet service providers (ISPs) could be threaten with the same legal case.
Because of this problem, the Association of Indonesian
Internet Service Providers (APJII) will send an open letter to the government, in this case including the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kemkominfo), the Supreme Court and forward it to the President. The letter will be sent this week.
Some time ago, Member of the Indonesian Telecommunication DJ USA Regulatory Body (BRTI) Nonot Hartono once said that the guilty verdict hand down to Indar could disrupt the telecommunications industry in the country.
It is fear that many parties will have an impact on the country’s internet industry. This is because the Cooperation Agreement (PKS) relatto the use of operator networks to deploy 3G services is not only carri out by Indosat and IM2.
More than 200 ISPs (Internet Service Providers) provide services by way of cooperation such as Indosat and IM2. Of course, ISPs don’t want to end up in jail like Indar did. Even though the pattern of business that IM2 did was not wrong.
According to Indonesian internet practitioners, Onno W Purba regret that the Supreme Court’s decision was not in accordance with the Law/Telecommunication business pattern. Together with his team, he wrote a petition which was publish on the change.org website:
