Telkomsat Signs MoU with APJII to Accelerate Internet Penetration through LEO Satellite Services
Telkomsat has obtained permission from Kominfo to utilize Starlink as an ISP backhaul. Seeing the opportunity, APJII and Telkomsat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). With this MoU, it is expected to provide opportunities for APJII member ISPs and Telkomsat to exchange information and explore the potential, benefits, and advantages of using Starlink as a backhaul, as well as technical aspects and requirements for using this technology. Telkomsat, as a Starlink partner, will also answer questions and discuss potential partnership and collaboration opportunities.
Muhammad Arif, the Chairman of the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII), considers the MoU between APJII and Telkomsat as an excellent opportunity for APJII members to explore information so that they can collaborate to provide broadband services in areas that have been limited by telecommunications infrastructure. Arif added that until now, when APJII members wanted to provide internet networks in remote areas, they often faced backhaul network availability issues. With the MoU between APJII and Telkomsat, it is expected to open up opportunities to utilize Starlink as a backhaul. By utilizing Starlink as an ISP backhaul, Arif hopes to accelerate APJII members' ability to provide telecommunication services in areas that have not been able to enjoy broadband until now.
"I hope that the MoU between APJII and Telkomsat can open up opportunities to increase internet penetration in Indonesia, so that the government's target of providing broadband internet services in all regions of Indonesia can be achieved soon. APJII sees that there is still a lot of potential that can be developed between APJII members and Telkomsat, especially for the enterprise segment. The opportunities for APJII members to provide broadband services for mining companies and offshore platforms are still very wide open. Therefore, cooperation between APJII and Telkomsat to provide backhaul services is very strategic," said Arif.
Lukman Hakim Abd. Rauf, CEO of Telkomsat, said that the cooperation with Starlink has significantly increased Telkomsat's bandwidth capacity. With this huge capacity, according to Lukman, Telkomsat is able to fulfill the needs of APJII members who require backhaul networks.
"If our APJII friends need bandwidth for uplink, Telkomsat can fulfill it. Currently, the capacity held by Telkomsat is very large and can fulfill any demands requested by APJII members. Telkomsat will not sell bandwidth to end-users. Telkomsat's target in providing services is to mobile operators and ISP companies. Therefore, we hope that Telkomsat can become an inseparable part of APJII members' business in deploying telecommunications infrastructure in Indonesia," said Lukman.