TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government will inaugurate the operation of the Starlink for thousands of community health centers that have not been connected to the Internet. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by Elon Musk, the owner of Starlink, and President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the World Water Forum in Bali.
The inauguration marks Starlink’s entry into the Indonesia market. Previously, Starlink only served as a backhaul service provider. Its services are managed by Telkomsat, a subsidiary of Tekom, a state-owned telecommunications company, which sold internet service directly to users, most of whom were in the business sector.
This has caused the price of Starlink to skyrocket. So, when news spread that Starlink plans to enter the Indonesian market directly since the end of last year, the domestic telecommunications industry was immediately shaken. This affected both those who have been retailing satellite-based Internet connections as well as established players in other satellite-based Internet businesses.
With significantly lower prices, Starlink Internet, which uses low-earth orbit satellites, has the potential to disrupt existing Internet services still using geostationary satellites. This is because Internet connection using low-earth orbit satellites is much faster than the geostationary satellites. And only Starlink has both the technology and satellites in orbit.
The entry of Starlink is certainly cannot be separated from the red carpet treatment provided by the Indonesia government. Starlink is actually just a sweetener for Elon Musk to invest in Tesla and SpaceX in Indonesia. But apparently, it is only Starlink that is willing to come here. Understandably, Starlink, as one of Elon Musk’s businesses, does not require much investment to enter the Indonesia market.
Initially seeking special treatment, Starlink finally complied with the government’s wishes. That is, to operate according to Indonesian regulations, by obtaining several local permits like other established Internet operators.
The entry of Starlink is not without intrigue. There are existing players trying to maintain their comfort zones. Will Starlink truly disrupt the Indonesia Internet industry and provide a cheap solution to the unequal access to the Internet in Indonesia? Or will it challenge the local industry to become more efficient? The Indonesian market will decide.
Khairul Anam
Editor
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