Indonesia’s PT Indo Pratama Teleglobal has arranged to provide broadband access to underserved rural areas of the country via an agreement with satellite operator SES Networks.
Under the five-year agreement, Teleglobal will use the SES-12 satellite and SES Networks’ managed data services to provide internet access and mobile backhaul services to 150,000 remote sites.
Teleglobal has contracted 1.3GHz of capacity on the SES-12, which has six regional beams and 72 high throughput user spot beams.
Teleglobal was selected by Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to deliver rural capacity to complement the ongoing Palapa Ring project, which aims to connect the major islands in Indonesia with 11,000km of undersea fibre-optic cables to provide broadband internet infrastructure.
The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) estimates that internet penetration in rural Indonesia is just 48%, compared to 72% in urban areas. It is even lower outside the most populous island of Java, falling to only 2.5% in some outlying provinces.
“At Teleglobal, we believe in the power of connectivity, in opening new doors of opportunity to communities in Indonesia and around the world,” Teleglobal director Candra Indianto said.
“With the new service offering, Teleglobal is bridging the digital divide and bringing much-needed e-Government and other essential services to the underserved rural communities of Indonesia. SES Networks’ unparalleled global reach and operational expertise make them the ideal partner to provide reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity to all corners of Indonesia.”