Internet in Indonesia

The Internet is a relatively new communication medium in Indonesia, an archipelago that includes more than 17,000 islands. Several Internet access services are available in Indonesia, ranging from fiber optic, ADSL to mobile Internet. Telephone line-based service was among the first Internet access services in Indonesia with PT Telkom as the main player who controlled most fixed-line telephone networks.

Usage

Based on OpenSignal in November 2016, there were only 58.8 percent of internet users in Indonesia who received 4G LTE signal, and received only HSPA+ signal or lower the rest of the time, making Indonesia ranked 51st in the world. The speed of download using 4G LTE in Indonesia was only an average of 8.79Mbit/s or ranked 74th in the world.^[1]

Based on the Indonesia Internet Service Providers Association, in mid-2016 there were 132.7 million internet users; this represents more than a half of the Indonesian population. Only 3 percent of users are 50 years old or over, but surprisingly 100 percent in the 10–14 years old age bracket used the internet. Users on the island of Java dominated (65%) followed by Sumatra with 15.7 million users. Almost 90 percent of users were employees and students. Almost all of the users knew about e-commerce, but only 10.4 million users used the internet for transactions. Almost 70 percent of the users used their mobile phones for internet usage.^[2]

According to eMarketer, in 2014 Indonesia had 83.7 million users (in sixth place behind Japan), but Indonesia is predicted to surpass Japan in 2017, because Indonesian internet growth is in the double digits, while Japanese internet growth is slower.^[3]

According to Akamai Technologies, Indonesia, with 9 connections to undersea cables, had in Q1 2014 an average Internet connection speed of 2.4 Mbit/s, which was an increase of 55 percent from the prior year. Just 6.6 percent of homes had access to 4 Mbit/s or higher speed connections.^[4] But in Q4 2014, the average internet connection speed was 1.9Mbit/s or dropped about 50 percent from Q3 2014 with 3.7Mbit/s.^[5]

Based on the Indonesia Internet Service Providers Association, in Q4 2013 there were 71.19 million Internet users in Indonesia or about 28 percent of Indonesia's population.^[6] According to Cisco's Visual Networking Index, in 2013 Indonesia had the world's second fastest growth of IP traffic and has become an "Internet of Everything" country.^[7]

Based on Communication Ministry data, at end of June 2011, there were 45 million Internet users in Indonesia, which 64 percent or 28 million users between the ages of 15 to 19.^[8]

July 2011: Based on Nielsen's survey, 48 percent of Internet users in Indonesia used a mobile phone to access the Internet, whereas another 13 percent used other handheld multimedia devices. This represents the highest dependence on mobile internet access in Southeast Asia, although Indonesia has the lowest level of overall internet penetration in Southeast Asia with only 21 percent of Indonesians aged between 15 and 49 using the Internet.^[9]

May 2011: Based on TNS research, Indonesia is the world's second-largest number of Facebook users and the third-largest number of Twitter users. 87 percent of Indonesians who go online have social networking site accounts, but only 14 percent access the sites daily, far below the global average of 46 percent due to many of them accessing the internet from inconvenient internet cafes or still using old-fashioned smartphones. In line with the increase of cheap Android smartphones recently, there is the possibility that Indonesian internet user activity will increase too.^[10]

Based on Yahoo Net Index survey released in July 2011, the internet in Indonesia still ranks second after television in terms of media usage. 89 percent of users were connected to social networking, 72 percent used the internet for web browsing and 61 percent read the news.^[11]

Indonesian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer service on PT Telkom's ADSL network. ADSL customers usually receive two separates bills, one for the ADSL line charges to PT Telkom and another for Internet service charges to the ISP.

Mobile phones

All of the GSM major cellular telecommunication providers offer 3G, 3.5G HSDPA and even 4G LTE, but only in the bigger cities (greater Jakarta, Medan, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya). They include Indosat, Telkomsel, Excelcomindo (XL) and 3. Also, the usage of EV-DO has been applied into service by Indonesian CDMA cellular provider, which includes Mobile8, Indosat, Esia, Smart, and Telkom Flexi (now merged into Telkomsel).

In 2016, almost all CDMA providers in Indonesia moved to either GSM or 4G LTE service such as Smartfren.

Censorship

Internet filtering in Indonesia was deemed 'substantial' in the social arena, 'selective' in the political and internet tools arenas, and there was no evidence of filtering in the conflict/security arena by the OpenNet Initiative in 2011 based on testing done during 2009 and 2010. Testing also showed that Internet filtering in Indonesia is unsystematic and inconsistent, illustrated by the differences found in the level of filtering between ISPs.^[12]

Indonesia was rated "partly free" in Freedom on the Net 2015 with a score of 42, midway between the end of the "free" range at 30 and the start of the "not free" range at 60.^[13]

Although the government of Indonesia holds a positive view about the internet as a means for economic development, it has become increasingly concerned over the impact of access to information and has demonstrated an interest in increasing its control over offensive online content, particularly pornographic and anti-Islamic online content. The government regulates such content through legal and regulatory frameworks and through partnerships with ISPs and Internet cafés.^[12]

Media reported that selective blocking of some web sites for brief periods began in 2007–2008. Indonesia ordered ISPs to block YouTube in April 2008 after Google reportedly did not respond to the government’s request to remove the film Fitna by the Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders, which purportedly mocked the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.^[14] In May 2010, when an account on Facebook promoted a competition to draw Muhammad, government officials took a more focused approach and sent a letter to Facebook urging closure of the account, asked all ISPs to limit access to the account’s link, and invited the Indonesian Association of Internet Cafe Entrepreneurs to restrict access to the group. Due to opposition from bloggers and civil society, however, ISPs disregarded the government’s requests, and the account remained accessible.^[13]

In March 2008, the government passed the Law on Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE Law), which broadened the authority of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCI) to include supervision of the flow of information and possible censorship of online content. In early 2010, the ministry published a draft Regulation on Multimedia Content that, if implemented, would require ISPs to filter or otherwise remove certain material. The types of content listed include vaguely worded categories such as pornography, gambling, hate incitement, threats of violence, exposure of private information, intellectual property, false information, and content that degrades a person or group on the basis of a physical or nonphysical attribute, such as a disability. Following a public outcry, the government announced that it would take time to process suggestions from the public before proceeding with the draft regulation.^[13]

Under the ITE Law anyone convicted of committing defamation online faces up to six years in prison, and a fine of up to 1 billion rupiah (US$111,000). As of June 2010, there were at least eight cases in which citizens had been indicted on defamation charges under the ITE Law for comments on e-mail lists, blogs, or Facebook. Prosecutions under the ITE Law have contributed to an increased atmosphere of fear, caution, and self-censorship among online writers and average users.^[13]

In 2017, Telegram was blocked, as it was being used to spread "radical and terrorist propaganda." ^[15] Telegram was later unblocked after several agreements with the government.^[16]

As of September 2018, Some websites including Vimeo, Tumblr and Reddit are censored as the government accused them of hosting content that includes nudity.^[17]

Cyber army

As of 29 May 2013, the Indonesian Defense Ministry has proposed plans for creating a cyber army in order to protect the state's portals and websites. Though no law has yet been created in order to maintain and establish the cyber army, the ministry is seeking talented Internet security specialists who, upon hiring, would be trained in information technology and use methods to defend against cyber attacks.^[18]

Domestic domain

Upon realizing that about 80 percent of local internet traffic went abroad, the Indonesian government began to encourage Indonesian institutions, businessmen and public in general to use domestic domains. In mid-April 2015, there were about 20,000 .id domains and about 47,000 .co.id domains. The government targeted 1 million domestic domains with a funding of Rp 50 billion ($3.85 million). Some users with non-domestic domains also possess domestic domains and redirect searches from its non-domestic domains to domestic domains.^[19]

See also

• Communications in Indonesia
• Indonesia Internet Exchange

References

Further reading

• Hill, David T. & Sen, Krishna (2005), The Internet in Indonesia's New Democracy, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-28564-3.
• Stray, Jonathan (29 December 2009), "Slander and Unity: The Year Online in Indonesia", Jakarta Globe, retrieved 11 February 2010.

External links

• APJII Indonesian ISP Association
• Department of Transportation: Departemen Perhubungan - Wireless Frequency regulator.
• Department of Communication and Informatics: Departemen Komunikasi dan Informasi.
• Internet Companies in Indonesia