Photo caption: Telkomsat handout

Jakarta, 14 June  2022 - The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology recently awarded the Starlink satellite landing rights to Telkomsat, a subsidiary of PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (Telkom) with expertise in providing satellite services and high-quality upstream to downstream services of international standard. The Starlink satellite landing rights are a license for Telkomsat to provide services on an intermediary network that connects TelkomGroup's telecommunications backbone infrastructure with Base Transceiver Stations/WiFi towers/access distribution devices via fiber optic. These services  are only available in a closed fixed network operation, and is not for direct internet access services for retail customers. By obtaining the Starlink landing rights, Telkomsat is even more  ready to support the program for an equitable development of broadband telecommunications networks to reduce the gap in digital services throughout Indonesia.

The availability of evenly-distributed broadband telecommunications services across the country is necessary in urban, suburban and rural areas, in an effort to accelerate the environment and digital society in Indonesia. The combined availability of various technology options from domestic and foreign providers could meet the needs of broadband telecommunications in different areas. The fixed broadband use mostly serves urban areas and a small part of suburban areas. Meanwhile, mobile broadband is available in both urban and suburban areas as well as a small number of rural areas. Meanwhile, rural solutions require assistance with broadband satellite but with a more affordable price. 

Indonesia's geographical conditions makes it very challenging to evenly distribute fiber optic network development throughout Indonesia. Starlink comes as the right solution to fill the needs of backhaul networks in areas not yet covered by fiber optics, until a more permanent solution is available. Starlink is a service based on SpaceX's non-geostationary, low-earth-orbit satellite constellation system with an altitude of 500-1,400 km, which is able to provide services with low latency, high throughput and supported by easily-installed and portable earth station equipment. This could be a solution to the limited backhaul network in providing telecommunications services.

Telkomsat President Director Lukman Hakim Abd Rauf said, "TelkomGroup sees and welcomes the presence of Starlink as a complement to broadband telecommunications business services in Indonesia and it can also help to accelerate the penetration and distribution of telecommunication services in Indonesia, especially the B2B market segment."

Previously, Telkomsat had conducted an assessment to synergize with SpaceX. Until the first  quarter of 2021, Telkomsat and SpaceX had agreed to cooperate in the utilization of Starlink services. "With this Starlink anchoring right, we hope that TelkomGroup can continue to accelerate the realization of the Indonesian digital environment and society. Because we believe that with digitalization, Indonesia will be better in the future," Lukman said.

Telkom considers that the forged and developing cooperation between Telkomsat and SpaceX to run Starlink services is a strategic step and in synergy with the TelkomGroup's efforts to accelerate development of infrastructure and smart, sustainable, economical, and accessible-for-all digital platforms. 

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