Indonesia has the opportunity to compete in local content of information and communication technology

08/28/07 23:48

Minister: RI has opportunity to compete in ICT local content

Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA News) - Communication and Informatics
Minister Mohammad Nuh DEA said Indonesia had the opportunity to
compete in local content of information and communication technology
(ICT).

"We have been inferior in the industrialization era but Indonesia
still has the opportunity to compete in the information era," the
minister said at a function to familiarize East Java senior high-
school students with information and communication technology here
Tuesday.

At the function dubbed "ICT Road To School" the minister said there
were three scenarios on the possibility of Indonesia to compete in
information and communication technology.

The first scenario was that the country could not at all catch up with
developed countries` progress but this was a pessimistic scenario
whereas technology was different from industry, he said.

He said industry was a matter of investment while technology was a
matter of intellect. The minister compared making progress in
information and communication technology to a bicycle race.

"When the cyclist is left behind at the start, it is still possible
for him or her to overtake the other cyclists," he said.

On the occasion, the former rector of the Surabaya Institute of
Technology (ITS) cited as an example that Finland had become a
reference in cellular phone technology and was able to outdo other
industrialized countries in cellular phone technology competition.

"If we do not prepare ourselves soon, we may be overtaken by Cambodia
and Vietnam which emerged from civil wars not so long ago," he said.

He said there were three keys to win the competition in the
information and communication technology era, namely, an effort to
arouse awareness through various forms of familiarization efforts.

"The current effort to familiarize students in East Java is a way but
still technical in nature as we are still designing two other ways,"
he said.

The other key was a government policy focusing on one sector, and
preparation of infrastructure which enables Indonesian people to
access information and communication technology in terms of prices and
contents.

"For a focused policy, we will take advantage of the local content
competition which is still wide open as it is we who know what we
need," he said.

In terms of infrastructure which enables Indonesian people to access
ICT, he said his ministry would connect Indonesians in the east and in
the west with a FOC (Fiber Optic Connecting) project which was
expected to be completed in 2009.

"The FOC is not done through a tender but through seven consortiums.
At least, the internet will be able to compete with the use of
cellular phones which have reached 18 million Indonesian people," he
said.

The ICT Road To School program has been held by the Post and
Telecommunication Directorate General of the Communication and
Informatics Ministry in Jakarta (in May), Semarang (Central Java in
July) and Surabaya (East Java in August). (*)

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