TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that Indonesia’s economic potential of the digital sector reached US$133 billion or around Rp1,973 trillion with an assumed exchange rate of Rp14,837 per US Dollar.

“Available potential that Indonesia can develop from the digital sector is US$133 billion. So we keep pushing the industrial revolution 4.0 (Industry 4.0) and hope it can be an enabler of national economic growth,” said Airlangga in a live broadcast on Tuesday, September 15.

He added that the transformation was also accelerated in line with the pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Referring to data on public accessibility, Airlangga said 180 million Indonesians have internet access, and active internet users amounted to 150 million people, while 105 million people or 39 percent of the total population are online service users.

Additionally, based on the infrastructure of information and communication technology, 4G internet network has been available in 49.33 percent of the country’s areas. As many as 70,670 villages of the total 82,218 or 84.92 percent have also enjoyed 4G services.

The government, Airlangga claimed, is determined to continue the development of digital infrastructures, including expanding the 4G network to the rest of 12,548 villages. “Particularly underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions, totaling around 9,000 villages.”

The multifunction SATRIA satellite is also targeted to start operating in 2023 in order to provide internet for 150,000 public facilities, such as schools, government offices, and health centers.

“Next, we are preparing a 5G internet network gradually, and the trials will be prioritized in integrated industry areas for the industry 4.0,” Airlangga Hartarto explained.

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