Rudiantara: The telecommunication industry needs to be efficient
5 August 2016 14:38 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The revision of two government regulations (PP) on telecommunications has stalled. In June, the revision drafts of PP No. 52/2000 on Telecommunication Organization and PP No. 53/2000 on Satellite Orbit and Frequency were held because of the differing opinion of two cellular operators on the concept of network sharing.
The debate prompted President Joko Widodo to return the drafts to the coordinating ministry for the economy. As the regulator, Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara said that the revisions were part of his main job.
"The revision is aimed at making the industry more efficient," he told Tempo reporters Agus Supriyanto, Akbar Tri Kurniawan and Ayu Prima in an interview last week. Excerpts:
Why is the government revising the telecommunication regulations?
The revision is aimed at making the industry more efficient and accelerating investment in network development especially on broadbands. I only have two objectives until 2019, the first is to immediately build broadband networks as soon as, and as big as possible. The second is to ensure from time to time that the industry remains efficient. The efficiency must be passed on to the end users, which are the public or the consumers.
So the idea of revisions came from your ministry?
It came from me. At the beginning of 2015, I said during a seminar that in five years I will work to make the industry more efficient. One way is by utilizing infrastructure sharing, from passive sharing to active sharing. Passive sharing is only about sharing towers, backbones, while active sharing is about sharing access. If some people disagree, that's fine. I'm just providing an option. Those who want it, please take it. For those who don't want it, it's fine with me.
We were informed that the state-owned ministry sent a letter to the State Palace, asking them not to agree to the revisions.
I don't know about that.
Has this network sharing concept been discussed with all operators?
I have conveyed it at a number of seminars. Several operators were present. I know which ones disagreed with it, because they said so during the seminar.
Telkomsel said that network sharing would hurt them since they already invested in their system.
That's fine. It's a process. Where's the harm? I didn't say everyone must share.
Why does the practice of oligopoly still exist in the telecommunication industry?
The telecom industry is basically an oligopoly. But competition definitely exists. That's why I want telecomunication investments to be cheaper. I want to find ways for business players to build for at cheaper cost. Because with cheaper expenses and unchanged margin the remaining budget can be passed on to customers. That's all. If some operators are unwilling to go with it, fine. The important thing is to have competition. No competition is unacceptable. (*)