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Bridging Digital Divide in Indonesia1

By : Achmad Zaky Syaifudin

Many people, experts, and countries perceive that digital divide issue is about

technology. If we can have access of technology we can close the digital divide. In

my opinion, it's absolutely wrong. Digital divide substantially is about information

issue. We have seen that people with more information will have more knowledge

and it make us can compete with the others. So, technology is just a tool. Whatever

tool we use to close digital divide if we are not focus on the substantial issues then it

will be failed. I've doing research how many countries solve this problem like that.

For example One Laptop Per Child program. Is that you know what happen when we

give children a laptop? They play game. I hope we realize this things that digital

divide always connected to information access. The solution is how our communities

can get access of information more.

We have many technologies to supply information to all people around Indonesia.

Television, Radio, Cell Phone, Internet, PC are some of them. The Data from our

team shows that Television and Radio penetration in Indonesia is very broad, almost

household have a television. The infrastructure is well but we must research on the

content. Is it belong to good information or bad information? all of stakeholder of our

country must assure that television can be good media that inform optimistic

message and insight to people of our country.

For Cell Phone, we have data that its user reaches almost half of population in

Indonesia. It's very huge potential technology will be used by our people to access

information. What we will concern with these things is regulate the price. Therefore

people in rural area can afford and use it well.

Internet/PC penetration will be the most our concern. The data released that people

access to both of technology is insignificant, not more that 10% of population.

Whereas we know that it gives many advantages compared with other technologies

(television, radio, and cell phone). With it, children can access many things in the

world. They can do research through internet, or just have relationship with their

friends in other countries. Internet/PC makes it possible now. We must think

strategically how Internet/PC can penetrate throughout area in Indonesia especially

rural area. We also consider that our budget is limited. Definitely, we will not use One

Laptop Per Child solution because its not effective and full of cost.

1This essay was written to be proposed in Harvard National Model United Nations 2009 ITB Selection

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One of our responsibilities is building the internet infrastructure. We will build internet

infrastructure across area in Indonesia. We hope with it all of area can have access

internet easily. To succeed this program we will cooperate with private sector. Theymust deal with these things because they will take advantages if the infrastructure

built.

We classified internet user into two groups, they are personal user and group user.

Data show that personal user can be reach only by rich household. They are not our

concern anymore. We will concern to poor household with access internet in group

like in school, internet caf, campus, library, etc. Our problem is how to assure that

every school has access of internet. Because the budget is limited, we will use cross

subsidy between rich household and poor household. We will raise taxes of

technology product that usually bought by rich family. Then it will be used to

subsidized building PC and internet facility in every school in Indonesia.

We realize that we cant face these issues by ourselves. We have to encourage

private sector and nonprofit organization (NGO) to have more concern with it. We will

carry on Regulation to private sector that give advantages to them if they can help us

handle digital divide issues. One of regulation that have we thought is tax cost

cutting. Their taxes will cut off if they have program against the digital divide.

Not just to build infrastructure, digital divide is about content. How if we have built

infrastructure and there is lack of content. Content is the most important things

beside the infrastructure. No content means useless infrastructure. We also

encourage all of public and private sector to make content through the internet. OurEducational System must use internet based fully. Student all over Indonesia should

save their works on the internet so other students have access on it too. We hope

with this mechanism student can study effectively.

All of these programs must work effectively. We will encourage all of Government

staff to support these programs. They must know how important this program to their

country. If we aspire to be Great Country we must have Great People too. It needs

knowledge/information to create Great People.

The conclusion is digital divide issues have many relation with two things,

infrastructure and content. How can infrastructure reach and how can content accessby all of people. These two issues are very important to close digital divide. We need

a regulation to engage private sector because it is not just government responsibility.

Moreover the budget of our country is very limited. The engagement of private sector

to succeed our program is very important.