Suara.com – Minister of Communication and Information (Kominfo) Budi Arie Setiadi responded to the fate of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite after the master declared his support for Israel.
Budi Arie emphasized that the Starlink satellite issue has nothing to do with Elon Musk’s stance on whether he wants to support Israel or Palestine. He places greater emphasis on the sovereignty of the personal data of the Indonesian people.
“Starlink entering here is a matter of our data sovereignty, not another country’s business,” said Budi Arie when met on the sidelines of the 2023 Kominfo Journalism Award event which was held at the Kempinski Hotel, Newsdelivers.com, Thursday (30/11/2023).
He explained that as long as Starlink’s internet protocol (IP) address is in Indonesia, Kominfo will give its blessing.
“If the IP address isn’t in Indonesia, how can we control it? That’s all. There’s no business (Elon Musk supports Israel),” he continued.
Budi Arie believes that Elon Musk’s attitude towards foreign conflicts has nothing to do with the issue of the Starlink satellite coming to Indonesia.
He only insisted that Starlink must follow the existing regulations in Indonesia.
“That’s his attitude abroad. It has nothing to do with it. We are basically consistent with our way of thinking and acting to protect our national sovereignty. That’s what the IP address must be in Indonesia,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what business he wants. It’s nothing to do with it. There’s no need to relate it to it. It’s not related to that. Don’t relate it to things that are not related to that,” he concluded.
Pros and cons of Starlink satellites if they enter Indonesia
Secretary General of the Indonesian Telecommunications Providers Association (ATSI) Marwan O. Baasir revealed a number of pros and cons if Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellite was officially present in Indonesia.
Marwan explained that one of the advantages of the Starlink satellite is that its coverage is global, including Indonesia. Apart from that, Elon Musk’s satellite also has a large data rate capacity.
“So it can be used for unreached areas, or 3T areas,” said Marwan at a Cellular discussion event held in Newsdelivers.com, Monday (27/11/2023).
According to him, the Starlink satellite could be an option to accelerate broadband internet services in areas that are not yet covered by terrestrial broadband services, including being used by cellular providers as backhaul.
Meanwhile, regarding the cons, Marwan said that Starlink satellites are expensive. In Malaysia, for example, the price of a device to receive signals from Starlink (a type of router) can reach IDR 8 million.
“Starlink in Malaysia has been launched. Expensive (expensive). The price is approximately IDR 8 million,” he said.
Apart from that, the presence of Starlink also has the potential to threaten the business of national telecommunications providers such as cellular operators, closed networks (Jartup), and Geostationary Satellite Operators (GSO).
Therefore, Marwan emphasized that the Starlink satellite needs to be regulated by the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) as a regulator so that it does not disrupt existing businesses in the country.
“For those who are against it, if it is not regulated properly, the Starlink business could potentially threaten the business of national telco operators such as Cellular, Jartup and GSO satellite operators,” he explained.
Furthermore, Marwan emphasized that Starlink does not yet have a service provider permit as an internet service provider (ISP) in Indonesia.
“Starlink still uses global IP (internet protocol), so there are potential issues regarding the protection of personal data and state sovereignty,” he added.
Starting from there, ATSI proposed to the government to implement a new policy if the Starlink Satellite actually entered Indonesia. First, Starlink must enter as a business to business (B2B) service, not directly to consumers, aka B2C.
Second, Starlink satellites must also collaborate with satellite operators in Indonesia. Third, the Starlink Satellite must have a landing right permit or anchoring rights and a jartup permit for backhaul services.
Fourth, Starlink satellites must use Indonesia’s IP numbering allocation. Fifth, continued Marwan, they must build servers and a disaster recovery center (DRC), aka facilities to restore infrastructure if a disaster occurs.
“Finally, they must comply with the Lawful Interception regulations in Indonesia, and as a service provider, Starlink must be obliged to pay telecommunications BHP (usage rights fees) and USO (universal service obligation),” he stressed.