Maluku and Papua Regencies/Cities Yet to Experience Fiber Optic Internet

In the 2015 Broadband Profile, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics recorded that only 69 percent of regencies/cities in Indonesia were covered by fiber optics. Papua had the lowest coverage, at zero percent. Sulawesi was the second region with below-average national telecommunications infrastructure.

Therefore, in September 2016, the government initiated the construction of Palapa Ring II, East Package. The fiber optic cable to be laid will reach 8,454 kilometers, covering 35 regencies/cities. This project, estimated to cost US$368.8 million in investment, is expected to be completed in 2018.

The Palapa Ring project is the government's ambition to embrace the increasingly advanced development of information technology. Nationally, this project package is expected to be completed in 2019, with infrastructure in 457 regencies/cities built by operators and 57 regencies/cities deemed financially unviable to be built by the government.

With the availability of this broadband network reaching remote areas, it is hoped that public access speeds can reach 20 Mbps in urban areas and 10 Mbps in rural areas.