Indonesians pressure the country’s largest telco to lower data costs

Indonesians are pissed off about Telkomsel’s data package pricing policy. While they’re considered expensive for Jakartans, Telkomsel – Indonesia’s state-owned and largest mobile carrier – charges up to twice as much for the same amount of data if you happen to live in a bad “zone.”

To protest this, activist Djali Gafur started a petition called “Internet for the people“. It has already accumulated over 10,000 signatures.

Telkomsel divides the archipelago into 12 districts. Jakarta, as well as most parts of Java and the surrounding islands are in Zone 1, and tariffs actually go up as the areas get more remote. West Papua’s Raja Ampat district, for example, is in Zone 12.

“We in Zone 12 don’t have a choice,” says Gafur in the petition on Change.org. It’s true because Telkomsel is often the sole carrier in remote areas. The others don’t even bother because the infrastructure costs outweigh the opportunities.

Gafur demands that people in his area get access to the internet for an equal price, so that they too can participate in things like education, tourism, government, and creative industries online. “If [the connection] is a little slow, that doesn’t even matter so much,” he adds.

Indonesia’s ICT Minister Rudiantara has since responded to the petition, and met with Telkomsel’s president director to discuss the matter, according to local media.

Rudiantara said that the government is looking into subsidizing Telkomsel in areas where it is the only operator on the ground, supported by the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund.

The USO in its current form has been in place since 2005. Mobile phone carriers operating in Indonesia have to contribute 1.25 percent of their gross revenue into a shared pool, which non-profit government agency BP3TI deploys toward connectivity programs in remote areas.

Apparently, BP3TI is not quick enough to keep up with the demand for affordable mobile internet connectivity in the remote parts of Indonesia.

Indonesia currently has no regulation on data tariffs, but according to Rudiantara, discussions on this will take place in 2016. In order to allocate funds from the USO to support Telkomsel in said remote zones, USO’s structure has to be changed. That will take time. For now, it’s up to Telkomsel to respond to the increasing frustration from people in zone 12.