THE BUILDING OF COMPUTER NETWORK IN INDONESIA

Onno W. Purbo
Computer Network Research Group
Inter University Center on Microelectronics
Institute of Technology Bandung
Bandung 40135, INDONESIA
Tel: 62-22 250-6280
FAX: 62-22 250-5442
yc1dav@itbgtw.itb.ac.id

ABSTRACT
		Seven years experience in building a packet radio Wide Area Network (WAN) in Indonesia will be described. Some basic ideas are coming from CIDA funded CoSy project in Indonesia 1987-1988. Ways to strengthen the strategic elements, namely, people, knowledge and hardware/software resources, are explained. An alternative low cost packet radio technology is presented. This approach enables the Indonesian universities and government research institutions to engineer and to build a self-financing and sustainable packet radio WAN needed to transfer of information, knowledge and science required to sustain the technological and social development in Indonesia.

I. INTRODUCTION

	Although, the CIDA funded CoSy project, designed to help Indonesian scholars was completed in 1988, the desire to use computer medium to encourage development in Indonesia has been carried on by several Indonesian CoSy participants (of which the author is one) to implement a more practical system in Indonesia.
	In this paper, we report on our seven years effort to build a packet radio WAN in Indonesia. Electronic conferences and mailing lists are used as strategic medium to support the transfer of knowledge needed to build the required expertise for building the WAN. The exposure of some Indonesian staff members to the CoSy at University of Guelph under CIDA funded project back in 1987 has motivated the development of WAN in Indonesia.
	Electronic conferences, such as, CoSy at the University of Guelph, has many advantages:

  •	It provides a medium for fast exchange of information among the users of the electronics' conferences. This in turn enables a quick transfer of knowledge and technology to support the development.
  •	All computer users can participate any on-going discussions with no limitation on time and place.
  •	The extensive discussions with no time and place limitation leads to a rapid transfer of knowledge as well as rapid refinement of concepts.

At the time the project was designed in 1987, CoSy at University of Guelph as an electronic conferencing system, had two major disadvantages:

  •	It is centralized. All participants have to logon to the system to participate in the electronic conferences.
  •	It relies heavily on phone or public packet switching network (PSN).

The current CoSy at the University of Guelph has significantly enhanced their services, including the elimination of the above disadvantages, by connecting their system into InterNet.
	WAN is a crucial infra-structure to support a solid flow of information also distribution of knowledge and science. The existence of packet radio WAN in Indonesia permits us to move forward from grass-roots level by elevating the capabilities of our human resources to support the sustainable technological and social development in Indonesia.
	There are currently many WAN's in operation in Indonesia. Many commercial sites, such as, computer vendors, oil companies and some NGO's, have their WAN and connected to international network such as InterNet or PeaceNet. It is ashamed that universities and government research institutions, from which the needed human resources for development are prepared, have initially little support from the government. Besides the initial unsupportive environment, several committed staff members from several universities and government research institutions manage to build our own packet radio WAN using radio (low cost packet radio technology) as our primary physical link with minimal support from the government and external resources. The network is called Paguyuban Network. The initial effort is paid off. Recently (June 1994), the Indonesian National Research Council (NRC) has launched a major effort to subsidize the international link for Paguyuban Network especially for educational and research entities. In addition, several international organizations, such as, UNDP sponsored Sustainable Development Network (SDN), the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) with Packet Radio Network, are currently helping the Indonesian to set-up their network. These increase the motivation of various universities to join the cooperative movement to connect to the international network.
	Why packet radio WAN? Packet radio WAN can be established using fewer expensive equipments and very decentralized in nature. Thus, it can be initiated without having to rely on a single authority / company to provide the equipments / services. This situation is very favourable for the end-users also the supporting industries. Furthermore, in long term, a packet radio WAN leads to a lower overhead cost than leased dedicated lines. Besides, the software (including the source code) and the hardware are readily available in public domain. This in turn enables us to engineer the software and hardware that decreases further the investment needed to build the packet radio WAN infra-structure (Purbo, 1992, p. 2-3).
	In this paper, we will report on seven years experience in building packet radio WAN among the universities and government research institutions in Indonesia. Strategic elements in the development of packet radio WAN will be discussed. Current connectivities of our universities and research institution will be shown. Then, our current strategies to move forward will be briefly described. We hope this report will give a valuable input for other developing countries in building their WAN infra-structure.

II. KEY ELEMENTS IN BUILDING WAN IN INDONESIA

	There are three strategic elements in building the computer network in Indonesia, namely:

  •	Knowledgable & committed human resources.
  •	Access and knowledge in computer network.
  •	Ability to build and assembled the required hardware / software.

Among these elements, the existence of qualified and committed human resources are the crucial component to assure the ability of the Indonesian people to build their network without having to rely heavily on external resources. In this section, we will focus on our experience in building of the knowledgable and committed human resources (historical perspective).
	Experience learned from CIDA funded CoSy project in 1987-1988 suggests that computer medium can be served as a useful medium to transfer technology also to motivate people to learn from others and, in turn, increase self-motivation.
	Seven years, after the completion of CIDA's funded CoSy project in Indonesia, an exposure to such rare opportunity in 1987 has prompted some Indonesian scholars aboard whom were studying toward their graduate degree to start several Indonesian mailing lists using their computer account at schools. The first known Indonesian electronic mailing list is at University of California Berkeley in the US with address <indonesians@janus.berkeley.edu> established around 1987-1988. It is now still in operation and is mainly used for general discussions. Subsequently, many Indonesian mailing lists including a newsgroup soc.culture.indonesia in USENET have been established in InterNet some of which have attracted participants from various Canadian NGOs and institutions such as McGill Indonesia Project, Environmental Management Development in Indonesia (EMDI) and World University Services in Canada (WUSC). Among these Indonesian electronic discussion groups, there are two major mailing lists established with purpose solely to support the technological and social development in Indonesia, namely:

  •	PAU-Mikro-net <pau-mikro@ee.umanitoba.ca>
	(established in 1990 with total member of around 200)
  •	the Indonesia Development Study <ids@suvm.bitnet>
	(established in 1991 with total member of around 350)

	The Indonesia Development Study (IDS) is currently dealing with various general issues in Indonesia's development in a more global sense. The members of IDS mostly have social and economics sciences background. Several people from international organizations including EMDI and McGill Indonesia Project join the IDS mailing list.
	Different from IDS, PAU-Mikro-net is specifically working on a more narrow subject in building the computer network in Indonesia also various microelectronics and computer science aspects. The majority of PAU-Mikro-net members have engineering background. Similar to IDS, several staff members from Western Universities, such as University of Wisconsin, and several international NGO's, are also joining the PAU-Mikro-net. PAU-Mikro-net is unique in nature as compared to other Indonesian mailing lists in InterNet. PAU-Mikro-net interchanges ideas and performing real tasks directly with participants in Indonesia connected to the Indonesian Paguyuban Computer Network through our InterNet gateway in Indonesia at IPTEK-NET BPPT (Jakarta) and University of Indonesia (Jakarta). The Paguyuban Network is currently active in discussing various issues regarding the development of computer network in Indonesia in PAU-Mikro-net. The international E-mail connection between Indonesia and the InterNet is currently provided by the Center for Computer Science at UI and IPTEK-NET (BPPT) in Jakarta.
	In terms of helping building the information infra-structure in Indonesia, the discussions in PAU-Mikro-net serve several purposes:

  •	Transfer of knowledge by consultations of any problems encountered in implementing the technology in Indonesia.
  •	Feed-back and report of the current network expansion in Indonesia.
  •	Finding an alternative international routes and funding for Indonesia. This is mainly motivated by our expensive PSN.
  •	Keeping the spirit of our colleagues in Indonesia in building the computer network. This is very crucial as nearly all of us are currently doing this as a volunteer apart from our daily jobs. Most of us agree to keep this voluntarily basis of our institution to reduce the bureaucracy, which usually slow down the progress.

These purposes have been nicely served at PAU-Mikro-Net since most of the members abroad have access to InterNet, which enable them to find the required information. Prior to the implementation of certain methods / concepts, precaution can be provided by monitoring newsgroup / other InterNet mailing lists. Thus, in concept, this is a transfer of technology process.
	Within seven years experience, it has been proven that written medium (electronic or a more conventional paper medium) is essential in transferring the knowledge needed to create the committed human resources. In 1987-1989, prior to the establishment of Indonesian electronic mailing lists in the InterNet, most of the attempts to transfer of knowledge and to increase self-motivation were done using written paper medium, such as, newspaper, magazine. In 1990-1991, we started using computer medium to perform these tasks and real tasks to help and to coordinate the building of computer network in Indonesia as a complement of paper medium. These efforts lead to the establishment of an informal consortium of committed staff members of the Indonesian universities and government research institutions known as Paguyuban Network. Paguyuban Network is an informal consortium of about 150 committed Indonesian staff members (both in Indonesia and abroad) with a single objective to build the computer network in Indonesia.
	The informal nature of Paguyuban Network enables us to surpass the bureaucracy commonly found in many Indonesian institutions / government offices that in turn enable us to access the right persons within the institutions. Since the total investment is somewhat low, the informal approach is very effective to accelerate the building of the network.

III. THE ADOPTION OF TCP/IP WAN IN INDONESIA

	To be able to integrate into the largest computer network, InterNet, the Paguyuban Network adopts TCP/IP protocol family as their main protocol for computer communication. The term TCP/IP is derived from the name of the major protocol used that is InterNet Protocol (IP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). In other word, Paguyuban Network adopt the InterNet architecture to be able to integrate easily into the international InterNet.
	TCP/IP based computer network permits an integration of many LAN commonly found in most institutions into packet radio WAN. In addition, the use of TCP/IP allows the integration various computer types, e.g., micro compute, main-frame etc., can be integrated into a single WAN.
	We use mostly PC-based TCP/IP routers running Network Operating System (NOS) program to minimize the costs. NOS is running on PC with both source and executable code available in public domain for non-commercial purposes. TCP/IP protocol is implemented in KA9Q Network Operating System (NOS) on PC originally developed in the amateur radio. We have managed to engineer the NOS software for our purposes. We retain current policy in distributing NOS software as public domain provided with the source code and manual. It is important to sustain the computer network growth in Indonesia.
	Packet radio as physical layer is of interest especially due to its nature that allows more flexibility for the end user to build their network without having to depend on external sources also to reduce the overhead costs. Various packet radio configurations are currently being pursued into mass production lines to support further expansion of our packet radio WAN in Indonesia.
 	Besides the radio and the microcomputer, the typical configuration of packet radio station can be classified into:

 1.	1200 bps Audio Frequency Shift Keying (AFSK) modems connected directly to PC's serial port.
 2.	PC add-on Terminal Node Controller (TNC) with AFSK modems.
 3.	High-speed 64 Kbps packet radio systems.

Packet radio technology is especially used to link regional and long distance networks. Within a building or campus complex, a high-speed LAN would be a better investment. Also, TCP/IP protocol allows us to integrate these two different technologies (LAN and packet radio technology) into a single WAN which transparent to end-users.
	In the first configuration, a 1200 bps AFSK modem is connected directly to PC's serial port. This configuration is primarily intended to provide an end user with a lowest possible cost hardware necessary to become part of the packet radio network. Typical cost to built such AFSK modem is about US$40-$50. The modem is currently in mass production by several small industries within the country with a rate of about 20-30 modem/month. This is a result of a collaborative effort among several NGOs to transfer the knowledge in modem technology in the previous year.
	For advanced packet radio applications, e.g., dedicated TCP/IP operations, the PC computing power should be freed to perform higher‑level networking tasks. This can be done in the second option by leaving lower level protocol operations to a dedicated hardware. It costs approximately US$125-$250 each.
  	As the network grows to integrate high‑speed LANs into WAN, it is most likely that the long‑distance packet switching backbone nodes will experiencing a heavy traffic, which might create network congestion. Work is currently underway to investigate the use of a high-speed PC add-on card connected to a 64 Kbps packet radio high-speed modem for high-speed packet radio backbone at an estimate cost of US$500-US$600 each. The performance is comparable with the most sophisticated commercial packet switch network currently in operation in Indonesia, which run at US$2000-$3000/month.
	Since most of the alternative configurations are currently being produced in Indonesia, the expansion of the packet radio WAN can be done at low cost without having to depend on external sources.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF PACKET RADIO WAN IN INDONESIA

	In this section, the actual implementation of packet radio technology in our WAN will be presented. The packet radio WAN is currently in operation connecting at least 61 institutions (and keep expanding), such as:

  •	University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta.
  •	Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in Jakarta.
  •	The Ministry of Environment in Jakarta.
  •	National Aerospace Institute (LAPAN) in Jakarta and Bogor.
  •	Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) in Bandung.
  •	Institute of Technology National (ITENAS) in Bandung.
  •	Center for Computer Technology (PUSTEKOM) in Bandung.
  •	School of the Telecommunication Agency (STT-Telkom) in Bandung.
  •	The Indonesian Science Institute (LIPI) in Jakarta and Bandung.
  •	University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Jogyakarta.
  •	Teacher's Collage (IKIP) in Jogyakarta.

At least forty one (41) other institutions spread all over Indonesia are currently preparing their human resources and equipments to join the network. The growth rate of the network is around an order of magnitude per year.
	These activities are initiated by the committed staff members of each institution without any direct intervention from the top government policy-makers. It is to say that the nature of the development is bottom-up approach.
	Since TCP/IP protocol is used in the network, the nature of our network is similar to InterNet. The discussions in PAU-Mikro-net is forwarded using E-mail and news to various hosts in Jakarta, Bandung and Bogor. Indonesia has just recently becoming part of InterNet with top domain ".id".

Figure 1. A simplified topology of our current TCP/IP packet radio network in Indonesia as of August 1994.
	Figure 1 shows the topology of the Indonesian packet radio network in October 1994. VHF and UHF links are used to interconnect the high-speed LAN at ITB, UI, BPPT, LAPAN, STT-Telkom and P3INKOM-LIPI, ITENAS and many other institution with a total user close to 500 users, which is close to an order of magnitude increase as compare to last year. The total number of institutions connected to the network is close to 60. The operational speed used in the VHF and UHF links is currently 1200 bps and 9600 bps. Works are currently underway to increase the regional packet radio speed to 64 Kbps. The packet radio WAN is currently coexist with some of the (expensive) UUCP links used mainly as back-up links. It appears most of the institutions are more favourable towards the packet radio technology that would be a low-cost investment in long term.
 	Figure 1 shows some of our international links currently in operation, namely:

  •	TCP/IP link (64Kbps) to SprintNet in the US, which is subsidized by National Research Council.
  •	TCP/IP link (300bps) to University of Aachen in Germany sponsored by the German Aerospace Establishment.
  •	TCP/IP satellite link (38.4Kbps) to Communication Research Lab (CRL), in Khasima, Japan sponsored by the Japanese Government.
  •	UUCP link to UUNET in the US.
  •	UUCP link to DIALIX in Australia.

Through these international links, we can currently communicate to our international counter part. The subsidized international link has increased the enthusiasm among the Indonesian universities to install the equipments to reach the subsidized international InterNet gateway. Packet radio technology is heavily used to for then national network to reach the international gateway in Jakarta.

V. LOW EARTH ORBIT VITASAT SATELLITE

Figure 2. A simplified topology of the communication experiment between Indonesia and InterNet via VITASAT as of March 1993.
	An experiment to interchange messages between North America (InterNet) and Indonesia via VITASAT has been successfully underway for several months. VITASAT is a polar Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite with apogee around 900 km above the Earth especially design for carrying digital information using packet radio technology. VHF 139 MHz band and UHF 440 MHz band are used for up-link and down-link frequencies, which enables a simple satellite ground station to access this satellite.
	A simplified topology of our experiment to exchange messages between Indonesia and InterNet via VITASAT is shown in Fig. 2. We currently have two VITASAT ground stations in operation in Indonesia, namely, ITBJKT in Jakarta and ITBBDG in Bandung. Messages from ITBJKT or ITBBDG will be carried by VITASAT to the US. A VITANET station in the US will then download the message and delivered to UUNET in the US East coast to deliver to the intended InterNet destinations. There are three additional VITASAT ground stations in Indonesia is already installed in Jakarta and one in Lombok island. Among these VITASAT ground station, ITBBDG is now connected into our packet radio wide area network and known as itbbdg.itb.ac.id in InterNet.
	Our computer network research group at ITB is currently working to built low cost VITASAT ground station for used in Indonesia. To give a ball-park figure of VITASAT ground station, excluding the PC, a VITASAT ground station can be obtained at around $1000-$2000. The equipments are easy to find and to install as it is originally based on Microsat / PACSAT design from the amateur radio (Davidoff, 1990). 
	This approach has significant advantages in terms of overhead cost as compared to the previous approach using commercial PSN for international connection. Besides, it allows remote areas in many part of Indonesia (or the world if you wish) to communicate with international network and exchanging information to help the development in the remote regions. This can be done without having to rely on any commercial services, which is a favourable approach for the end-user to sustain and to expand network at the lowest possible costs. Although, the subsidize international leased line by National Research Council reduces some of the enthusiasm especially in universities, the establishment of a satellite research group at ITB to design and to fly a LEO satellite in collaboration with University of Surrey to be flown by Ariane Space before 1998 would increase the enthusiasm in satellite technology.

VI. STRATEGIES TO MOVE FORWARD

	In the previous sections, we have reported the history and the "state-of-the art" of our packet radio computer network in Indonesia. In this section, we will briefly described our strategies in sustaining the growth of the computer network in Indonesia. We are currently focusing our work on three aspects:

  •	Human resources.
  •	Knowledge in computer network.
  •	Small industries to support the required hardware.

To perform these strategies, initially, we are not relying on any authorities in the government of Indonesia to execute our projects. These projects are performed by committed human resources in Paguyuban Network. A gradual support from the government is on its way with the increase of awareness among the top government level on the need of computer network and information system.
	Building the required human resources is our major objective. The objective is current accomplished through:

  •	Massive informal meetings and discussions.
  •	Extensive seminars with a current rate of two seminars/month with attendance of around 150 people/seminar on various aspect on computer network organized in several places in Indonesia.
  •	Extensive information dissemination through mailing lists and articles in newspaper and magazine in Indonesia increases further the public awareness and self-motivation among the potential users.

Also through formal learning process:

  •	Employing at least 40-50 students at ITB (Bandung) and UI (Jakarta) to build various hardware / software prototypes.
  •	Motivate at least 20-30 students to take an active role in expanding and maintaining the network.
  •	Several members of the Paguyuban Network is currently learning in-depth on various practical methods in TCP/IP computer network. The references for these works are mainly from the freely available Request For Comments (RFC) documents available from various sites in InterNet.
  •	A book on TCP/IP network is currently being written in Indonesian language.
  •	Five members are currently active in programming the TCP/IP software on PC.

These activities are performed in attempts to master the TCP/IP technology needed to develop our own technology. In addition, many voluntary jobs, such as, voluntarily consultation jobs to help others who want to initiate their institutions to integrate into our packet radio network. These efforts are trying to increase the awareness and self-motivation in building the computer network.
	Our last point, the development of the small industries to produce the required hardware to support the development of packet radio WAN. Currently, three small industries capable to mass produce some of the required hardware have been established. Through small industries, we hope the return of investment would take shorter time. 

VII. SUMMARY

	In this paper, an experience in building a self-sustainable computer network in Indonesia using a low-cost packet radio technology has been presented. Although packet radio technology is not the state-of-the art, it has enabled Indonesia build and engineer their packet radio technology that leads to a low cost packet radio WAN with a current connection of a total of 61 institutions with a total user at least 500 users. At least 41 other institutions are preparing their human resource and equipment to join the network.
	Three different alternatives for packet radio configuration to meet a wide range of budget and requirements have been described. The use of TCP/IP protocol in packet radio technology enables the interconnect of high-speed LANs into a single WAN. Research studies are currently underway to increase the speed of our regional packet radio network to 64Kbps and to use alternative international link via VITASAT for a low-cost connection to InterNet. Mass production of the packet radio modem at a rate of 20-30 modems/month is currently performed by three small industries as a result of the initial collaborative effort of the Paguyuban Network activists.
	The establishment of a group of knowledgable and committed people is the crucial element to build the computer network in Indonesia. Electronic computer conferencing system has proven to be an essential medium to support the transfer of knowledge needed to increase self-motivation and knowledge of the human resources.
	Exposure to the tele-conferencing in CIDA funded CoSy project has shown its benefit years after the exposure, which leads to the use electronic mailing lists and discussion groups to perform transfer of technology to Indonesia. This in turn enables us to build and to sustain our own computer network in Indonesia with minimal support from external sources.

VIII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

	We wish to thank Ms.Maria Cioni to allow the author to access CoSy in 1987 (as part of CIDA funded project). We would like to thank the member of Paguyuban Network for their valuable comments and encouragements during the course of the work. We wish to thank Prof. Harry Cummings for his encouragement during the writing of the manuscript.
	The financial supports from the Indonesian Government as well as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE) are greatfully acknowledged. Assistance from UNDP sponsored Sustainable Development Network (SDN) and DLR sponsored Packet Radio Network are acknowledged.

REFERENCES
O.W.PURBO, "An alternative approach to build low cost TCP/IP‑based wide area network in Indonesia," South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) '92 conference, Kuala Lumpur, 14 August 1992.
J.POSTEL ed., Internet protocol, RFC 791, September 1981.
J.POSTEL ed., Transmission control protocol, RFC 793, September 1981.
W.STALLINGS, Handbook of computer communications standards: local network standards, vol. 	2, MacMillan Book, 1987.
CCITT Recommendation X.25, Interface between Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data-Circuit Terminating Equipment (DCE) for Terminals Operating in the Packet Mode on Public Data Networks.
PHIL KARN, KA9Q, "Amateur TCP/IP: an update," Proceedings 7th ARRL Computer Networking Conference, pp. 115‑121, 1988.
P.R.KARN, KA9Q, H.E.PRICE, NK6K dan R.J.DIERSING, N5AHD, "Packet radio in the amateur service," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC‑3, pp. 431‑439, 1985.
J.POSTEL, Simple mail transfer protocol, RFC 821, August 1982.
B.KANTOR and P.LAPSLEY, Network news transfer protocol, RFC 977, February 1986.
M.DAVIDOFF, K2UBC, The satellite experimenter's handbook, 2nd edition, American Radio Relay League, 1990.

FIGURE CAPTIONS

Figure 1.	A simplified topology of our current TCP/IP packet radio network in Indonesia as of August 1994.

Figure 2.	A simplified topology of the communication experiment between Indonesia and InterNet via VITASAT as of March 1993.

Figure 1. A simplified topology of our current TCP/IP packet radio network in Indonesia as of August 1994.

Figure 2. A simplified topology of the communication experiment between Indonesia and InterNet via VITASAT as of March 1993.