Information, Communication  and Mass Media Development  in Indonesia

A country report of the Republic of Indonesia
on the 4th ASEAN COCI Symposium,
8 - 10th November 2001, Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Submitted by
Bambang Soeprijanto & Sri Wuryatmi
				National Information Agency
Jakarta - Indonesia

Bambang Soeprijanto, 
Regional Information Officer, 
Deputy for Information Content Management, 
National Information Agency, 
Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat 9, Jakarta.
Phone 62 - 021 - 3859625  
HP 08129636241
Fax  62 - 021 - 3440051
e-mail address: soeprijanto_bambang@yahoo.com 

Sri Wuryatmi
Chief of Training and Education Officer, 
Secretariat Office of the National Information Agency, 
Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat 9 Jakarta.

Information, Communication  and Mass Media Development  in Indonesia

A. INTRODUCTION

Along with Indonesia’s experience, Information and Communication Technology  (ICT) usage has a diverse variably in meaning that made it too exclusive,  ranged from as a tool of work to a presentation technique, from business purposes to home entertainment, from network security to play games. Covering an archipelago area of over 17,508 islands (which with land areas of 2,027,087 Km2) on the geographical positions tucked on  94045' to 141065' of the East Meridian and on 60008' North to 11015' of the South Equatorial, so that is not an easy job for government to set up Telco's infrastructure to serve public needs of more than two hundred million people. 

During Soeharto’s Administration, ICT and mass media communication usage were to unite the cohesiveness of Indonesia nation. Focused strategy was to making of a public opinion’s homogeneity, as to materialize the political strategy under the open sky policy and news pooling management. That was happened since the first launch of Palapa Satellite in 1976, which was inspired on the Oath swored by Gajahmada, Commander in Chief on the ancient Majapahit Kingdom to unite Nusantara. Later on, it was followed by the quasi-monopolistic regulation in mass media communication businesses and also the monolithic editorial policy since 1979 through subsidized community newspaper program. 

For public service purposes, the ICT was used limitlessly; among others in the field of education, health, trade and tourism in addition to academic or research purposes. Meanwhile, Internet was firstly introduced in Indonesia in 1993 among researchers in high educational institution, i.e. University of Indonesia and Bandung Institute of Technology to embracing the e-library application, and to set up a network computing research. 

Freedom of expression under the previous regulation was limited, to the extent that they have to serve the public for the sake of power holder.  It had almost given no tolerance for opposition press for more than decades. During these years, press and printed mass media industry were also grew slowly (from 278 in early 1980  to 470 in 1997) and only a single Journalists’ association was existed. Private Radio broadcastings were about 6 hundred stations, while state broadcasting 52 stations.  State Television broadcasting was available for 10 stations with more than 20 local station for TV production house purposes, and private television broadcasting only 5 stations, mainly operated from Capital City. 

The main revenue for broadcasting industries was from advertising sectors. Mean while, private broadcasting stations have  been obliged to contribute 12,5 % of its advertising revenue for subsidizing state broadcasting station, either for public radio or television. That was reasoned due to the formal rules that public broadcastings had not been allowed to have slots for advertising.

E-commerce application entered into business practice in 1998 after economics crises, as a way to recover from economics' slow down. Compared with the US business, Indonesia is non comparable with only 0.26 % or about US $ 100 million off the US $ 390 billion of the USA e-commerce revenue in 2000 (Forrester research quoted in Tulus' paper). Entering the New Millennium, with the global challenge for market liberalization, the domestics need to further capability to produce high quality goods and services which were a necessity for them to compete in global market. 

In terms of information and communication development, there are much left to do to raise the awareness of the society to gaining comparative advantages and competitive  superiority based on expertise professionalism, transparency, just and clean behavior.
E-government at embryonic stage, were implemented by National Planning and Development Board, National Atomic Agency, Logistics National Board, Bureau for Statistic Affairs, State Administrative Institute etc. Initially, the application of microcomputer for office usage was being implemented in the Ministry of Finance, on the Taxation Directorate  since 1984 at the district level. Further, the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as well as reform in the tax paying system  based on electronic computerized data processing was being operated. 

This office automation was signing the shift of responsibility for taxpayer to cross check the tax notification. “The new system had tax payer send returns and payments to local office, whom staff entered the information into microcomputer. Further, data were re-entered by different operator, and computer automatically cross-checked the original entry. Then the system produced a letter to the taxpayer assigning each return a number. Further more, Automatic auditing routine were also developed to monitor and analyze trend in individual and district tax data. Other government offices followed their path according to the needs and capability building, pioneered by the National Coordination Board of Family Planning with the Family Planing Information System (Sistem Informasi Kependudukan dan Keluarga Berencana - SIMDuGa). 

b. development of information, communication AND MASS MEDIA.

1. Before Reform Era.

Even though there was off the same Information and Communication Technology and its applications that were implemented since the Soeharto's Administration; but now, they have  slightly a different angle of policy’s viewpoint.  Telecommunication sector development was based on the Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 3 / 1989 about Telecommunication, which stated that the operator for basic telecommunication services were in the hand of  government’s monopoly.   For basic services that could be lent to the private sectors,  it has a mandatory obligation for private to cooperate with state agency or state corporations. Where as for non-basic services,  they could do it by themselves, without such cooperative. In terms of public services, PT Telkom held domestic telecommunications services, as the operator for fixed and wire line services. Another State Corporation, PT Indosat, has the main duty for operating basic telecommunication services abroad based on fixed services, up to 1994. 

Under the Government Regulation ( No. 8/ 1993) and Ministry Decree ( No. 39/ 1993) stated that cooperative among operators and state agency could be conducted in the form of business operations:

a.	Joint venture corporation – G.R. No. 20/ 1994, stated that minimal participation from domestic capital fund were should be no less than 5 % off the total investment capital.
b.	Cooperative operation and
c.	Contractual Management – Ministry Decree No. 39/ 1993.

In the mean time, Indonesia's telecommunication structural development could be figured out as below:

Services	Operator	

Basic Telco services	
Fixed services	
Domestic
services	Fixed local Telco services	Cable	Exclusive since 1999 to 2010	
				
Radio	
Limited competitiveness	
			National Long distance services	Exclusive since 1996 to 2005	
		International direct-call services	PT Indosat & PT Telkom
since 1995 to 2004	
	Mobile services	Mobile cellular telephone services	Competition depend on the frequencies’ availability	
Non Basic telecommunication services	Competitive market	
Users’ terminal equipment	Competitive market	
Non users’ terminal equipment	In  due process of competitive market	

Under this scheme, PT Telkom already had have an almost one and a half decade monopolistic status that will be ended up on 2010. While local telecommunication fixed radio frequency’s bases services were given to PT Ratelindo. At the current status, the telecom services’ tariff was based on the actual payment, and now will be considered to switched for maximum tariff. Facing the globalization, both PT Telkom and PT Indosat already had been conducting an initial public offering (IPO) consecutively for their share of about 35 % and 25 % in 1995 and 1996.

Compared with ASEAN Countries and Non ASEAN Countries, Indonesia’s Telecommunication penetration development was in the initial stage, as it appeared in  the table below: 

(ITU, Aspac Telco Indicators, as early 1997)

Country	Fixed penetration rates
( per 100 population)	Mobile penetration rates
( per 100 population)	
Non ASEAN Countries			
Australia	51.94	28.3	
Taiwan	46.60	3.0	
Korea	43.26	17.8	
ASEAN Countries			
Singapore	47.85	28.3	
Malaysia	18.32	10.9	
Thailand	5.86	0.3	
Philippines	2.58	1.6	
			
INDONESIA	2.10	0.6	

2. Reform Era.

Coming of the Reform of Government Administration marked the inversion policy toward ICT usage. Previously, it was aimed for uniting the nation's fundamental life purpose, but later on, that was off democratizing populace. 

During the Habibie’s  Administration, the Freedom of the Press gained its momentum in liberalizing press industry,  while the new regulation (UU tentang Kemerdekaan Pers, No 40 tahun 1999) were enacted. That law became  the freest regulation on the mass media among ASEAN countries, and made the press publication industry almost quadrupled for less than three years. Meanwhile, journalists association also embarked boldly from only one to about 34 organizations of free journalists. The directive for popularizing the ICT usage  that has also been bolstered through the Indonesia’s Telematics Coordinating Team (Tim Koordinasi Telematika Indonesia - TKTI), since previous years off the last Soeharto’s Administration, with the Nusantara 21 basic Concept of Telematics Development Strategy. 

Up to this moment, public infrastructure was in early penetration at societal level with less than 3 % of population having information access by fixed phone lines that which only 7,82 million; cellular phone 4.67 million; computer availability less than  2 million and internet access at about four million. Telephone access was not available yet for all sub-district administrative level through out the Indonesia's territory, and the telecommunication sector were still being hold monopolistically. 

The growth of fixed personal telephone services during crisis and after Reform gained 15,51 % up to the end of 1998, while at the same time, the users who ended their services almost amounted of 201.201 lines. Meanwhile, on the mobile telephone services, the negative growth achieved at – 7.93 %, and it could be explained due to the switching habit of pre-payment call services.

Users’ indicator	
Unit	
2nd quarter 1997	
2nd quarter 1998	
Growth ( % )
	
Fixed telephone services					
Users	Person	4.361.355	5.037.640	15.51	
Public phone	Line unit	151.229	194.737	28.77	
					
Segment markets					
Bisnis	%	21.43	19.80	- 7.62	
Home	%	78.12	79.78	2.13	
Social services	%	0.45	0.42	-03	
					
Productivity call					
Local call	%	37.85	35.47	- 6.30	
Long distance 	%	62.15	64.53	3.84	
					
Mobile cellular					
Users	Person	858.221	790.156	- 7.93	
(Info -Telkom, August 1998)

Telecommunication infrastructure development until 1998 were as follows:
1.	Fixed telephone infrastructure services developed by PT Telkom and it’s business partners, the expansion of services and planned were according to the National Development Plan;
2.	Mobile telephone infrastructure services were developed by private sectors according to the users’ need, without such involvement from the government either for development fund or for its maintenance facilities.

Table for both the fixed and mobile services was as follows:

Area	
Fixed services	
Mobile services

Sumatra	770.057	74.894	
Java			
West Java	567.358	69.168	
Jakarta Special District	2.079.452	575.477	
Central Java	475.410	69.526	
East Java	935.372	119.007	
			
Kalimantan	254.315	24.612	
			
East Indonesia’s Territory	488.880	52.718	
			
Total	5.571.644	98.402	

Nusantara 21 Vision as a National Information Technology infrastructure Framework (NITF) on its first kind, was entitled to establish a knowledge based society through implementation and development of ICT for all Indonesians within the State Nationhood of the Republic of Indonesia at 2020. 

Along the transition period lead by Habibie’s Administration, some transitional policies were had been enacted, mainly the Press Freedom No 40/ 1999 procedural guidance who places no barrier entry for new comers to invest in mass media industry, but only for general requirement as required by business purposes under the auspicies of Ministry of Trade and Industry. Further more, the revision of Broadcasting Law was still in progress, due to the different interpretation of the independent authority body that have to be enacted as it’s mandated by the Law. Interms of ICT implementation and computer technology related issues, continuation of the Indonesia’s Telematics Coordinating Team strategic planning was being set. 

During Gus Dur’s Administration, Decree for translating ICT application based on Indonesia’s language was also being stipulated by  President Decree No 2/ 2001 and President Instruction No 6/ 2001 as the Guidance for Development and Optimizing the Telematics usage.  Then, it also has a renewal of the Indonesia’s Telematics Coordinating Team. Furthermore, negative list of investment was being lessened gradually for the multi media industry to foster growth and invite foreign investors. A mimicking of the Silicon Valley in California, Bali Camp - a group of young info-preneurs  was being set in blinking among nature farming villages, east to Denpasar. It is to foster software and computer application industry growth as to create job opportunity and channelizing youth creativity on ICT. In accompanying this info-preneurs site, Bali Multi Media Corporation was also being established as a joint venture with the Provincial government of Bali. Even though, the moment was not ripe enough, due to the delayed crises effects which caused a stagnant in the Telematics investment sector's development.

On the private sectors, especially in the mass media industries, the implementation of ICT was not merely a complementary one, but it was deemed necessary for succeding in the strict and tightly competitive business environment. Pioneered by Kompas Group since the early 1980, implementation of ICT as a mode of electronics printing transformation (chemical and opto electronics printing system compared to previously a hot platted tin system) had also been adopted on either newspaper industry or magazines. Similar to that phenomena, broadcasting mass media industri also shifting their capability from analog to digital broadcasting, since the early 1990.

Accompanying the Press Freedom during Yunus Yosfiah Ministrerial’s  administrative office, the Java Post extended their business opportunity and its capability on managing electronics news networking among their subsidiaries which consisted of more than 80 local and regional newspapers. Therefore, they became a competitor for state owned Indonesia’s National Press Agency (LKBN Antara). Meanwhile, Antara also replacing its old news networking system based on teletext (implemented since 1977) with computer based news networking system. At the mean time, they had also created a brand new, on-line internet based news services with the complimentary edition in English.

For public services purposes among institution, up to the moment, there were about 150 web sites being implemented through various government agency at the national state, regional and local district government. Takalar District, in the Province of South Sulawesi and East Kutai District, in the Province of East Kalimantan were some of the district e-government model set up by local government in cooperation with State Telco and Private internet application service providers. Another local public services being converted into e-gov services was in Bantul District, the Province of Yogyakarta who create web sites worth of almost Rp 2 million.To name it, Takalar is a sample of local government having indigenous revenue from tax and service less than Rp 2,5 million during annual budget of 2000 that tried to cut throat the bureaucratic in-efficiency by establishing e-government for public services. Meanwhile, Bantul District’s e-government web sites was named as the most expensive sites to bidding contract’s value for almost Rp 0,8 Million

C.  PROGRAM FOR  FIRST DECADE IN THE NEW MILLENIUM

In the Megawati’s Administration, a State Ministry for Communication and Information (nick named for Meneg Kominfo) was being enacted within Gotong Royong's Kabinet ministered by Mr. Syamsul Mu'arif. Its office main duty was to set up and coordinate policy formulation and regulation concerning information, communication, mass media and Telematics as well as broadcasting. With a variety of institutional sectors regulating those diversified aspects of industries (either info-com, multi media, telecommunication, broadcasting and mass media industry) which were fallen under the Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry, Industry and Trade Ministry, Research and technology State Ministry and others agency, then National Information Infrastructure Framework and its basic strategy are being caste by the State Ministry for Communication and Information Office.  

This policy was a continuation of the Indonesia’s Telematics Coordinating Team as an ad hoc team established with presidential decree  No 50 / 2000, as well as “the multi track communication strategy” which were implemented since the Vice President’s Megawati positioned in her office. This strategy implementation  resulted from the switched of government policy concerning the balance of information flow among government branches. After dominated by executive branch during Soeharto's Administrative era, the flow of information within society was heavily switched from executive body to legislative body, as to the pendulum’s swinging along the reform movement. Further, with the extra drive from the Reform Spirit, this over swinging phenomena caused a weakened situation on the executive side due to the lack of counter information from government institution. That happened during Gus Dur's Administration when he had had liquidated the Ministry of Information (along with four other government institutions) and further also to the National Board of Information and Communication (BIKN) which later on, had had been replaced by National Information Agency (LIN). 

Mean while an overexposed phenomena of the legislative news coverage by mass media, could do both jeopardize “the public image” and “lessening the government credibility” in the eye of the public. With an almost freest regulatory law, the mass media in Indonesia exercise their newly adopted press freedom and felt that there were no luch law could hinderred their activity, on for the sake of freedom of expression.  As a result, for some politicians and social scientists, that climate could be judged overspeeding or “kebebasan yang kebablasan” (in Bahasa Indonesia). Therefore, this policy aims to balance news coverage among executive, legislative and judicature branches of government as well as public or society themselves, to cornering stone of democratization.

Approaching to foster a sound business climate with pro-competitive markets oriented, as well as to fulfill the universal obligation principles to serve the marginal people and rural areas, a low profile and accommodative strategy were enlisted. It was a continuation for the policy set by Ministry for Transportation and Telecommunication previously, to;
1.	Revise Telecommunication act No. 3 / 1989;
2.	Extend the operator for basics services not only for public corporation, but also for private and cooperative;
3.	Revise categorical services from basic and non basic to net-work and non- network services;
4.	Re-compose the investment gradually from 35 % to maximum of 95 % for foreign investors;
5.	Paradigm change from government based tariff to market oriented tariff;
6.	Changing Operators for basic services from monopoly or duo-poly to competitive markets;
7.	Improved telecommunication infrastructure from voice fixed telephone services to multimedia mobile telephone services.

The State Minister’s strategic approach is to facilitate, catalyze and mediate the industrial growth, which in turn, hopefully could bridge the digital divide, and make transparent for public information availability and also to rate accountable among governmental public service’s institution. Among others, programs are to initiate radio community broadcasting, fulfill information access through the development of Community Multimedia Information Tele center, and fostering the small and cooperative business in the  ICT sector.  In addition, to extend public services the existing State Radio and Television Broadcasting were already being converted into public Broadcasting Corporation. 

Those attainments are aimed strategically to convert ‘digital divide’ became ‘digital opportunity’, and to anticipate ‘digital dependency’ as well as to find a cheap solution for and ubiquitous to information infrastructure as to extend the services to afford populace needs.   Among others, the specified target set for 2004 were de-monopolizing telecommunication industries, implementing e-democracy through electronics general election for 2010, e-government application initiated since 2001, and embracing community broadcasting to diversify local cultural content for 2004, as well as the legal frame work for cyber law for 2004. In terms of technical aspects, to revitalize the radio frequency usage for improving information access by the rural people, a community broadcasting would be implemented through the use of fixed wireless at 800 MHz, and set the availability of Network Application Providers (NAP) for broad bandwidth internet services and the supported network capacity equal to T-1 back bone technology.

From the previous Nusantara 21 concept, mode of multi media city would also be implemented, with a clustering business and home based community served by multi service vendors at the metropolitan and big city. Meanwhile, for smaller city or town, the internet café and, use of satellite technology as well as the community multi media tele-centers (CMTC) will also be expanded to reach the rural areas. The implementation of that idea which were locally nicknamed for Business Information Multimedia Centers (BIMC), still have no clearances for whom the agency should stipulate the initiative and from whom the capital investment could be obtained.

Along with the spirit of deregulation, government try to manage telecommunication services businesses in line with pro-competitive markets, liberalize its structure and tariff, allowing open access and market mechanism to work in adjusting the supply and demand rather than by government alone. With an initial project for enacting the Electronics Digital Interchange (EDI) by the Directorate General for Tax Custom and Tariff, Ministry of Finance to facilitate export - import procedures in 1978, then application of B2B computer is slowly embraced by private sectors. The equal effort also being made by non government organization especially those who protect the consumers needs and interest, in order to protect the consumers right, the intellectual property right and other intangible right related to goods and services carried through internet facilities.

Facing the impact of internet globalization which were characterized by improving mobility of goods, services and human resources, instantaneous introduction of goods and services through out the world, create a border-less state territory and forcing thoughtlessly domestics competitive market, as well as to de-popularize bureaucracy and monopoly, that phenomena that affecting either on regulation, technology and business, then it is a need to integrated a national policy on information, communication and mass media.

With the growth rate of 18,2 % since 1995 for fixed telephone lines and 1,6 % for cellular phone lines services, internet industry were being served by 35 ISP among 46 registered service providers. The rest of 11 ISP were unable to operate, due to the last economics crises. In addition, there were 2000 internet café through out territory serving as the access point for commercial and public utility. The introduction of new technology for internet based people to people communication such as GSM smart card, GMPCS and the switched from vertical business clustered orientation industries to that of the horizontal one, that made a shifting paradigm in the telecommunication business services. 

Other e-gov implementation were in the military and national resilience as well as the crime and national police system. Those security related issues' ICT implementation has still found ways to accommodate the reform spirit and public needs (rather than using ICT as a back up tool  of weaponry system only in terms of ICT function for C3I information system, it could also be extent to Surveillance, Recovery and Rescue forming an integrated electronics information system). And then, the latest inauguration for e-government application was General Assembly's web sites at http://www.mpr.gp.id which were christened by Mr. Amin Rais, the Chairman of the General Assembly at that seminar to improve the work performance of the people's representative assembly members by paying close attention on its constituents on-line, instead off or rather than off line.

Committed to the WTO framework for liberalizing domestic market, government  tries to fastened and shortened the periods set previously for public corporation allowing market competition by:
1.	exclusive right for PT Telkom and PT Indosat in direct long distance fixed telecommunication services up to 2005;
2.	duopoly for PT Satelindo and PT Indosat in international direct call up to 2004;
3.	exclusive right for fixed local call by PT Telkom up to 2010;
4.	mobile local cellular telecommunication for competitive markets up to 35 % for foreign investors;

In order to maintain its commitment, government also worked out to:
1.	prevent from anti-competitive among incumbents in telecommunication markets;
2.	prevent discrimination on requirement for network services and interconnection among incumbents and new-comers;
3.	allow transparency on universal public services without discrimination and neutral for market competition;
4.	make and open to public the licensing procedures in transparent ways;
5.	create an independent regulatory body;
6.	re-allocate scarce resources with due process in a just and fair practices;

Conferred in the Seminar on the Implementation of e-commerce to accord the WTO Framework, held in Jakarta, 18 October 2001, the Staff Secretariat of the Vice president Office explained that Equalizing the opportunity and the challenges of ICT  market and advancement, then the Indonesia's regulatory and legal framework have to foster reform and change to suit the economics, global and technological, as well as to adjust society-cultural needs for furthering social welfare of Indonesian citizen and catch-up with its surrounding neighbor countries' ICT development. Therefore, some issues could be solved either to set up the legal frame work in terms of cyber law, digital signature, certificate of authority and standard of interoperability and connectivity.

As the mile stone targeted to attain in ICT development such as: 9 million fixed telephone connection by 2003, and 7,5 million cellular phone customers; with about 20 million internet users either through dial-up facilities, ISP or corporate and café internet access. Guiding to this state of development, TKTI already published its Five Year Action Plan 2001 - 2005 which accompanied by the National Information Technology Framework.  In anticipating the Global Information Infrastructure, Government has also been ready to  revise the Telecommunication Act No 3/ 1989 more openly, eliminate monopoly gradually and  revise the Nusantara 21 operational concept to fit the ICT last development and reform spirit.

In line with the development of computer infrastructures' hard ware and software, the legal ware should also been paid attention to. Jimly in his paper presented in the General Assembly Seminar, stated that  it was being recognized that  the development of legal aspect in the ICT sectors, especially internet were lagged behind. Further more, among government agencies, there were still heavily a procedural administrative concern that made red-tape bureaucracy, as well as lack of or less expertise among employees. Sampling a comparison to advance the e-government implementation, he named Abu Dhabi experience for sanctioning the government employee who can't operate computer appliances for public services, therefore the e-government project had been proceeded successfully. Such an example of reward and punishment procedures may be work out for accelerating the implementation processes, as to extent the national leadership's administrative commitment on the ICT Development programs. He also noted that in the era of globalization of information, there was a tendency to over regulate or hyper regulate the societal affairs due to its complexity on each walk of life. On the other side, Indonesia is being experienced of having lack of cyber law, while the progress of ICT development deemed it necessary to have one. Further more, there also had a vacuum on the promulgation of law, since the absent of Ministry of Information which whom it were being liquidated during Gus Dur's Administration.

As to serve for the whole population, Indonesia is the biggest archipelago state with the longest coastal lines, therefore Indonesia’s State Ministry for Communication and Communication sets ICT priority's  policies and given the fishermen and coastal shore society for embracing social consciousness in preserving underwater cultural heritage, avoiding fishing-explosive mining and prevent from devastating the coral reef and re-planting coastal mangrove bush. This last but not least opportunity to develop were a strategic effort to empower society, due to the majority of Indonesia's territory comprised with sea and water terrain, as the prospecting resources for raising social welfare.

On the private side, the business sectors represented by PT Mitra Global Telekomunikasi Indonesia, in the similar seminar occasion on ICT development, sounded that in order to develop telecommunication sector during Government's Administrative Reform and Regional Autonomy's Movement, the government needs to adjust its strategic planning. Some suggestions given by private enterpreneurs were:
a.	In line with the Law No 39/ 1999, telecommunication sectors that previously stated as monopolistically regulated, should be open to competitive market;
b.	Government treatment for telecommunication infrastructure as the vital and strategic factors, should be shift to treated as the commodity for trade purposes;
c.	With the recovering of economics post crises, then government should allow and treat with a non-discriminatory and non-entry barrier rules and regulation for new entrance of businesses practices.
d.	Government should alleviate the privilege and special right to PT Telkom and PT Indosat as soon as possible to  create level of playing field symmetrically with private business;
e.	Government should simplifying the telecommunication services business category in terms of network services, special telecommunication services and provider services.
f.	Government should gradually left the operator playing field to the private business and tightly stay close to the regulatory and facilitating function to develop telecommunication sectors.

In terms of decentralization movement for autonomous regional authority of local government, the hopes placed by localities were to share the authority and regulation in telecommunication, especially for:
a.	developing regional telecommunication infrastructure by, for and at the local level;
b.	implementing the flexibility of choices for local authorities to create, empower and develop its resources for welfare purposes, with an alternative to find solution for inviting foreign investors;
c.	giving a chance for tax holiday to the investors in telecommunication sectors, especially for developing and extending a universal service obligation purposes on rural areas.

When talking about strategic planning in the telecommunication sectors, Director General for Post and Telecommunication, at the E-commerce Seminar at Alsson Hotel, Jakarta stated that climate for investment after economics crises were not favorable enough yet for the foreign investors, due to the lack of cyber regulation, safety of personnel and legal framework for conducting cyber transaction and businesses. Therefore, the Telecommunication development strategy were to extend infrastructure for universal access, consistency in implementing regulation and procedures, establish interconnection and interoperability among networks, facilitate regional and local rules and procedures that allow ease access and guarantee for investment and participation from local government through local or regional public corporation and joint investment.

The similar spirit was also being re-announced by the National Representative Members from IVth Commission, Rosyid Hidayat at the ICT Seminar, that the ICT sectors need to be managed openly in the era of global competitiveness, so it should be nationally efficient and treated for export lead telecommunication services, event though telecommunication is not merely an economics business only.  Learning from America's experience in telecommunication reform, it should be implemented simultaneously various effort to privatize, deregulate, endorse competition and corporate transformation from state owned to publicly offering of public corporation stock, due to the net result of the last 10 years ICT development in Indonesia advancing at ratio of:
-	fixed telephone line in service for 6,66 million lines (TLKM 3,67 M and KSO 3,09 M);
-	telephone density of 3,10 % per population (TLKM 5,84 % and KSO 1,99 %);
-	Internet subscribers 500,000 users;
-	9 mobile telephone operators in mobile service;
-	4 fixed telephone operators;
-	2 government owned public corporate dominated telecommunication services;
-	having experienced of KSO dispute ( i.e. Aria West in West Java);

From these stand point, he suggested that it would be better for government to regulate and re-structure telecommunication industry by creating;
-	Independent Regulatory Body;
-	Establish interconnection for the whole Indonesian territory;
-	Implementing tariff policy based on cost and universal services' obligation standard;
-	 Open offering for licensing procedures and allocation of scarce resources;
-	standardize accountability procedures, taxation, and the right of operating cost among operators (biaya hak penyelenggaraan),
along with the consistence implementation of policy and regulation, based on the principle of non discriminatory and non barrier's entry.

D. SOME CHALLENGES ON ICT DEVELOPMENT AHEAD

The development and implementation of ICT and mass media communication in the era of globalization and of information in Indonesia is not without challenges. Two of its main factors that diametrically opposed each other and mostly could affecting the integrity of public policy and national interest were globalization as the centripetal factor and the decentralization for the centrifugal one. It was not a freak for security community who felt that the threat of Nation Unity caused from the latency of SARA could be jeopardize the Indonesia's Nationhood State Unity. Further more, the considering factors in development policy should not laid on (overemphasized only) the economics development reason, but also for a non economics one, such as social and cultural need. Therefore, the role of telecommunication should be shifted from communication and control function of the power holders, to the making of a balance and harmonize  civil society, to encouraging the  economics growth and social development among urban and rural areas proportionately as to give a universal service obligation.

Similar to the mentioned above, the e-government's implementation is also not without challenges. Facing the new millenium with a global market tightly competitive edge, Indonesia whom still in a desperate course to raise from economics crises, can't avoid the challenges for implementing e-government, albeit its complexity. Some of these challenges are:
-	economics crises lasted years lately had already burdened the building capacity of the people concerned to implement ICT development program. Those impact had slugged the pace of ICT implementation, due to rising value of currency foreign exchange, expensive price on computer hard ware and soft ware, internet access cost and scarcity of telephone's availability for populace;
-	geographic and its local indigenous revenue that varied greatly, made some discrepancies in the ICT program implementation. Instead of the fast spread of ICT technology in Java with a high rate of investment, the rest of the country's island having a lack of infrastructures and telecommunication access facilities, and lagged behind in its development;
-	technologically speaking, the diversified progress of the society's adaptation of ICT created digital gap among different ethnic from many island. Indonesia consists of different technology-developmental stage, namely the stone age in West Papua, the Agricultural stage on some of the other Islands, the Industrial stage on Sumatra and Sulawesi; while some part of Java already had experiencing the Information age. The implementation of e-government as a mean to attain the goal for easing government agencies in giving service to the people, also faced the technological security issue, authenticity and integrity of the information source for electronics transaction;
-	in the cultural related aspect, the ICT implementation projects  are also facing similar handicap and needs attention seriously. What ever sophisticated the system, when the man behind the computer have no courage to changes its conventional behavior which heavily related on familiarity and shame cultural value, then the ICT system implementation won't be successful. Do we already have to take account for information transparency in the public service sector, can we alleviate corruption, colluded and nepotism and daring to try a professional stand with transparent and clean as well as sound business practices?

Facing those challenges, we have to learnt from past experiences when we fail to implement ID card electronics standardization, due to the reluctant behavior of the public servants as well as non-readiness attitude from the populace to discipline themselves and enact the electronics procedures consistently.

Some grass roots movement were being created by ICT professional association and together with, namely: Association of the Indonesia Computer Businesses (Apkomindo), Telecommunication Society (Mastel), Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication to networking activities for synergize the result, through: development of 6 network infrastructures, 5 ICT training and education centers, 4 development soft ware application cottages, 4 strategic and legal framework documents, some conferences and seminars on ICT implementation.

There are challenges to attain that goals, among others face by Indonesia that should be handled eagerly and properly:

1.	Cultural awareness and readiness of the whole society, lead by the government public servants for alleviating corruption, colluded and nepotism. On the populace side, the Information Communication Technological anxiety (gagap technology)  is a latency of the digital literacy and media literacy that need to solved simultaneously. That was due to the Java centric infrastructure development that left others island lagged behind in the coverage of USO from government services. The fast development in ICT technology put the remote society un-touched with its innovation and place themselves in different kind of world living (Alvin Toffler, analoguous of Third Waves which could be equated to the  Stone Age in West Papua, Agrarian Age in the rest of Big Island, Industrial Age - Sumatra, Sulawesi dan Kalimantan and Post Industrial or Information Age - Java; main city of Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Makkassar and Surabaya)
2.	Professionalizing bureaucracy to make public services more transparent, traceable, accountable and capable as well as clean government. This to alleviating " a milking cow treatment from state enterprises" for the purpose of non budgeter spending by some government institutions which can not be count on public responsibility and public audit by National Representative Council.
3.	De-monopolize and make more competitive business climate by introducing fair business playing field and fair business practices. Introducet by Ministreial decree No 13/1994, the beginning of Kerja Sama Operasi (KSO) a matter of different kind of cooperative business that put non-equal partner in equally shared responsibility and risk business (for 5 especially private corporations), with a right to build, implement and operate infrastructure for 15 years ahead. Then at the approaching of 3rd Millenium it was proofed misleading after being implemented for almost 5 years. One of the case from Aria west was being accused of under achievement, therefore government tried to withdrawal its companion, and create a legal sued case in the court.
4.	Opening telecommunication market to foreign investment trough public offering mechanism on public bond and market share. The Negative List Investment's procedures should be eliminated, such as the President Instruction No 39/ 2000 that created woe for foreign investors due to the limitation of proprietary & ownership share on the joint venture corporation.
5.	Privatizing public and state corporation to avoiding the cow-milking treatment from bureaucrat off the technically supervised to the state enterprises. The issue of public broadcasting status for TVRI and RRI, as an example is still in the dispute from different aspect and interest that furthering away the effort to keep it as public entity for maintaining the interest of the nation (political base reasoning) or made it a private enterprise to alleviate unnecessary budget spending (economics base reasoning).
6.	Creating and extending the information technology infrastructure especially the broadcasting network, to materialize national broadcasting system by mushrooming the local, district and regional government radio broadcast, as to utilising the spillover of the decentralized budget spending for the purposes of public enlightenment as well as to extend information access through BIMC or CMMTC.
7.	Privatizing RRI and TVRI as state owned coorporation  became public broadcasting, by converting analog to digital broadcasting and at the same time, offering the expertise in broadcasting, network and transmission to give a hand in assisting local, district and regional governmetn setting up mass media broadcasting.
8.	Similar effort in creating business opportinity in on line mass media industry could also been sprouted out among grass root organisations, local community to fooster the feed back communication to variety of government institution.

In order to obtain maximum result and synergetic out-come, therefore the whole society of Indonesia’s ICT community should  take a hand in hand to collaborate and coordinate for using scarce resources of ICT to fulfilling the people’s need and national interest. In addition to  prioritizing domestics capability building, the cooperative among nations especially within ASEAN Countries should be prospered to foster the development.

Similar to the effort implemented over seas, withn domestic territory, the speeding up of ICT development in the East Territory of Indonesia (Kawasan Timur Indonesia) should not solely improving capacity building of its East ICT resources, but thoroughly need to involve and utilise the ICT resources, technology and expertise from all over the Indonesia’s territory.

E. CONCLUSION

The development of ICT and its related business industry after economics crisis and reform era were slow downed due to the scarcity of capital investment available from foreign market, as well as unfavorable climate level in terms of security and legal frameworks. With the 3 % penetration rate of telephone accessibility among 215 million of Indonesia's population, and about 4.67 million of cellular phone users, the prospect for e-commerce is demanding. But to note, its is a need to guarantee that the security system implemented either in e-commerce or e-government, should be technology neutral and open standard, with an aimed target to  empower society and evolving economics market by extending the information access through out sub-districts and rural areas.

Meanwhile, the development of ICT and its application promise the opportunity to fastened the  economics recovery, as well as to make available job opportunities for newly graduated and skilled workforces. Learning from the private business experience during crisis recovery that they set the business not along with the consumer's need, but to the extent of investor's interest, then Government agencies have not  to copycat this failure. Therefore, the introduction of e-government among public institutions need to bridging not only with a National Information Technological architecture Framework (NITF), but also National Information Infrastructure Framework (NIIF) as well as the National Information Legal Framework (Cyber law).

With an eagerness to implement e-government application to attain the good governance, then government agencies have to follow what the universal rules guided for de-bureaucratizing the administrative procedures, open to market competition, increase efficiency and productivity, as well as to make transparent public information and set the policy based on non discriminatory principle and non barrier entrance to new comers.
Cooperative and collaboration in business operations then will be a necessary, event though not a sufficient condition for domestics business to gain global competitiveness. Therefore, the crucial factors to tackle will also be educating and making expertise the ICT workforces, as to gain competitive advantages and comparative advantages among ASEAN countries. Further more, the government initiative to diversifying local cultural content for multi media industries will also play a filtering effect to facing the electronics imperialism driven by a new market economy, and equally to share the ASEAN spirit for strengthening the interregional ties for cooperative and cultural development.

Equalizing the opportunity and the challenges of ICT  market and advancement, then the Indonesia's regulatory and legal framework have to foster reform and change consistently and implement consequently to suit the economics, global and technological need, as well as to adjust society and cultural  shifting values for furthering social welfare of Indonesian citizen and catch-up with its surrounding neighboring countries' ICT development.