The measure has been undertaken in accordance with a directive issued by President Joko Widodo, who visited Rinca Island, located in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, last July.
"The Head of State urged for telecommunications infrastructure services to be improved. (The President) urged to install Internet access for the Rinca Museum that is connected straight to the satellite," Communication and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate said in a press release received on Monday.
Rinca Island is part of the super-priority tourism destination area of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.
It is often an alternative choice for tourists who are keen to see the life of Komodo dragons, animals native to East Nusa Tenggara.
President director of the Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI), Anang Latif, said that currently, his administration has established a base transceiver station (BTS) tower in the Pasir Panjang area to provide Internet connectivity for Rinca Island residents.
It has been claimed that the tower can enable Internet services with speeds of up to 30 Mbps.
The BTS tower of Guymast type, which measures 32 meters in height and has a signal range of up to 1 kilometer, was developed in 2020, Latif informed.
"If you look at the characteristics of the Guymast tower, the iron is quite simple in the middle part but needs to be reinforced with a steel ceiling to keep the tower stable when it rains or (in the event of) storms. This type of tower was chosen because it is very easy to transport, in which the location was upon hill via a footpath," he further said.
The tower is considered to have helped meet the needs of Internet services in the Labuan Bajo super-priority tourism destination.
The Internet service is being provided by BAKTI’s partner Telkomsel, which is considered to be the most stable Internet provider.
The BTS tower in Pasir Panjang Village is unique as it is based on the principle of sustainability since it harnesses solar power as its electricity source.
Solar power was chosen because of limited access to electricity provided by PLN, the state electricity company, in the area.
“So, the electricity is (sourced) independently. It doesn't use electricity from PLN because its reach is quite limited here, since some electricity networks are only for use in street lights and for residents," he explained.
By using solar panels to get electricity, BAKTI, the Communication and Informatics Ministry claimed, could meet the electrical capacity required by the BTS tower and provide good Internet connectivity.
Provided the weather is sunny, the service can run optimally, and even last sufficiently long.
“So, supposedly, under normal circumstances the signal will continue to be up for 24 hours every day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We have also calculated that all housing and ports in the area around Rinca Labuan Bajo Island have sufficient coverage," he said.
The BTS tower service in Pasir Panjang currently serves as many as 450 families, with a total of 1,600 residents.
Through the ministry's initiative to provide satellite internet, Internet connectivity in the Labuan Bajo super-priority tourism destination, including Rinca Island, can be improved later on.
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Translator: Livia Kristianti, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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