Ministry Secretary General Ismail said the budget is crucial to support long-term contracts handled by the Telecommunication and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI), including the Palapa Ring, SATRIA-1 satellite, and base transceiver station maintenance.
The funds will also cover staff salaries and day-to-day office operations.
Ismail warned that the Rp8 trillion allocation leaves little room for new initiatives. For instance, the National Data Center in Cikarang still lacks funding for its infrastructure needs.
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Still, he pledged efficient use of the budget by cutting non-essential items, including spending on office vehicles, unnecessary work trips, and offline meetings.
“Some units still require travel, especially for tasks like monitoring radio frequencies in remote areas. For those, we’ll allocate the necessary funds,” he said.
The unchanged budget ceiling was finalized during a closed-door meeting with the House of Representatives on September 15, despite the ministry's earlier request for an additional Rp12.6 trillion ($768 million) to meet its full projected 2026 needs of Rp20.3 trillion ($1.24 billion).
Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid said the ministry respects the decision by the House Budget Committee (Banggar) and will adjust its priorities accordingly.
“We will realign our programs to ensure that both the president’s and the ministry’s agendas can still be implemented effectively,” she said.
The ministry has been under pressure to maintain digital transformation momentum while managing fiscal discipline amid growing infrastructure and cybersecurity demands.
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Translator: Farhan Arda Nugraha, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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