The government is also ensuring accelerated telecommunication network recovery for residents to resume communication and access important information.
Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid said here on Tuesday that restoring communication services is a key government priority to meet residents’ needs and maintain effective disaster-response coordination.
"Cellular operators report that 95 percent of towers have been restored in West Sumatra and 90 percent in North Sumatra. While in Aceh, power issues continue to leave around 60 percent of towers offline," she said.
Currently, the government, along with cellular operators and the state-owned electricity company, PT PLN, is continuing efforts to restore services to normal, Hafid added.
As of Monday (December 1), a total of 2,804 transmitter towers experienced disruptions in the three provinces, consisting of 1,969 towers in Aceh, 681 in North Sumatra, and 154 in West Sumatra.
Recovery in Aceh is targeted to increase significantly in the next four days as electricity supply is restored by PLN, Hafid noted.
In addition to technical recovery, she lauded the steps taken by cellular operators to provide tariff discounts and extend card validity periods for users in affected areas.
On Monday, her office held a coordination meeting on handling telecommunications access during the Sumatra floods and landslides in Medan, North Sumatra.
The meeting was attended by the President Director of PT Telkom Indonesia, the President Director of PT Telkomsel, the Director & Chief Regulatory Officer of XL Axiata, the CRO of Indosat Ooredoo, representatives of Starlink Indonesia, PT Pos Indonesia, RRI, TVRI, ANTARA, and affected local governments.
According to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the number of victims of the floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra has reached 631, with 472 reported missing. The number of injured stands at 2,600, with 1 million displaced.
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Translator: Farhan Arda Nugraha, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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