The clarification was delivered by Head of Information at the Army Information Center, Lt. Col. (Arm) Sayed Syahrial, when met at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta on Friday, responding to circulating reports alleging illegal fees being charged to flood victims.
“The data packages have been made free by Starlink itself until the end of December,” he said.
Syahrial’s statement also clarified earlier remarks by Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak, who had said that the Army did not yet know who was covering the cost of the Starlink service.
“So, what the KSAD meant was that he did not know who was handling the data packages because they have indeed been provided free of charge,” Syahrial explained.
He emphasized that from the start, the Army was tasked with delivering the Starlink units to flood-affected areas that are difficult to reach. The deployment of Starlink is expected to help meet communication needs for residents in remote locations affected by the disaster.
The satellite service is also expected to support Army personnel and other agencies on the ground in coordinating efforts to accelerate post-disaster recovery.
“So later, if there are complaints about data packages later, the rumors would not point back to the Army. It is free until the end of December,” Syahrial stressed.
Earlier, during a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base on Wednesday, KSAD Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak said the Army had deployed Starlink satellite units owned by TNI AD and the Ministry of Defense to flood-hit areas in Sumatra.
A total of 33 Starlink devices from the Ministry of Defense and five units from the Army’s Communications and Electronics Center (Puskomlekad) have been distributed to district military commands (Kodim), which then delivered them to flood-affected locations across West Sumatra.
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Translator: Walda Marison, Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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