Experiences in Deploying a Bottom-Up ICT Infrastructure in Indonesia

Onno W. Purbo
A Common Indonesian
onno@indo.net.id

The facts are 64Kbps 24 hour Internet connection via Telco infrastructure would cost US$800 / month in Indonesia; WiFi band 2.4GHz is not an unlicensed band; government may revoked illegal use of outdoor WiFi equipment; government used to tax US$2200/year/node for using WiFi 2.4GHz band; in 1993, there were not many ICT books in local Indonesian language; in 1993, there were few Indonesian Internet users.

After 10+ years of struggle in deploying a movement of community based ICT infrastructure in Indonesia without much support from the government, no World Bank, nor ADB, nor IMF funding. Today, there are 8+ million Indonesian on the Internet. Close to 4000 schools on the Internet. Today, the government taxes US$270/year/access point for using WiFi 2.4GHz band, which I personally disagree.

Our future objectives would focus on interconnecting 200.000+ schools all over the country in which 48+ million students are studied; and 80+ million work forces in the country.

Deploying a community-based infrastructure in an unfriendly environment is an art. It is impossible to initially run a professional and commercial based fixed wireless broadband services as known in developed countries.

We need to adopt a guerilla strategy to deploy low cost broadband infrastructure. The infrastructure must be distributed, autonomous, self-finance and not centralized. Cost, affordability and easiness would be key in deploying a self-finance community based fixed wireless broadband infrastructure.

The Community Neighborhood Network model moves away from the conventional Telecentre model, which centralizes all connectivity in a single room.  The new WiFi Community Network distributes connectivity throughout the neighborhood thereby reducing monthly costs for 24 hour Internet access.  As more houses or computers in the neighborhood become connected to the neighborhood network, the operating cost as well as the initial investment cost will decline. 

To get a better idea of the savings one can achieve by developing an outdoor WiFi neighborhood network, let us conduct a price comparison. Broadband 24-hour Internet access from the Indonesian Telco costs US$400-800/month/user.  This price allows the user to exchange limited traffic over the network with a high level QoS (Quality of Service).  In comparison, WiFi Neighborhood Network broadband 24 hour Internet access costs US$15-45/month /neighbor. This low price includes the ability for users to exchange unlimited traffic on the network with variable QoS, depending on the level of traffic at that time.

Currently, there are close to 10.000 institutions including broadband Internet cafes, schools, and residential neighborhoods are using WiFi technologies as an alternative to conventional connectivity options. 

Our approach is very much based on community empowerment. A key component for the successful deployment of WiFi technologies in the Indonesian context is the development of young students to become local knowledge producers. These knowledge producers (young authors) acquire WiFi knowledge from various sources, experiment with them, and then author their experiences into publications in the local language (Bahasa Indonesia).  To sustain young authors to continue producing knowledge materials they are compensated with US$15-25/article and US$500-700/book. The typical monthly living cost for a student is US$80-95 (including tuition, books, housing and meals).

The impact of knowledge producers is felt on many levels.  Not only do their publications educate people, but they also open people?s minds to new ideas and help reaffirm the feasibility of investing their own money in such infrastructure models.  Once people are convinced to deploy community neighborhood networks, they can utilize knowledge produced by the young authors to assist in building their capacities.  These capacities include initial set up, operation, and maintenance of the infrastructure.

This journey towards achieving low-cost connectivity was complemented with many talented and dedicated Indonesians who enjoyed sharing their knowledge, expertise and resources for the betterment of Indonesian society.

Today, the learning and development process is continued through various Indonesian mailing lists, such as, orari-news@yahoogroups.com, indowli@yahoogroups.com, and genetika@groups.or.id.