Papua to Enjoy Broadband Next Year

JAKARTA - Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua will connect to high-speed Internet later than scheduled after the Communications and Information Ministry said that broadband would make headway into the province in 2013.

Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that as many as 27 provinces across Indonesia now had access to broadband Internet via the Palapa Ring.

The Palapa Ring is a project aimed at linking Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua to eight existing network connections, or backhauls, via approximately 35,380 kilometers of undersea and 2
1,870 kilometers of underground fiber-optic cables.

Fiber optics, unlike copper cables, enable fast data transmission, a prerequisite for broadband Internet. The ministry and a consortium of telecommunication companies kicked off the project, worth US$700 million, in 2009 and targets its completion by 2014.

“The establishing of broadband connections has been carried out across the provincial capital cities located on Java island,” he said on Tuesday.

He added that major cities and industrial hubs including Jakarta and its surrounding areas, as well as Bandung and Semarang, were already connected to broadband Internet.

However, five cities still have to wait until next year for broadband connections. “The cities include Jayapura, the capital of Papua, Manokwari [West Papua capital], and Ternate [in North Maluku], in addition to Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi and Ambon [Maluku capital],” he said.

He added that broadband penetration across the 27 provinces was “still low, lower than 12 percent”. “Ideally, the penetration rate should be at 100 percent,” he said.

He added that the government aimed to connect all major cities and industrial hubs in Indonesia with broadband connections by 2015.

“Our target is to even connect homes with fiber optic cables,” he said.

Under the national broadband plan, the government plans to transform Indonesia into a knowledge-based society by 2015 by improving Internet access. By 2020, the government expects the country to have gone digital through the application of e-government initiatives.

However, besides the still low Internet penetration rates, e-government schemes have lagged. Several regions have pushed back the disbursement dates for electronic identification, or e-KTP.

Tifatul said the contribution of information technology, which includes the Internet, toward the gross domestic production (GDP) has risen in the last decade.

A study by the World Bank shows that a 10 percent rise in broadband penetration would increase GDP by 1.38 percent.JAKARTAIndonesia’s easternmost province of Papua will connect to high-speed Internet later than scheduled after the Communications and Information Ministry said that broadband would make headway into the province in 2013. Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said that as many as 27 provinces across Indonesia now had access to broadband Internet via the Palapa Ring. The Palapa Ring is a project aimed at linking Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua to eight existing network connections, or backhauls, via approximately 35,380 kilometers of undersea and 2 1,870 kilometers of underground fiber-optic cables. Fiber optics, unlike copper cables, enable fast data transmission, a prerequisite for broadband Internet. The ministry and a consortium of telecommunication companies kicked off the project, worth US$700 million, in 2009 and targets its completion by 2014. “The establishing of broadband connections has been carried out across the provincial capital cities located on Java island,” he said on Tuesday. He added that major cities and industrial hubs including Jakarta and its surrounding areas, as well as Bandung and Semarang, were already connected to broadband Internet. However, five cities still have to wait until next year for broadband connections. “The cities include Jayapura, the capital of Papua, Manokwari [West Papua capital], and Ternate [in North Maluku], in addition to Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi and Ambon [Maluku capital],” he said. He added that broadband penetration across the 27 provinces was “still low, lower than 12 percent”. “Ideally, the penetration rate should be at 100 percent,” he said. He added that the government aimed to connect all major cities and industrial hubs in Indonesia with broadband connections by 2015. “Our target is to even connect homes with fiber optic cables,” he said. Under the national broadband plan, the government plans to transform Indonesia into a knowledge-based society by 2015 by improving Internet access. By 2020, the government expects the country to have gone digital through the application of e-government initiatives. However, besides the still low Internet penetration rates, e-government schemes have lagged. Several regions have pushed back the disbursement dates for electronic identification, or e-KTP. Tifatul said the contribution of information technology, which includes the Internet, toward the gross domestic production (GDP) has risen in the last decade. A study by the World Bank shows that a 10 percent rise in broadband penetration would increase GDP by 1.38 percent.

AIDS Education With 'Love from Wamena'

WAMENA - In an effort to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS while solving the education gap in neglected areas in Indonesia, AusAID and the Ford Foundation have turned to an unlikely medium to spread the message: filmmaking.

The pair has funded the feature-length film “Cinta dari Wamena” (“Love from Wamena”), featuring actors Nicholas Saputra and Susan Bachtiar. The film, directed by Lasja Susatyo, is set to hit local theaters in March 2013.

Executive producer Ronald Gunawan said that cultural values and a large education gap are the among main obstacles for AIDS awareness campaigns in Indonesia. He spent nine years working as a doctor in Papua, where the HIV/AIDS prevalence is 18 times higher than any other province in the country, infecting 2.4 percent of the local population.

“If we’re not doing anything about it, it’s very possible that Papua will become like Africa, which has 40 percent HIV/AIDS prevalence,” said Ronald, who is also a consultant at Corsores Indonesia, a nongovernmental organization involved in the film.

“Cinta dari Wamena” follows the story of three friends who leave their village homes to chase their dreams in Wamena, the largest town in Papua’s highlands. Along the way, they deal not only with a new way of life, but also HIV/AIDS. Leading the cast for the film are newcomers Maximus Itlay and Benyamin Lagowan, both students at Cenderawasih University in Jayapura, playing powerful roles.

Wamena, Ronald said, is a magnet for people who still live secluded in the mountains, as it represents modernity. People walk seven to eight days just to get to Wamena, driven by curiosity of a “modern life,” as Wamena offers schools, markets and office buildings.

On choosing Maximus, Benyamin and actress Madonna Marrey to play the central roles in the film, director Lasja said that it was her vision to put them in the spotlight.

“I didn’t want to put the outsiders [roles played by Nicholas and Susan] as heroes, because I want the movie to show local initiative and their strength to solve their own problems,” said Lasja, who recently also contributed to the anti-corruption campaign movie, “Kita vs Korupsi.”

In the trailer shown after the panel discussion at Blitzmegaplex, Jakarta, on Tuesday, the film shows how HIV/AIDS can be treated, while also trying to break the stereotype that AIDS is a curse.

Lasja found a study that explained why Papua is a unique case for the spread of HIV/AIDS, which was used during the development of the script, written by Sinar Ayu Massie. The study said that in Papua, marriage is strictly ruled by local tribes, and a man can only have intercourse with his wife after paying the dowry — usually in the form of pigs, which can cost up to Rp 10 million each ($1,040).

When Papuans move to a town and live more modernly, however, the rules of sex are less strict. Sex, Lasja says, becomes personal entertainment, because there is not much else to do. Ronald stresses that youngsters in Papua are not any different from those in any other cities.

“The only problem is that they don’t know how to protect themselves,” he said.

Benyamin said that the people of Papua have been shocked with the jump of modernity in the past few decades. For him to star in the movie also meant he had to learn more about AIDS.

“I remember I went to an AIDS campaign when I was in high school, but I was doing it because they told me to,” he said. “I didn’t really understand what was it all about.”

This is also why Ronald has such high hopes for the movie’s ability to spread the message about AIDS treatment. Lasja said the film focuses on medicinal treatment for the disease, rather than local homeopathic remedies.

AusAID’s Adrian Gilbert said that the film will be shown in 10 cities in Papua, followed by discussions about AIDS.

Using the power of visual media, combined with presentations on safe sex and AIDS prevention methods, the people behind the project hope to make a dent in the rising rates of AIDS in Indonesia. (JP)

‘Timai’ Ritual for conservation

The traditional community of Misool Island, Raja Ampat, West Papua, affirmed its commitment to the conservation of marine resources by declaring the Communal Zone of the Southeast Misool Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Yellu village, Misool Island.

The Southeast Misool MPA is the largest part of the Raja Ampat marine protected area network. It covers 366,000 hectares and is situated in the Coral Triangle Zone, which is the world center of marine biological diversity.

The declaration, facilitated by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) by involving the Raja Ampat regional administration, was marked by a custom ritual called timai, which is a traditional ceremony to honor and offer prayers to the community’s ancestors.

This ritual was conducted by communal elders, who floated offerings — betel leaves, areca nuts, tobacco, chicken eggs and white and yellow rice smeared with chicken blood — in the sea while praying for marine security in order to keep the local people supplied with abundant resources.

The natural resources of the waters of Raja Ampat are a major source of livelihood particularly for fishermen haven’t yet been enjoyed to the maximum by the local community and are still in endangered condition.

Based on TNC research during 2007 – 2009, more than 94 percent of the marine resources of Raja Ampat waters benefited fishermen from other regions in East Indonesia.

Under such circumstances, the fishery potential of Raja Ampat is threatened by overfishing and destructive fishing, such as the use of explosives, poisons and closely knitted nets.

By establishing the communal zone along with the observance of local wisdom such as the sasi tradition, which is a model of management of marine resources by closing local waters to the catching of biota during a certain period, the community’s welfare will hopefully be enhanced.

“The zoning system applied to Misool combines modern conservation with local wisdom to encourage the utilization of marine resources in a sensible manner,” marine program director from TNC Indonesia, Abdul Halim, said when attending the declaration ceremony.

(JakartaPost)