Demand for Internet Services Increases, Frequency Spectrum Increases

The 10^th Asia Pacific Spectrum Management Conferencefollows up on the results of the 2023 World Radio Conference (WRC) meeting which took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the end of 2023. The conference took place on 23 -24 April discussed various issues related to the frequency spectrum, including mobile broadband, 5G, 6G, Wi-Fi, satellites and disaster issues.

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According to Ismail, additional frequency spectrum with a total width of 1,310 MHz will be fulfilled from various types of frequency spectrum, such as low (low band) and high (millimeter-wave) frequency spectrum. So far, the Ministry of Communication and Information's plan is to auction the 700 MHz (low band) and 26 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum first to meet this additional need.

Both will be auctioned off simultaneously. Regarding the spectrum bandwidth price, Ismail stated that incentives will be given. One of the incentive options being discussed by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology together with the Ministry of Finance and the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) since about a year ago is for the winning auction operator to not directly pay for the frequency spectrum usage fees.

The Minister of Communication and Information, Budi Arie Setiadi, who was also present at the conference, reiterated that the auction of 700 megahertz (MHz) and 26 gigahertz (GHz) would be carried out in 2024. He promised that after discussing final incentive options with other ministries/agencies, the auction could be conducted soon.

"The auction technicalities are currently being finalized. The auction itself is likely to take place in June 2024. In discussions with other ministries/agencies, it was agreed that the frequency spectrum auction should bring maximum benefits to both the country and mobile telecommunications operators," he said.

Budi added that the demand for internet services shows an upward trend in the community. Therefore, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is trying to provide additional spectrum frequency bandwidth.

"If retail consumers may already be satisfied with 4G for now. However, they are observed to increasingly need internet with speeds up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps). Therefore, we are trying to provide additional frequency spectrum, some of which are used to support the deployment of 5G," he added.

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Acting Executive Director of the Indonesian Telecommunications Providers Association (ATSI), Djatmiko Djati, when contacted separately, said that the 700 MHz and 26 GHz frequency spectrum had actually been ready to be auctioned for a long time. The 700 MHz frequency spectrum has been "empty" since the migration of analogue to digital terrestrial television broadcasts (analog switch off/ASO) was completed around August 2023. Meanwhile, the 26 GHz frequency spectrum has been "empty" since 2016.

According to him, the two frequency spectrums can be used to deploy 4G and 5G services. The 700 MHz frequency spectrum, in particular, is the last type of low band so it can be useful for accelerating the expansion of cellular service coverage, especially in rural areas. Meanwhile, in urban areas, the 700 MHz frequency spectrum can also be used to increase cellular service penetration in tall buildings.

"Now is the era of 5G and mobile broadband which requires greater internet data capacity, including to support the digital industry, so every mobile telecommunications operator should have a new frequency spectrum with a more ideal bandwidth. "Of course, the industry hopes that the government will provide more affordable frequency spectrum prices," said Djatmiko.

Furthermore, he confirmed that the cellular telecommunications industry currently needs incentives for paying frequency spectrum usage rights fees (BHP). The reason is that the portion of operator expenditure for regulatory charges, which includes frequency spectrum BHP, is already above 10 percent of total expenditure. On the other hand, the health of the cellular telecommunications industry is also being challenged because it is influenced by disruption coming from giant internet application companies.

The proposal for incentives from the growing industrial sector, said Djatmiko, is for the government to be bold in providing a more affordable base price for the frequency spectrum that is being auctioned, including a gradual annual payment scheme for BHP.

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