Re-conception of Government’s Role in Implementing Telecommunication in Digital Era

摘要

Telecommunication is governed in Law Number 36 of 1999 concerning Telecommunication specifically related to the authority to implement telecommunication, where it regulates that the private sectors are assigned as implementers while the government serves as a supervisor. These divided roles seem no longer relevant to the present condition, in which there are gaps in the distribution of telecommunication network. On the contrary, telecommunication is initially aimed to fairly and evenly distribute welfare to the people. Liberalization of telecommunication that has taken place since 2000 is a policy that embarks from politics because Indonesia is committed to World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement to liberalize telecommunication. Moreover, Indonesia faces suppression from International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the funding given by the IMF to recover the Indonesian economy following economic crisis back in 1998. This condition triggered the country to liberalize telecommunication while this sector is considered as of important production sectors controlled by the state and for the welfare of the people. This control is supposed to exist through the direct role of the government in the implementation. The challenge Indonesia is facing these days regarding strategic telecommunication is the development of digital economy and fulfillment of right to access to information owned by the citizens as mandated by the Constitution.