A satellite was launched from the United States by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX and Indonesia in an effort to offer high-speed internet to isolated regions throughout the vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
In particular in Indonesia’s remote regions, which is the fourth most populous nation on earth, more than a third of the population lacks internet connection.
SpaceX and Indonesia’s Mission to Bring High-Speed Internet to Remote Areas
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the European-made SATRIA-1 early on Monday morning (June 19), Indonesia time, from a launch facility in Florida.
The PSN SATRIA mission was launched by SpaceX from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to the company’s website.
Jakarta expects the satellite, which cost US$540 million (S$724 million), will connect 90,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals, and government buildings.
The satellite was developed by the French defense electronics company Thales.
Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, described it as the country’s “first government-owned multi-function satellite with the highest capacity in Asia” in an Instagram post on Monday.
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Indonesia’s Ambitious Leap Towards Bridging the Digital Divide
He stated that it would orbit over Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua.
According to acting communication and informatics minister Mahfud MD, it will distribute internet connection, notably for education, health, and public service in the rural, isolated, and outermost areas.
He says SATRIA is an acronym for Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia.
The system will offer a connection speed of 150 gigabytes per second when it is operational in 2024, which is three times quicker than the archipelago’s current satellite internet bandwidth.
In a news statement, Thales said that the satellite, which would be the most powerful in Southeast Asia, will bridge the digital divide in Indonesia.
In a speech aired during the launch, Mr. Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, president commissioner of PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), added that the Covid-19 epidemic and the war in Ukraine caused delays in the project’s construction.
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