Indosat Ooredoo Launches 5G Services in Balikpapan

5G Network Innovations
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Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia’s leading digital telco, announced the launch of 5G commercial services in Balikpapan today. This launch marks a further commitment to powering Indonesia’s 5G revolution and the final launch this year, following the previous launch in Solo, Jakarta, Surabaya, and Makassar and entering new chapter as enabler of Indonesia digital transformation.

Director and Chief Operating Officer of Indosat Ooredoo, Vikram Sinha, inaugurated the launch of 5G commercial services in Balikpapan, attended by distinguished dignitaries, including Deputy IV of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dr. Ir. Mohammad Rudy Salahuddin, MEM; Governor of East Kalimantan, Isran Noor; Mayor of Balikpapan, Rahmad Mas’ud; Rector of Kalimantan Institute of Technology (ITK), Budi Santosa Purwokartiko; and Head of Mobile Networks Nokia Indonesia, Frederic Chapelard. Strict health and social distancing protocols were enforced throughout the event.

President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo, Ahmad Al-Neama, said, “I am deeply humbled and proud to launch Indosat Ooredoo’s 5G commercial services in Balikpapan to continue the 5G revolution across the country. This 5G technology will accelerate digital transformation in Kalimantan, primarily to support the preparation of Indonesia’s new capital, Penajam Paser Utara, located near Balikpapan. We hope this launch will also significantly boost industry competitiveness in the region.”

Deputy IV of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dr. Ir. Mohammad Rudy Salahuddin, MEM, said, “We appreciate Indosat Ooredoo’s commitment in providing 5G commercial services in Balikpapan, as the largest city of East Kalimantan and the nearest city from Indonesia’s new capital. We hope this 5G technology will accelerate the implementation of Smart City, Smart Government, and Smart Industry to enable speedy economic recovery in the region so that it also becomes an accelerator of the national economy.”

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, Balikpapan serves as the primary city of East Kalimantan with manufacturing industries as the main driver of the economy. The manufacturing sector accounted for 47% of Gross Regional Domestic Product in 2020[1], while marine fishery becomes the major contributor in the agricultural sector.

Governor of East Kalimantan, Isran Noor, said, “We are delighted to be part of Indosat Ooredoo’s journey in revolutionizing the country using 5G transformative power. Balikpapan has a lot to offer in terms of natural resources with their huge potentials. We hope 5G technology will transform the way industries operate to drive innovations, create jobs, and boost exports. Along with Balikpapan as the gateway to the new capital, I cannot wait to witness huge digital transformation and development in the region, powered by 5G services from Indosat Ooredoo.”

President Director of Nokia Indonesia, KP Goh, said, “It is an honor for Nokia to be a trusted partner in supporting the launch of 5G services in Balikpapan. This launch is the second time we have supported Indosat Ooredoo’s 5G services launch in Indonesia after, following the one in Surabaya, East Java. Nokia is delighted to contribute in making the transformative power of 5G a reality for the region, especially to support the preparation of relocating Indonesia’s new capital near Balikpapan.”

Coinciding with the launch of 5G commercial services in Balikpapan, Indosat Ooredoo and Kalimantan Institute of Technology (ITK) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which marks a joint commitment to strengthen the education sector leveraging the advantages of 5G technology.

Rector of Kalimantan Institute of Technology, Budi Santosa Purwokartiko, said, “We are proud to partner with Indosat Ooredoo in improving education and discovering 5G use cases that are relevant to the city and region. The MoU signing marks a milestone for Kalimantan Institute of Technology in pioneering 5G research and innovations to support economic recovery in the region.”

The advent of Indosat Ooredoo 5G commercial services in Balikpapan features some of the most advanced use cases, including:

· Smart City: 5G as a key turning point in the evolution of Smart Cities as high-speed connectivity, low-latency and the ability to handle a massive number of connections will enhance citizen lifestyle and collaboration. Sample use cases including SKOTA-Horizontal Platform & Dell IOC (Lintasarta), Smart City and Command Centre (TEMARA), Smart Government (TEMARA/Gorilla).

· Smart Industry: 5G is shaping conversations across Mining, Oil & Gas industry, with new technologies such as private network, AI, IoT & edge computing making big promises on their ability to optimize processes and create more value added. Sample use cases, including Private Network for Situational Awareness (Nokia), Collaborative Robot (Nokia), Mining Compliance Solution (Sensync), Smart Surveillance (Idealab), Smart Manufacturing (MPS), Smart Visual Inspection (IBM).

Indosat Ooredoo won the Asia Communication Award 2021 for the Smart City Project of the Year category. Indosat Ooredoo launched the ‘Movement Towards 100 Smart Cities’ initiative in 2017, acknowledging that rapid growth will bring challenges. This movement has since informed the national direction for Indonesia’s ‘Smart City Master Plan’, which is directly tied to the presidential vision of turning Indonesia into a ‘Smart Nation’.

Indosat Ooredoo helps Indonesian people to build a better future through end-to-end digital telecommunications services. Together with the Sidoarjo Regency and Mojokerto Regency governments, Indosat Ooredoo has implemented a smart city vision to improve residents’ quality of life and improve digital infrastructure readiness for the future.


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