Minister Of KKP Trenggono Hopes Elon Musk Provides Affordable Internet Access To Fishermen

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono hopes that Tesla Inc CEO and SpaceX Elon Musk will provide affordable internet access to fishermen.

"My hope is that Starlink can also be used by Indonesian fishermen at affordable prices," Trenggono wrote in his Instagram account called user @swtrenggono, as monitored from Bali, quoted by Antara, Monday, May 20.

Trenggono met Elon Musk at a LEO satellite-based internet service trial event, at the Sumerta Kelod Assistant Health Center, Denpasar, Bali, Sunday, May 19, afternoon.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries for Media and Public Communication, Doni Ismanto, when confirmed, admitted that there was a need for communication technology services to make it easier for fishermen when going to sea or living in remote areas.

Satellite-based Internet, according to him, has advantages that fishermen can support their activities at sea. This is because Starlink uses low earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology, whose internet services are more stable.

That way, he continued, fishermen can still get internet access even if they live in the area or while in the ocean.

However, the price of Starlink services for the maritime sector tends to be high. Quoted from the Starlink website, the high-speed Internet in the waters is priced starting at IDR 4,345,000 per month with a hardware cost of IDR 43,721,590.

"If it can be cut with a service price of 50 percent and free devices, it will help fishermen, right. This seems like what the Minister is fighting for with his lobbies when he meets Elon Musk earlier," said Doni.

In addition, he said, satellite-based internet access is also needed in implementing a quota-based measurable fishing policy. KKP has an e-PIT application that can be elaborated with Starlink internet services.

With a stable and high-speed internet, the performance of the monitoring system has also become more optimal in detecting the movement of fishing vessels. Based on data from fishing vessels in 2022 recorded in the Satudata KKP system, there are more than 900 thousand motor fishing vessels, with details of 772 thousand of which are under 5 GT.

Regarding the potential for Starlink service cooperation, Doni has not been able to confirm. However, the KKP plans to use SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket as a vehicle for the Cakra-1 satellite launcher in the coming months

"The Nano Cakra-1 satellite will use SpaceX for the launch vehicle," said Doni.