Telecommunikasi Operators Asked To Accelerate Network Recovery In Areas Affected By Sumatra Floods

Menkomdigi Meutya Hafid (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs (Menkomdigi) Meutya Hafid revealed that the recovery of telecommunications networks in flood-affected areas in Sumatra continues to show an increase.

Meutya said that if this trend continues and electricity supply is increasingly stable, telecommunications services in the affected areas can recover in the near future.

"God willing, this will continue to improve, we will continue to oversee it, hopefully in one to two days it will continue to improve," he said when met in South Jakarta, Thursday, December 4.

Meutya said, the most severe disruption occurred on December 2, 2025 when a number of telecommunications infrastructure based on the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) tower was damaged.

While waiting for the BTS repair, Meutya said the government was also implementing various connectivity alternatives, including the use of Starlink and Satria-1 satellites.

Currently, he continued, network recovery in North Sumatra and West Sumatra has reached 90 to 95 percent. Now, he said, the next focus is accelerating recovery in Aceh.

"(The network in) Aceh Tamiang has entered. We are still looking at where it will be needed for satellite assistance while waiting for cellular operator friends to repair their networks in the Aceh region," he said.

Meutya admitted that she had asked all telecommunication operators to speed up recovery. Even so, he understands the difficult conditions experienced by operators in the field.

"That's why we see a good increase, from the second and third, third and fourth, we push again to keep the spirit so that in one or two days we can continue to improve, especially Aceh," said Meutya.