Johnny G Plate Review Satellite Development Progress At Boeing And Space X

Minister of Communications and Informatics Johnny G. Plate. (photo: doc. between)

Los Angeles – Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Johnny G Plate paid a working visit to the United States. The purpose of this working visit is to ensure the progress of satellite manufacture at Boeing, SpaceX, and Hughes Network System. Boeing is a satellite manufacturing company for the Hot Backup Satellite (HBS) project.

SpaceX is a provider of rocket launchers for the HBS. Meanwhile, Hughes Network System is a company that provides broadband solutions for satellites using the High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology used by HBS.

During this visit, the Minister of Communication and Information was accompanied by the President Director of the Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Anang Latif, Director General of Resources and Equipment of Post and Information Technology (SDPPI) Ismail, and Director General of Information and Public Communication (IKP) Usman Kansong.

President Director of BAKTI Anang Latif. (Ist Photo)

BAKTI Kemkominfo last March signed the HBS project contract with the winner of the Nusantara Jaya Consortium auction. The Nusantara Jaya Consortium is a combination of several companies, namely PT Satellite Nusantara Lima, PT DSST Mas Gemilang, PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, and PT Palapa Satelit Nusa Sejahtera.

President Director of BAKTI Anang Latif explained that there were several reasons why the development of this HBS project was important. “HBS was chosen in order to provide backup support to mitigate any risks that might occur to the SATRA-1 satellite. Besides having the main function as a backup for SATRIA-1, the provision of HBS aims to increase internet speed and improve user experience," he explained.

The HBS project has been running since October 19, 2021, when the Ministry of Communication and Information through BAKTI conducts procurement based on the Regulation of the President Director of BAKTI Number 4 of 2021 concerning Procedures for Procurement of Goods/Services for the Provision of Hot Backup Satellite for Digital Transformation.

Director General of SDPPI Kemkominfo Ismail explained that this satellite technology is the most appropriate choice to overcome the problem of equal distribution of internet access for a country that has an archipelagic landscape like Indonesia. "With satellites, remote points can be reached relatively easily and evenly. Satellite technology complements various signal and internet access infrastructures that have been built by the Ministry of Communication and Information, such as high-speed internet backbone networks and thousands of 4G BTS in frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped areas. (3T)," he said.

The HBS program is planned to start construction in 2022 and will be launched in the first quarter of 2023. It is expected that in the fourth quarter of 2023 it will be able to operate to serve the community.

In addition to visiting Boeing, SpaceX and Hughes Network System, Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G Plate also met with Qualcomm, Cisco, Maxar, and Meta.