Netflix, Disney + Requested Cooperation With Telecommunication Operators In Indonesia

Ilustrasi (Image by Andrés Rodríguez from Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The government plans to require global over the top (OTT) companies that carry out business activities in Indonesia to cooperate with telecommunications network operators and / or telecommunications service providers.

The Telecommunication Network Operator Association (Apjatel) also believes that this can increase investment in the country. The plan is also contained in the Draft Government Regulation (RPP) for Post, Telecommunications and Broadcasting (Postelsiar) which is a derivative regulation of the Job Creation Law.

"With the implementation of these obligations, it proves that the government is consistent in carrying out the mandate of the Job Creation Law. The main spirit carried out by the Job Creation Law is to attract new investment and create jobs, including in the national telecommunications industry," said Apjatel Chairman Muhammad Arif in his statement, Monday, February 1. .

OTT companies or in this case service providers with content in the form of data, information or multimedia that run through the internet network. Like Netflix, Disney + Hotstar and other online streaming services.

Arif explained that currently the ability of telecommunication operators in Indonesia to build infrastructure is very limited because many of the resources owned by telecommunications operators are used up to expand network capacity and content delivery network (CDN).

In addition, so far global OTT organizers have often taken refuge behind the concept of net neutrality or the principle that internet service providers must be fair with all internet content providers.

In the United States, which is the home country of the majority of OTT operators, the Federal Communication Commission has revoked the net neutrality policy on June 11, 2018.

According to Arif, the government should not hesitate to require global OTT to cooperate with network operators in Indonesia. This form of cooperation can be through network leases, capacity leases or direct investment.

With global OTT collaboration with network operators, Arif is optimistic that this can provide new hope for the acceleration and improvement of the quality of telecommunications networks in Indonesia.

"Currently, the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure in Indonesia is not evenly distributed. The government still needs assistance from business actors to be able to deploy telecommunications infrastructure throughout Indonesia," he continued.

"So it is hoped that the global OTT will later be able to make a positive contribution to the development of national telecommunications infrastructure. It is not just passing through telecommunications operator networks, without providing significant benefits to the national economy," said Arif.

Arif said there were many benefits that could be taken from the global OTT obligation to cooperate with network operators in Indonesia. By renting capacity from network providers, global OTT can improve the quality of services it will provide to the people of Indonesia.

Another advantage, continued Arif, is that the government has the potential to reduce the current account deficit if the global OTT server is in Indonesia. Because so far, the international bandwidth expenditure of Indonesian network operators is quite large and it is paid in US dollars.

Another benefit that the government can get with the obligation of global OTT cooperation with network operators is that it makes it easier for the government to collect PPh or OTT transaction taxes. Because so far the government has had difficulty capturing PPh and transaction taxes carried out by global OTTs.

With the OTT obligation to cooperate with network operators, later the Minister of Finance will easily issue regulations regarding taxation such as PPh or transaction tax to OTT

"So that the obligation of global OTT to cooperate with network operators will benefit all parties including global OTT, society and government," said Arif.