Erick Thohir's Poke To Boost Telkom's Performance

Menara Telkom Indonesia (Instagram @telkomindonesia)

JAKARTA - The Minister for State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) insinuates the performance of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) or Telkom. Erick also asked Telkom to improve the company's performance.

The sentiment Erick meant was aimed so that Telkom would not be left behind due to the disruption of the technology business in the current digital era. In running its business, Erick suggested that Telkom not only depend on the revenue of PT Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel).

Telecommunication observer Heru Sutadi assessed that there are nuances of improving the attention of the Ministry of BUMN to PT Telkom. In the previous era, he considered that Telkom was only seen as a profit making machine without any attention to business strategy and guidance.

"From the nuance and narrative (BUMN Ministry) the improvement (attention to Telkom), but it needs to be seen how the facts are. We all hope that Telkom as an Indonesian flag carrier will continue to advance and exist. It can even become a holding company for telecommunications and multimedia companies," Heru said in the description.

According to him, Erick Thohir's hope that Tekom moves towards a digital business is actually in line with the strategy that has been and is being promoted by PT Telkom. However, Heru said, in the past this effort was not supported by attention. This can be seen from the composition that filled Telkom's board of directors and commissioners in the past.

"Yes, we will see that in the future there will be a GMS. Will the government's perspective be the same as before or will it be different. From the nuances and narrative it will be improved," said Heru.

He is also optimistic that with the concern of the Ministry of BUMN, Telkom will be able to answer the criticism that Erick Thohir has previously made about the parent company's income that is less than that of their subsidiary, namely Telkomsel. "If high-ranking Telkom and BUMN have the right strategy, in two years Telkom's revenue can match Telkomsel's real income," Heru said optimistically.

If we look at Erick's allusion to Telkom, it is understandable. This is because in the last five years, Telkom's financial performance has tended to slow down. Telkom is expected to be able to transform immediately and start working on technology-based services and digital information.

Target 8.3 Million Customers, this is IndiHome Innovation for 2020IndiHome targets 8.3 million subscribers by 2020. #TelkomIndonesia #IndiHome #UntukIndonesia pic.twitter.com/W82LBFoYix

- Telkom Indonesia (@TelkomIndonesia) February 24, 2020

During the 2018 Asian Games, the committee was forced to rent a cloud facility from China called Alicloud due to the unavailability of this facility by Telkom. In fact, this could be a new business opportunity that this state-owned telecommunication company can develop.

"Actually Telkom has provided services there. For example, building a data center, not only in Indonesia but also in Singapore. Already utilizing big data, yes even though monetization is not easy. Cloud computing is also a sharp competition because there are also many who provide services and can do more. cheap, "he said.

But again, all need synergy from all parties to achieve success in the latest telecommunications business. Because the realm of this business is so broad and dynamic. Therefore, it is hoped that the Ministry of BUMN's steps to pay attention to the telecommunications business sector will help bring winds of change for a better future at PT Telkom.