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Most Damage to East Palapa Ring Facilities Occurred in Papua

Jayapura | January 20, 2021 From 2019 to January 2021, 174 acts of vandalism or destruction of Palapa Ring East facilities were recorded in Papua and West Papua. This was the most common incident among the four regions in eastern Indonesia traversed by the fiber optic internet network.

These facts were presented by PT Palapa Timur Telematika (PTT) in a webinar explaining vandalism against Palapa Ring East facilities on Wednesday (January 20, 2021) from Jakarta. The webinar speakers were from PT Palapa Timur Telematika: General Manager of Operations Widodo Yuli Prasetyo, Project Manager Herald Napitupulu, and Director of Operations Eddy Siahaan.

Widodo explained that 90 percent of the 174 acts of vandalism against Palapa Ring East facilities occurred in Papua Province, with the remainder in West Papua Province. Meanwhile, such acts have not been found in the East Nusa Tenggara and Maluku regions, which are also part of the East Palapa Ring network.

The most recent act of vandalism was carried out by an armed criminal group (KKB), burning down East Palapa Ring base transceiver station (BTS) facilities at two locations in Puncak Regency on January 3, 2021. The two facilities were BTS 4 in Omukia District and BTS 5 in Muara, Mabuggi District.

"In Papua, the majority of vandalism occurs in mountainous areas. These acts include blocking facility installation locations, cutting fiber optic cables, and, most seriously, the destruction of tower equipment in Puncak Regency earlier this month," said Widodo.

He explained that the vandalism at the East Palapa Ring project has disrupted telecommunications network services in the region. The government and PTT are currently restoring the damaged facilities.

"Repairing the damaged facilities will take time and involve significant costs for materials, labor, and logistics transportation. PTT expects support and cooperation from various parties to ensure the repair and maintenance process runs smoothly," said Widodo.

Meanwhile, Herald stated that PTT has made significant efforts to maintain the security of East Palapa Ring assets and infrastructure. However, these efforts face several challenges, such as security disturbances and inadequate geographical conditions and roads that make it inaccessible to motorized vehicles.

"We have installed CCTV (camera surveillance) for surveillance, an electric fence, and built a TNI post in the area. However, the facility is located in a high mountainous area that is difficult to reach by land vehicles and is a long distance away, and it is not located in a residential area," said Herald.

Eddy added that East Palapa Ring is a national strategic project that is greatly needed by the regional government and local community. Therefore, security for this facility must be a priority.



News & image source: Kompas