Indonesia Launches Satria-1 Satellite to Bridge Digital Gaps in Aceh

The Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) launched the Satria-1 satellite to cover blank spots in Aceh province. The Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital, Nezar Patria, said, “The capacity is not too large. It provides 4–5 Mbps per point, with a total capacity of 150 Gb and this is sufficient for emergency needs.”

This initiative was taken because developing a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) requires significant time and a large budget. Nezar stated that he would ask cellular operators such as Indosat or Telkomsel to support the coverage, and he guessed that XL Smart would likely take part, as they have a vision to expand their coverage range.

In early January, Satria-2 will be developed in partnership with the United Kingdom. Nezar explained, “Satria-2 is planned as a twin satellite, with a total capacity of 300 Gb, and it is estimated to cost US$860 million.” This project is set to be realized because it is included in the foreign loan priority list.