Submarine cables have become a major economic factor in the last 35 years. Without submarine cables, it is difficult to imagine how the current global economy could function.
Almost all internet traffic travels via submarine wires. Cisco predicts that by 2023, two-thirds of the world’s population will be online. Global internet users are expected to grow by 1.4 billion by 2023, to 5.3 billion. (Cisco, 2021)
Fixed broadband is the wired technology that delivers high-speed internet access over a fixed cable or fiber-optic connection. Fixed broadband penetration has been increasing steadily in most regions around the globe.
High-speed broadband allows customers to enjoy many benefits, i.e., triple-play offerings. These packages offer voice, data, and multichannel video services to customers over one network. The internet service providers can provide other services such as home security and smart grid energy monitoring. That has significant advantages for both businesses and consumers because it cuts down on installation costs and ensures all the services are delivered seamlessly.
In contrast to fixed broadband services, mobile broadband networks are now available to virtually all Indonesian populations. The latest data from International Telecommunication Union (ITU) showed 96 percent of Indonesia’s population can be connected to at least 4G network in 2020, a steep increase from 2015 when the connection was only at 5 percent. The share of the population with a 3G network is 98 percent, similar to cellular network coverage.
The growing number of base transceiver stations (BTS) towers across the country supported the improved 4G connection. Indonesia added more than 2.500 BTS towers in 2020 to 37,570, growing 7.15 percent from a year earlier. The quality of existing towers have also improved, with the number of towers with poor signals drop 16 percent to 3,488 last year from 2,927 towers a year earlier.
Satellites are the backbone of digital infrastructure. Without satellites, all digital communications would be limited to line-of-sight distances. These satellites, which are placed in high earth orbits, provide the global connectivity that is now central to our economy and society.
Space provides a natural platform for IoT devices that can connect with each other and with the earth’s surface without interference from barriers such as buildings or terrain, making it possible for drones and autonomous vehicles to operate autonomously with a high degree of precision.
Data centers play an important role in digitization. Managed by virtually every firm with a large-scale digital presence, data centers display economies of scale. Nevertheless, the economies of scale can only be calculated after expenditure of extraordinarily large fixed costs for structures that occupy outsized plots of land. Thereby it becomes common practice for data center vendors to keep business costs down.
With that being the case, they are also looking for operational locations where there is less competition. They are tactically and strategically managing the fixed costs and operating costs associated with the facilities tend to be low. (HBS, 2021) Data centers operate at the speed of light. This capability allows the facility to be able to send data that can be accessed without being geographically proximate. (NBR, 2020)
