3.5-Hour Boat Ride for Cell Phone Service

Once a week, Julianus Sagulu, 51, goes on a 3.5-hour wooden boat ride from his village to get cell phone service in Muara Siberut.

Once a week, Julianus Sagulu, 51, goes on a 3.5-hour sampan (wooden boat) ride from his village to get cell phone service in Muara Siberut, the capital of South Siberut district, Mentawai Islands regency, West Sumatra.

Going by sampan to Muara Siberut is the only way for him to call his child, who goes to school in Padang Panjang city.

Julianus lives in Bekkeiluk sub-village, Muntei village, around 7 kilometers from Muara Sirebut. Although he has a smart device in the form of a tablet, Julianus, who is a farmer, cannot do much with it. Making a phone call or sending a text message using his device is an impossible task in Bekkeiluk.

Mobile phone services have yet to reach Bekkeiluk sub-village, which located  inland on Sirebut Island. Neither has electricity. To charge their devices, the locals use a generator, but only if there is enough fuel to turn it on. “In the village, this tablet is only used to listen to music. If we want to make a phone call, we have to go to Muara Siberut, because there is only service there,” said Julianus at the end of November.

As of now, there is still no land access to reach Bekkeiluk. To get to Muara Siberut, the journey must go through a river. When the current is strong, the journey to Muara Siberut takes 3.5 hours. When the water is shallow, it could take four hours or even more.

For Julianus and other Bekkeiluk residents, going on a trip to Muara Siberut to be able to make a phone call lasting less than 30 minutes, is not an easy thing to do. They have to spend a lot of money for it.

The residents that own a sampan use 10 liters of fuel for a return trip that costs Rp 100,000 if the fuel price is Rp 10,000 a liter. Those that do not have a sampan need to pay around Rp 200,000 to rent a canoe for a return trip. The budget does not include the cost of food in Muara Siberut. As for a place to stay the night, they usually stay at the house of a relative.

Like the people of Bekkeiluk, the residents of Salappak sub-village, Muntei village, which is closer to Muara Siberut, also do the same thing. Boni Fasius Salaesek, 50, of Salappak, said he goes on a 30-minute sampan ride to Muara Siberut to phone his two children who go to school in Padang and Makassar.

Boni’s kids would first send a text message to a relative in Muara Siberut. The message would be passed on to a local who is heading to Salappak, before it is forwarded to Boni. “If there is a message, they are usually asking for money. I would rent a sampan to go to Muara Siberut, bringing a pig to be sold,” he said.

Climbing a hill

Different from the people of Bekkeiluk and Salappak, the residents of Madobak sub-village, Siberut, have a different way of getting mobile service - by climbing a hill. “In the village, there is no service. If there is a sudden need, we climb a hill first. That takes an hour. Even then, the service is limited,” said Adrianus Sbaggalet, 32, from Madobak.

Adrianus said if they wanted to get decent phone service, they have to go to Muara Siberut, which is around 19.3 kilometers away. “In the past, we used to walk three hours to get to Muara Siberut. Now that there is the trans-Mentawai highway, it can take one hour if the weather is good. If the weather is bad, it can take hours,” Adrianus said.

The use of letters is still relied upon. South Siberut district Education and Culture Agency’s technical implementation unit head, Hijon Tasirilotik, said that because of the hindrance of the lack of service, coordination with South Siberut school principals still used conventional letters.

“Those that are in Muara Siberut can still be contacted using  a mobile phone. However, those in the upstream [of the river] cannot be contacted. So we have to send letters a week before a meeting. We give it through a person that is heading there,” Hijon said.

When other regions are able to communicate in various forms ranging from text, audio and real-time video, in Siberut Islands, communication is still a classic problem that remains unresolved. A similar condition can be found in Pagai Islands. The only area with a good mobile signal is only Sipora Islands, regency center.

Up to Padang

If mobile phone service is poor, internet is even worse. Only Sipora Islands can catch 3G service. On the other islands, namely Siberut and Pagai, there is only 2G and EDGE service. On the 2G network, it is even difficult to open websites, let alone social media applications.

Hijon said the  poor internet network in Mentawai had forced principals in South Siberut to go to Padang to send their basic education data, including school operational fund reports. Going to Padang only takes three hours using the Fast Mentawai ship, which is available three times a week. To go to Sipora, the capital of the regency, it takes five hours, and that is using a wooden boat, available only twice a week.

“It’s true that there is Wi-Fi, but it is very hard to get connected. So like it or not, we have to go to Padang, where the internet connection is strong,” he said.

The Wi-Fi Hijon was referring to is an aid facility from the Communications and Information Ministry, which was made available in Mentawai last year. According to the Mentawai Communications and Informations Agency head, Jhoni Anwar, there were 105 Wi-Fi spots, particularly in health and village service offices.

In Salappak sub-village, for example, Wi-Fi has been installed in a supporting community health center (Puskesmas), while in Madobak sub-village, Wi-Fi is made available in one of the junior high school buildings. However, the Wi-Fi cannot be used at all times. In Salappak, the Wi-Fi uses solar power. If rain falls, there is no more power. If there is no solar energy, the people would borrow a generator to turn on the Wi-Fi. “Even after it is on, it is still restricted because the Wi-Fi is only for certain devices,” said Ekkei Satoinong, 30, a Salappak resident.

“If we are asked to choose, we would rather choose mobile phone signal, not Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is restricted. Mobile network can be used by everyone,” Adrianus said.

Jhoni said his agency was making efforts to push for improvements in the communication network in Mentawai. This year, there has been aid in the form of 28 base transceiver stations (BTS) from the Communications and Information Ministry for areas without a network. At the moment, only 13 BTS have been installed and it is targeted that all will be installed at the end of this year.

West Sumatra Communications and Information Agency head Yeflin Luandri added that Mentawai was a priority, especially since it is one of three areas in the 3T (front-most, outermost and left behind) category in West Sumatra, together with West Pasaman and South Solok.

According to Yeflin, the 13 BTS under development are expected to be available for use by the public in January 2018. The other 15 BTS, meanwhile, will start construction in 2018.