The information and communication technology (ICT) industry is expected to grow by 8-9 percent with the support of the enterprise sector amid the widespread slowdown this year.
By
Mediana
·3 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – In line with the stagnant economy, the information and communication technology (ICT) industry is expected to grow more slowly this year, especially in retail. However, this will not be the case in the more stable business enterprise sector.
Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) researcher Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara said in Jakarta on Wednesday (1/1/2020) that the enterprise sector could be an alternative to boosting the ICT industry by 8-9 percent growth this year.
The 5G cellular technology could support business models that targeted the sector. “The 5G approach is better for supporting industry’s productivity,” he said.
The Financial Times wrote in “Why the Global Telecoms Dream Turned Sour” on 30 December 2019 that investors deemed that the telecommunications subsector had performed the worst in the last five years. A number of operators incurred huge debts and were under strong pressure to invest in 5G technology.
Led by Google, Apple and Facebook, the domination of the communications market had shifted to a different type of company that used the networks of global telecommunication companies to capture the biggest portion of profit from the digital business.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data shows that the information and communication sector grew 9.15 percent in the third quarter of 2019, higher than 8.14 percent in the same period the previous year.
Inevitability
Turina Farouk, PT Indosat Tbk (Indosat Ooredoo) senior vice president-head of corporate communications, said that mobile communication services lagged behind other ICT sectors in terms of digitalization. Therefore, a digital transformation in telecommunications was inevitable so it could catch up.
In today’s era of data consumption, setting up a supportive business ecosystem outside of core businesses is a challenge for operators. Companies were expected to be fast and adaptive to new technologies.
PT XL Axiata Tbk group head corporate communication Tri Wahyuningsih shared Turina’s view, saying that digital transformation was merely a means, not a goal.
In providing digital products, not everything could be treated as a new source of income. Upon evaluation, development could not be continued on some products. However, enterprises maintained some products to provide value-added for customers.
Digital transformation was merely a means, not a goal.
PT Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel) general manager external corporate communication Aldin Hasyim said that the dynamics of today’s market and technology showed that the popularity of direct calls and short messages were declining. In their place, data and digital services were gaining popularity and expected to be the engine for the future growth of the industry.
The focus on digital business and services, Aldin said, was reflected in the effort to accelerate the development of broadband networks. Apart from expanding the reach of its 4G network, Telkomsel was also developing a variety of digital products.
Indosat said it booked revenue of Rp 10 trillion (US$719.63 million) in its mobile services in the first half of 2019, boosted by a 22.8 percent growth in data income.