Indonesia to study China’s offer on 5G technology development

TELEKOMUNIKASI - JAKARTA. Indonesia will study China’s offer to develop 5G technology in the archipelago, particularly the business model and ecosystem required in such an upgrade.

China offered ASEAN countries its services in developing 5G technology at a press conference on the sidelines of  the 2018 Telsom Telmin meeting between regional communications ministry officials in Ubud, Bali, on Thursday.

"China is offering [to develop] 5G technology, but it is up to each [ASEAN] country because we need to consider the ecosystem and business model,” Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said as quoted by The Jakarta Post.

He said the government would leave it to cellular phone operators to make the decision of whether they would adopt 5G technology.

The 5G network offers more speed than 4G, which is currently being used widely in the country, but by applying the upgraded technology, consumers will also pay more.

Rudiantara estimated the price could be five to 10 times higher than the price of 4G networks.

Previously, China's Deputy Minister for Industry and Informatics Technology Zhaoxiong Chen told journalists that the county had developed 5G technology and would share it with ASEAN countries.

"We have good achievement in 5G technology and we have tested the system. We want to share our success and experience with ASEAN to accelerate the adoption of 5G technology," Zhaoxiong said, adding that two Chinese companies — Huawei and ZTE — were ready to offer their services and expertise.