Creating OpenRAN in Indonesia through TIP Lab
BANDUNG, Telkom University – After the Official Launching Of the first Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Community Laboratory in Southeast Asia, by the Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Johnny G Plate, last week. As part of an effort to significantly improve connectivity in Indonesia, the TIP Community Lab and center of excellence was launched as the first stage of collaboration between GSMA, TIP, the Indonesian government, Telkom University, and cellular network operators to support the ‘Making Indonesia 4.0’ program.
According to Julian Gorman, Head of APAC, GSMA, the TIP Community Lab in Indonesia is an important component of 14 other community labs in the global ranking, where Telkom University has an important role in providing laboratory infrastructure that can be a place to test open network technology.
“As the first lab in Southeast Asia, Tel-U (Telkom University) can have a wider influence in global rankings, and the GSMA is committed to supporting this initiative. The commitment shown by the government and industry players can provide benefits in increasing the level of Indonesia’s digital economy in the future. ” He said.
In response to this, the Director-General of Resources and Equipment of Post and Information Technology, Dr. Ismail, that the collaboration here will be very promising, especially in advancing the Open RAN technology in Indonesia.
“There will be many challenges faced in implementing the Open RAN, therefore accelerating inertia is needed in applying new technologies and the availability of proven and robust human resources and global standard solutions.” He explained.
Dr. Ismail added that there will be several challenges behind implementing OpenRun, such as compatibility which is a major problem, and how to apply new technology.
“That’s why we are confident to collaborate with GSMA Global to ensure that this technology can guarantee scalability and this technology going forward.” Strictly speaking.
Being one of the cellular operators in Indonesia, which is part of the TIP laboratory community, Telkomsel fully supports every latest technological development such as OpenRun developed by the TIP community lab and especially to realize the Indonesia 4.0 program plan.
President Director of PT. Telkom Telekomunikasi Seluler expressed its appreciation for the cooperation that has been established between the government, academics, and also the telecommunications industry players in Indonesia, according to him through OpenRAN like this will bring excellent development in the world of Indonesian telecommunications.
“Telkomsel hope that OpenRun technology can also be applied in rural areas, especially in 3T areas, frontier, and disadvantaged areas, so that it can help create optimal operational efficiency for telecommunications operators to develop a broadband network that is evenly distributed throughout the archipelago.” He said.
Responding to the collaboration this time, the Director of Advanced Wireless Technologies (Adwitech) Telkom University, who is also a lecturer at Telkom University, Dr. Eng Khoirul Anwar said that this collaboration would be a good opportunity between various parties, especially a good opportunity to jointly advance Indonesia.
“This collaboration will be a solution for accelerating OpenRAN’s needs and demands so that OpenRAN’s technical capabilities can be a catalyst for significant business growth.” He explained.
It should be noted that OpenRAN is a radio access technology that adopts the open interface concept. With this technology, operators can use a combination of radio devices, such as radio units and basebands, without being tied to a specific brand/brand.
