goodmorningpapua.com – The sound of helicopters broke the silence of the interior of Papua that afternoon. Three iron dragonflies with blue color bring special “guests” to residents of Karye Village, Batani District, Bintang Mountains Regency, Papua Province.
No, not the official the helicopter was carrying. The special “guest” who came to the village an hour away from Sentani Airport, Jayapura, taking the helicopter was a 4G base transceiver station (BTS) material. Being a special “guest” of the Karye community because the presence of 4G BTS will open their communication isolation.
Currently, the Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (BAKTI Kominfo) is building a 4G BTS in Karye Village, which is in the 3T area or at the forefront, remote, and underdeveloped.
The telecommunications infrastructure development in Karye is one of the 2,765 4G BTS that BAKTI Kominfo built in Papua and West Papua in the first phase. Detail: 2,220 in Papua and 545 in West Papua.
However, the Minister of Communication and Information, Johnny G. Plate, said that the construction of 4G BTS in Papua and West Papua, especially in mountainous areas such as in the Bintang Mountains Regency, is not an easy job. “However, the challenge must be faced. We must succeed,” he said.
Yes, material delivery is one of the main challenges for the construction of 4G BTS in the interior of Papua and West Papua. Because, to bring BTS 4G material to villages located in the interior of Papua and West Papua, you can’t go by land, but you have to go by air using a small plane like the Cessna Caravan.
“Geography is still a challenge, some locations have to use helicopters to carry BTS materials,” said BAKTI President Director Kominfo Anang Latif. This is because the runway, both paved and grass, only exists in districts or sub-districts.
The use of helicopters is also because not all 4G BTS materials can be transported by planes because of their large size. For example, a VSAT or station receiving signals from satellites with a dish-shaped receiving antenna with a diameter of about three meters. Well, the helicopter carries BTS 4G material with a sling load technique or hangs goods with ropes.
According to Meita Dwivernia, a Head of Supply Chain Management of PT Infrastruktur Bisnis Sejahtera (IBS), the winner of the tender for Packages 4 and 5 of the BAKTI Kominfo 4G BTS Project, the total weight of one 4G BTS reaches 10 tons consisting of 51 items, including solar panels and battery storage systems. , as well as fences and building materials such as cement. But, “The material weighing 10 tons does not include sand and gravel yet,” said Meita.
Before arriving at the construction site, IBS places 4G BTS material in the regional warehouse. One of them is in Jayapura, which is the largest regional werhouse. From Jayapura, IBS brings the materials to Senggeh Airport, located in Senggi District, Keerom Regency, by land by truck. The distance is about six hours.
From Senggeh Airport, IBS then distributed 4G BTS materials to various districts, including Nongme, by small plane. Nongme, which is located in the Bintang Mountains Regency, is one of the lone pick-up points for helicopters to deliver materials to the construction sites of 4G BTS.
Not surprisingly, the delivery of materials took up the most costs from the BAKTI Kominfo 4G BTS project. As a result, the average construction cost of one 4G BTS in Papua and West Papua reaches IDR 2.5 billion. In fact, the cost of building a 4G BTS, which does not use planes and helicopters, is only around IDR 1 billion.
Even so, the delivery of 4G BTS material by air in Papua and West Papua is not without problems. “The obstacle we face in Papua is the mountainous contours, especially since Papua is one of the three most dangerous aviation areas in the world,” said Roli Azfriansyah, a Cessna Caravan pilot.
Not to mention, Roli added, the weather in the mountainous areas of Papua is rapidly changing, and there is no air traffic control at airports in the district. Thus, the pilots could not check valid weather conditions from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). “So, we depend on the community to know the weather conditions,” he added.
However, with all the existing challenges, the Head of the Communications and Information Office of the Bintang Mountains Regency Alferus Sanuari asked BAKTI Kominfo to complete all 4G BTS projects in Papua and West Papua. “So that we can eliminate blank spot areas in mountainous areas,” he said.
The President Director of BAKTI Kominfo confirmed that he would complete all 4G BTS projects in Papua and West Papua. “We want to make history, what about all the challenges that exist, we will never stop, we will never give up on making Indonesia connected,” said Anang.