Three Factors that Slow Down Mobile Internet Growth in Indonesia

During Hackathon's main event, which was themed 'Android One Hack for Impact', Google Indonesia invited creative workers to break DKI Jakarta's three main barriers through developed mobile tech utilization. Sandy Tantra, Google Indonesia's Consumer Marketing Manager, revealed that the mobile internet growth in Indonesia may be accelerated only if the issues of the price of smartphone, the quality of hardware, and the cost of internet access, can be overcome.

As Cellular.id reported, Tantra said:

"Out of 80 million people (internet users in Indonesia), 70 percent of them access the internet through mobile devices."

The number is projected to be even higher, as the trend of mobile internet consumption among Indonesians goes more positively. He added that the number would be accelerated should these three main issues be solved:

The price of smartphones

More and more manufacturers come and offer various smartphones which are equipped with advanced features. This makes the price of the smartphone one of the considerations, due to the existing strict competition. Nonetheless, this issue seems to be resolved soon as today, there are more and more smartphones being offered below IDR 1 million.

The quality of hardware

The price of a smartphone usually goes along with the quality of the hardware. Cheaper smartphones are equipped with more modest features, while users need to spend more to enjoy more advanced ones. The question would revolve around whether manufacturers can provide advanced smartphones at affordable prices or not.

The cost of internet access

While the era of big data is approaching, the cost of internet access in Indonesia is still quite high, compared to the poor available connection speed. People need cheaper connection with no quota limitation.