Even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, investment in Indonesia's telecommunications sector continues to increase. In an effort to improve the quality of public services through equitable connectivity throughout Indonesia, especially in the 3T and border areas, through the Satellite Republic of Indonesia (SATRIA) Multifunction Satellite (SMF) project, it is hoped that all education services, health facilities, defense and security administration, and local government all parts of Indonesia can be connected to the internet. This multifunctional satellite has a capacity of 150Gbps using Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) technology with Ka-Band frequency. According to the minister, the faster SATRIA operates, the faster national digital connectivity will be carried out. Some of Satria's capacity users will enjoy the internet for the first time in their area.
The SATRIA satellite project is carried out in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. The Ministry of Communication and Information acts as the Person in Charge for Cooperation Projects (PJPK).
SATRIA PPP Project manufacturer is Thales Alenia Space (TAS), which is headquartered in France. Meanwhile, the launch will be carried out using the Falcon 9-5500 rocket produced by Space-X, a company from the United States. TAS is a well-known satellite maker company appointed by SNT as a satellite maker contractor for the SMF SATRIA project.
Unlike other satellites, SATRIA Satellite is specially designed for internet connection. Construction began at the end of 2019 and was launched in the second quarter of 2022. By 2023, SATRIA satellites are expected to be operational to support service connectivity and improve Indonesia's digital economy.
In April 2019, BAKTI announced that the PSN consortium won the SATRIA satellite procurement tender, with a project value of IDR 20.7 trillion. The PSN consortium consists of four companies, namely PT Pintar Nusantara Sejahtera, PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, PT Dian Semesta Sentosa, and PT Nusatara Satelit Sejahtera.
