Free Internet Program for Public Literacy Development

in North Lampung

Feni Rosalia

, Dian Kagungan

and Devi Yulianti

Government Department, Lampung University, Bandarlampung, Indonesia

Public Administration Department, Lampung University, Bandarlampung, Indonesia

Keywords: responsiveness, free internet program, global digital age, public literacy

Abstract: A free internet program in North Lampung is intended to facilitate the community in accessing

the internet to maximise the use of information and telecommunication technology. This study

aims to find out about the responsiveness to a free internet program in North Lampung. This

research used a qualitative approach of a descriptive type. The data were collected through

interviews, documentation and observation. The stages of data analysis performed were to collect

data, reduce, expose and draw conclusions. The results of this study indicated that a free internet

program could not be enjoyed by the majority of the community and it could not meet the

preferences and interests of certain groups. The suggestions given were that the Government of

North Lampung should install a free internet facility in a strategic place which could be accessed

by the majority of students and stakeholders such as in school and a park where many users

access information.

1 INTRODUCTION

The internet is a part of information and

communication technology that continues to

develop, and offers many benefits and convenience

for users such as searching, receiving, storing,

processing, sending and disseminating data or

information quickly and easily, and it can form

community interaction. It is undeniable that there are

various fields that have benefited from the internet

including education, health, economics, politics,

bureaucracy, security, and other fields. So, now the

internet has an effect on the competitiveness of

individuals, communities, and countries in the midst

of the current mobilisation of human increasingly

rapidly so that the progress of the Internet has

become one indicator of the progress of a country.

The development of the internet in Indonesia

continues to increase. This can be seen from the

results of a survey conducted by the Association of

Internet Service Providers in Indonesia (APJII)

which stated that the number of internet users in

Indonesia reached 88.1 million people with a

population of 252.4 million up to the end of 2014.

The number of internet users in Indonesia was

mostly in West Java Province at 16.4 million,

followed by East Java at 12.1 million users and

Central Java at 10.7 million users, while Lampung

Province was in the 7th position at 3.5 million users.

The penetration of internet users in Indonesia in

2014 was 34.9% and this indicates still low internet

usage (http://www.apjii.or.id, accessed on the 18th

November 2016).

The internet is a basic need and a very important

resource while communication and information is a

right for every society in Indonesia. Therefore, the

state or government organisers in this case the

Ministry of Communication and Informationn are

obliged to fulfil the communication and information

needs of the community so that they can realise a

prosperous society in Indonesia. The government is

required to answer to the needs and increase the

willingness and ability to use the internet as an

information tool within the community.

Rosalia, F., Kagungan, D. and Yulianti, D.

Free Internet Program for Public Literacy Development in North Lampung.

DOI: 10.5220/0008819202110213

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Social and Political Affairs (ICoCSPA 2018), pages 211-213

ISBN: 978-989-758-393-3

211

The vision of the Ministry of Communication

and Information (Kemen-Kominfo) in the Strategic

Plan of 2015-2019is: "The realization of the

availability and the increasing quality of

communication and informatics services to support

the focus of government development as a form of

state presence in declaring sovereignty and equitable

development and availability of NATIONAL

broadband access, internet and digital broadcasting

that is equitable and affordable to promote

economic, educational, social, cultural, and security

growth".

In response to the vision, Kemen-Kominfo has

been trying to provide internet services for the

community, one of which services was the free

internet program in Indonesia as set out in the

Regulation of the Minister of Communication and

Information No. 2 of 2013 on the Provision of

Wireless Internet Access Services In the Universal

Service Obligation Program. The emergence of these

free internet programs can help the community in

terms of information technology in Indonesia.

This free internet program reduces the gaps in

community ability in the use and utilisation of

information technology and communication itself (e-

literacy), especially internet technology. North

Lampung regency is one of the regencies that has

implemented a free internet program.

Free internet programs are one form of service to

support public literacy in getting to know the

internet.

A form of literacy that must be mastered by the

public in obtaining information is in the form of the

mastery of letters and literacy, but along with the

development of increasingly modern technology, the

mastery of letters is no longer effective when

obtaining information. Therefore, the use of the

internet strongly supports an increase in public

literacy, but the internet does not simply display

letters

UNESCO explains that literacy is a fundamental

right of every individual for lifelong learning. It is

useful for exchanging knowledge along with the

development of technology that is currently internet-

based; through the internet, the availability of

communication is more developed and can affect

political and social life (http://www.unesco.org,

accessed on 8th march 2017).

Literacy in the era of globalisation is very

necessary, now the development of science and

technology takes place very quickly. Likewise with

the internet, literacy is necessary, because, with the

internet, we can access and browse the information

quickly. Currently the internet is not only used as a

means of communication or means of seeking

information, but it has also been used as a means to

fulfill needs such as education, and can even be used

as a means of seeking money through the network.

This means that users can use this device as much as

the points that have been provided, and for internet

Based on the research of Agustini (2017, p. 8) the

Office of Communication and Informatics provides

free internet programs for all the communities in

North Lampung Regency which can be accessed 24

hours a day and this program was expected to cover

all parts of North Lampung Regency so that all

people could enjoy the program.

2 RESEARCH METHOD

This research was conducted within the scope of

North Lampung Regency, the Office of

Communications and Informatics of North

Lampung, PT. Telecommunication, Indonesia, and a

free internet location. The Communication and

Information Service of North Lampung was chosen

as the location for the research because the Office of

Communications and Informatics was the

implementing organisation for the free internet

program in North Lampung; in addition to this,

research was conducted at PT. Telecommunication,

and several free internet locations namely South

Kotabumi Subdistrict and South Lampung Abung.

According to Sugiyono (2015, p. 224) data

collection techniques represent the most strategic

steps in the study, because the main purpose of

research is to get data. Data collection techniques

used in this study were: 1). Interview techniques

with a specific purpose. The conversation was

conducted by two parties, the interviewer who asked

questions and interviewees who provided answers to

the questions. The technique used by selecting

members was specifically based on research

objectives. The instruments used to conduct this

interview were a small record of researchers,

interview guides and mobile phones for their

recorders and cameras.

Data analysis is the process of finding data and

systematically compiling data obtained from

interviews, field notes, and documentation, by

organising data into categories, breaking it into

units, synthesising it, composing it into patterns,

choosing which is important and which needs to be

learned, and to draw conclusions. Data analysis in

this study consisted of several stages, and the stages

were: 1) data reduction from the report amount.

Reducing data means summarising, selecting the key

ICoCSPA 2018 - International Conference on Contemporary Social and Political Affairs

212

points, focusing on the things that matter, looking

for the theme and pattern. Activities to reduce the

data that were done in this study included: recording

of interviews, observations and documentation as

well as field notes and document collection for

results related to the research focus. In this study, the

data were obtained then selected and re-adjusted

with the focus of research on the free internet

program in North Lampung District; 2) data

presentation was done to make it easier for the

researcher to see the overall picture or specific part

of the research. According to Miles and Huberman

in Sugiyono (2015, p. 249) the most commonly

presented data in qualitative research is narrative

text; 3) verification or inferences. The data presented

were still temporary, and could change when strong

evidence was found to be supportive at a later stage.

But if the conclusions raised in the initial stages

were supported by valid and consistent evidence

when researchers returned to the field to collect data,

the conclusion put forward could be considered a

credible conclusion. In this study, the data were

obtained then analysed and patterns were searched

for, including themes and things that often arise, as

outlined in the conclusion. The process of drawing

conclusions in this research was done by discussing

the data in terms of the findings in the field with the

proposed theories as well as with the extract from

the series of research results based on interview

observation, and documentation.

3 DISCUSSION

Based on the results of research on the

responsiveness of a free internet program in North

Lampung Regency, it can be stated that people were

satisfied. This can be seen from the satisfaction put

forward by some internet access users who claimed

to be satisfied with the free internet program. From

the researcher's analysis of all interviews with

internet access users, the satisfaction felt by the

internet access users could be seen from reference to

the adequate facilities and infrastructure.

Based on the results of the analysis, researchers

have seen that people who claimed not to be

satisfied with the internet program were only located

in four location points. The four points were at

Saprodi Abung Selatan, Kotabumi Koramil,

Ramayana Kotabumi Fruit Market, and Bukit

Kemuning Market. Researchers found that, in

Ramayana Kotabumi Fruit Market, the internet

access did not run smoothly and sometimes internet

access could not be used or even there were wifi

access at the location of Ramayana Fruit Market,

Kotabumi.

According to the researcher, the location of the

free wifi installation in North Lampung Regency

was not effective due to the location which was not

strategic. Based on the description of the results, this

program is very helpful for the people of North

Lampung Regency, but there are still many people in

North Lampung who still stall when trying to use the

technology or are less able to access the internet; in

addition, the internet is not used in a positive way.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The conclusion of this research is that the free

internet program could not be enjoyed by majority

of the community and meet the preferences and

interests of certain groups. The suggestions given

were that the Government of North Lampung should

install a free internet facility in a strategic place

which could be accessed by the majority of students

and stakeholders such as in a school and a park

where many users access information.

REFERENCES

Agustini, Dewi. 2017. Evalausi Program Internet Gratis

Di Kabupaten Lampung Utara Dalam Mendukung

Literasi Publik. Skripsi. Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu

Politik. Universitas Lampung.

http://www.apjii.or.id. accessed on the 18th November

2016 at 22.30

http://www.unesco.org accessed on the 8th of March 2017

Peraturan Menteri Komunikasi dan Informasi Nomor 2

Tahun 2013 tentang Penyediaan Jasa Akses Internet

Tanpa Kabel (Wireless) Pada Program Kewajiban

Pelayanan Universal.

Sugiyono. 2015. Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif Kualitatif

dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta.

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