Aceh, domclub Indonesia
—
Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital (
Deputy Minister of Communication and Technology
) Nezar Patria opens his voice regarding alleged charges for using satellite internet services
Starlink
for flood victims in Langsa, Aceh.
According to him, this is not justified considering that Starlink has made it free for users in disaster locations.
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“Based on the announcement from Starlink, they will make it free for 1 month, specifically for affected areas. So there are no fees, nothing else,” said Nezar at the disaster emergency response post in Banda Aceh, Wednesday (3/12).
If Starlink is placed in a refugee camp or for public purposes, he ensures that the service is free.
“If anything at the post is distributed for public use, it’s free. Unless it’s private property, we don’t understand,” he said.
Previously, a post mentioning a fee for using the Starlink satellite internet service for flood victims in the Langsa area, Aceh went viral on social media.
This issue started with an upload by a netizen with the account @nar***a who uploaded a screenshot of a chat with his relatives.
The chat touched on the issue of charging IDR 20 thousand for using the Starlink internet in Langsa which was considered extortion.
This account then mentioned the account of Starlink owner Elon Musk in its upload to report this.This upload triggered a strong response from the public who opposed levies in the midst of a disaster, one of which was from the account @wor**ic.
“Please, those who have a thug mentality like this, condition it first, guys. When times are difficult & critical, they will still be charged,” he said on X, Tuesday (2/12).
The @ik***T account said something similar, which said this kind of behavior was mental poverty.
“It’s really difficult if you’re mentally poor. People who suffer misfortunes are still the ones who resort to extortion,” he said.
However, the @nar***a account in its latest upload provided clarification regarding the levy which apparently did not take advantage of Starlink assistance from the government.
“So the previous 10k case was rented out because Starlink donations were late coming in. So the price was set because we bought the hardware ourselves. That’s 10k per cellphone. This Warkop is privately owned, not the government,” he wrote in a screenshot.
The Starlink device is one of the assistance from the government to restore connectivity in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
Starlink also provides its services for free.Elon Musk called this a standard service from the company.
(dra/dmi)
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