Human Development Impact of the Implementation of Broadband

Abstract

To understand the full impact of broadband implementation to development, investigations beyond its relationship with economic measures are needed. In this study, we particularly want to assess the impact of broadband to human development. The objective of this study is to build knowledge and insight into impact assessment in the field of human development and broadband by developing a methodology of human development impact assessment and applying it to Palapa Ring Project. Palapa Ring project is a backbone network deployment to all the municipalities in Indonesia, mainly in the form of fiber optic cable. After the methodology was developed by doing literature review, twelve interviews to various governmental and non-governmental organizations in Jakarta, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua as well as desk research are conducted as parts of applying the methodology. As a result, is it found that mostly positive impacts are expected in the productivity and empowerment components of human development, while equality and sustainability components are expected to receive positive and negative impacts. Based on the result, it is recommended to take measures to enhance the positive impacts and mitigate the negative impacts, most notably by addressing implementation issues related to broadband utilization, promoting e-literacy, engaging less privileged groups, and promoting environmentally sustainable use of broadband. Ultimately, this study has contribute in developing methodology of human development impact assessment that can be applied to other cases as well as giving feedback to the literatures on broadband impacts to human development.