Ismail, Post and Information Management Director General at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, attended the inauguration of Indonesia's first 5G Smart Warehouse and 5G Innovative Center in Cikarang of Bekasi, West Java on March 7.

The center was jointly built and operated by ICT solutions provider Huawei Indonesia and PT Telekomunikasi Seluler, a subsidiary of state-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia better known as Telkom Indonesia and a multinational Indonesian telecommunications conglomerate.

First launched by the government in May 2021, the 5G technology aims to better support smarter human-to-human communication, human-to-machine communication and machine-to-machine communication for Southeast Asia's largest economy to develop smart cities, industrial manufacturing, e-commerce, healthcare system, warehousing and logistics. This will help make Indonesia's development activities more efficient, competitive and sustainable, government officials said.

"5G is already coming. Many opportunities are coming and the room for improvement is coming. This is a wake-up call for us," Ismail told an audience at the joint venture's 5G innovative center.

He said the center is a breakthrough solution not only for the nation's logistics industries but also for other sectors in the country. The project can help accelerate national digital transformation only with cooperation among all stakeholders, Ismail said.

The Huawei-Telkomsel venture mainly aims to provide solutions for the country's industries, notably warehousing and logistics.

Huawei took root in Indonesia 23 years ago, developing cooperation with various stakeholders in Indonesia. It has been growing the local ICT industry ecosystem to provide connectivity to the majority of the country's population. It has developed information and communication technologies in Indonesia, providing connectivity for the majority of the country's population.

Currently, 90 percent of Huawei Indonesia's workers are locals. Overall, Huawei Indonesia has created more than 20,000 job opportunities through its partnerships with almost 1,200 local industry players.

Speaking at the occasion, senior executive Guo Hailong lauded the launching of the 5G Smart Warehouse and 5G Innovation Center, saying that it is one step forward to enrich the 5G ecosystem in Indonesia.

"The future is coming. Nobody doubts the future is a more digital world empowered by 5G, AI and the cloud computing, and more innovations to come," he said in his speech.

Noting how Indonesia is looking ahead to achieve its planned "Golden Indonesia Vision 2045" , Guo called on the Indonesian Logistics Association to support industries to go digital and to be smart.

"We are fully committed to support Indonesia's digitalization. This is not only our duty as a corporate citizen but also is a foundation for the sustainable development of Digital Indonesia," he said.

Mahendra Rianto, chairman of the Indonesian Logistics Association, said his organization needs to cooperate with prominent companies like Huawei to enable Indonesia's warehousing and logistics businesses to quickly develop.

He admits that this is a digitalization process that businesses in Indonesia can now follow rather slowly on the national scale.

Huawei is a big company, he said. "It is now before our very eyes, and we should grab it right away," Rianto told this correspondent.

He expressed optimism that using digital technology for industries in Indonesia will it develops fast, especially considering the large numbers of its millennials who have been involved in the digital world.

Indra Mardiatna, Network Director of Telkomsel, is hopeful that Huawei, business associations and academics will support his company's efforts of accelerating the development of the ecosystem of digital business and economy in Indonesia.

He also expects that the Huawei-supported 5G Smart Warehouse and 5G Innovation Center will provide Indonesian business players with a transformative experience notably for increasing their management capabilities and for making their operations more efficient.