Tiakur, Southwest Maluku District, 8 August 2017 –  As one of the efforts in providing telecommunications services to all people of Indonesia, Telkomsel operates the first base transceiver stations (BTS) in Liran Island, specifically in the Ustutun Village, Wetar Sub-District, Southwest Maluku District, Maluku Province.Telkomsel is the only cellular operator that presents the telecommunication network infrastructure here, one of the outer islands in Indonesia bordering East Timor.

The inauguration of this BTS operation carried out by SOE Minister Rini Soemarno along with Southwest Maluku Head District Barnabas Orno, Regional Commander XVI / Pattimura General Major of Indonesian National Army Doni Monardo and Telkom Group CEO Alex J. Sinaga during "SOE Present for the Nation" event in Moa Island and Liran Island.

Telkomsel Network Director Bob Apriawan who also participated in the visit said, "As a company owned by Indonesia, we continue to make a commitment to liberate the territories in Indonesia that were previously does not have telecommunications services. With unlimited spirit, we are always working to build networks to promote the country and serve the people in all regions of Indonesia, without exception, including in areas that are not profitable."

Supported by coverage up to a radius of five kilometers, BTS Telkomsel is able to provide telecommunication services throughout the Liran Island region. BTS Telkomsel in Liran Island is also able to accommodate communication needs up to thousands of users, so it is very adequate to serve Liran Island with population of more than 1,000 inhabitants.

The people of Liran Island who mostly work as fisherman generally do buying and selling transaction of fish catch with collectors who are East Timorese. During this time, to sell the fish directly to East Timor, fishermen in Liran Island must sail by boat for five hours, oftenly overnight in middle of the ocean.

"We both hope, with Telkomsel network in Liran Island, communications with people in other islands and even other provinces can increase. We hope that telecommunication services will also boost economic activity in this region," said Rini.

Enrollment of telecommunications network infrastructure such as that conducted by Telkomsel in Pulau Liran, as well as outer islands and border areas is a form of support Telkomsel in maintaining the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia, where the presence of telecommunications is important to improve national resilience while at the same time in uniting Indonesian living in various islands of this archipelagic country.

"We continue to work for Telkomsel's service to reach the entire population of Indonesia so that in the future our beloved country is totally connected with the telecommunication network," explained Bob