Pioneering 5G Acceleration, Indonesia Marks a Revolutionary Digital Era Through Its First 5G Warehouse

In a rapidly evolving global landscape, Indonesia acknowledges the crucial role of the digital economy in driving sustainable development and promoting inclusive growth. As such, Golden Indonesia Vision 2045 places a strong emphasis on leveraging digital technologies to enhance productivity, competitiveness, and resilience across all sectors of the economy.

Indonesia’s digital economy is projected to be prosperous, multiplying up to eightfold up to approximately $291 billion by 2030. According to the International Trade Administration, the e-commerce sector in this nation is what makes its digital economy prosper, as the revenue in 2022 has reached around $51.9 billion. It is projected to grow from $52.93 billion in 2023 to $86.81 billion by 2028. On top of that, Indonesia holds 40% of the total value of ASEAN’s digital economy.

Indonesia’s strategic position within ASEAN amplifies the significance of its 5G endeavors. As the largest economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia serves as a key driver of regional economic integration and digital transformation. By becoming the stepping stone of the 5G implementation, Indonesia not only elevates its own digital capabilities but also sets a precedent for other nations to follow suit.

Sophisticated, effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly: this description of the advantages of 5G technology is what sparked the mind of Ismail, Director General of Post and Information Resources and Devices, Ministry of Communications and Informatics of Indonesia, during the inauguration of the 5G warehouse in West Cikarang, West Java.

“The presence of Huawei 5G Smart Warehouse can be a wake-up call as well as a prime example for the entire ecosystem to be able to immediately integrate 5G technology in digitalization which manifestly presents breakthrough solutions that are beneficial not only for the logistics industry but also various other sectors,” Ismail said.

This bodes well for Indonesia, a nation projected to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2045 with a gross domestic product of $9.8 trillion. To realize the Golden Indonesia Vision 2045, Indonesia needs to advance its digital infrastructure. 5G connectivity is the starting capital for increasing the capacity and capability of a country’s digital infrastructure.

A prominent example is Thailand’s implementation of 5G in its smart manufacturing industries. Leading provider of industrial robotic and automation technology Siasun and Huawei collaborated to support industries such as healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, mining, oil & gas, and port. This joint effort deployed Siasun’s AGV, ASRS, and robotic system and Huawei’s 5G ICT technologies.

Given Indonesia’s promising demographics and the substantial expansion of both retail and eCommerce industries, the logistics sector is expected to continue its rapid growth. Huawei’s 5G Warehouse serves as a case study of how 5G technology plays an important role in improving the quality of diverse industries, extending beyond logistics, including business owners and workers.

Smart technology in the smart warehouse

The 5G BTS technology from Huawei that supports all business operations in the 5G Warehouse only consumes five watts of energy or the equivalent of one energy-saving bulb. This low energy consumption makes Huawei’s 5G BTS technology a sustainable solution for the future.

Mr. Long, CEO of Huawei Indonesia, affirmed Huawei’s commitment to supporting the government and industry players to unlock Indonesia’s digital opportunities.

“At last year’s Solo 5G Summit, together with industry partners, we pledged to boost the 5G ecosystem. The 5G Warehouse is testament to the value that 5G technology can offer to traditional industries in Indonesia,” he stated.

As part of TelkomGroup, Telkomsel Enterprise provides 5G broadband connectivity to facilitate fast and accurate communication between staff and autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) robots while ensuring the efficiency of goods movement in the warehouse. In addition, Telkomsel Enterprise presents an intelligent security system equipped with video sensors and infrared sensing to maintain warehouse security.

Indra Mardiatna, Director of Network at Telkomsel, remarked, “Telkomsel is confident that the implementation of the 5G Smart Warehouse, together with the 5G Innovation Center’s conceptual solutions, will open a transformative era for professionals in the logistics sector, particularly by enhancing management skills and increasing the operational efficiency of warehouse systems.”

The implementation of 5G in warehousing systems can increase operating efficiency by up to 20 times, given the very high level of precision and accuracy in goods management. Additionally, 5G technology enables humans to collaborate with AI-based robots, pushing the capabilities of smart warehouses to new heights.

It’s not surprising that over the past three years, the wave of 5G technology implementation has accelerated globally up to three times faster than 4G. Today, 5G adoption has moved from trial to commercial implementation with the number of global 5G network users reaching 700 million, jumping more than 200% in a year.

As Indonesia continues to pioneer 5G implementation, the nation stands poised to reap the rewards of a truly connected and digitally empowered society. The presence of Huawei 5G Warehouse and Solo Technopark, which have been armed with 5G technological advancements, is a joint effort of the digital ecosystem in Indonesia, convincing the public and the government how useful technology is in the life of a 5.0 society. This is a significant step forward for Indonesia’s digital transformation journey. By introducing the power of 5G in the logistics industry, this facility paves the way to a more efficient, competitive, and sustainable future.