REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Minister of Information and Communications Rudiantara encourages the development of national over the top (OTT) mobile Internet applications so they can compete with international OTTs such as Facebook and Twitter.

"The players are already there. We try to reach customers as quickly as possible so the 20 to 30 million accounts have an economic impact," Rudiantara said here on Wednesday.

He added that the ministry continues to facilitate local OTT players and mobile operators in Indonesia.

However, to ensure the development of national OTT mobile applications, the ministry cannot facilitate all existing local OTT services.

"There are some five to six OTT services which I think are good," he remarked.

Moreover, Rudiantara pointed out that it is difficult to develop local OTT applications when the community itself does not support them.

So he urged the community to support national OTT services by using them so they can evolve and provide added value to the national economy.

"I will push for WhatsApp and Blackberry Messenger to be moved under the local OTT category. Journalists should also support this," Rudiantara emphasized.

Indonesia is currently dominated by international OTT applications like Twitter and Facebook, with as many as 40 million accounts of Indonesians on Twitter, he observed.

Chairperson of the Indonesian Telecommunication Providers Association Alexander Rusli noted that the organization supports the development of national OTT services.

If national OTT applications can reach 20 to 30 million subscribers, it will encourage the growth of telecommunication and information industries and boost the economy, he affirmed.

Currently, Indonesia has a number of advanced OTT services such as Sebangsa and iMes.

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