Building a Cyber Village for Sanur Community

(3/20/2006)

The people of Sanur community on Bali’s far southeast coast proudly trace families, temples and local historic artifacts back more than a thousand years. Ancient stone markers unearthed at Sanur’s Pura Blanjong are dated to AD 914 and represent the earliest Balinese inscriptions mentioning a royal household.

To the proud folks of Bali's Sanur Village Community, however, strong connections to Bali's past are no cause to avoid being on the cutting edge of the island's technological future. This fact is well demonstrated by Sanur’s ongoing efforts to create Bali’s first Cyber Village. Working with a local Internet company, Bali Medianet, the people of Sanur have made the crucial initial steps of installing a 12 kilometer long fiber optic cable running the entire length of the historic seaside community. Following on shortly after the cable's introduction, Sanur installed the first 18 of a village-wide network of CCTV surveillance cameras. [See: Keeping Their Eye on Security]

The Chairman of the Sanur Development Foundation (YPS), IB Sidharta Putra, recently told the press that Sanur’s Cyber Village, now being introduced in stages, should be completed by 2006.

Dani Sudradjat of PT Sarana Insan Muda Selaras, the owning company of Bali Medinet, reports that an initial Rp. 2 billion (approximately US$196,000) has already been invested of a projected Rp. 15 billion (approximately US$1.47 million) needed to create the Sanur Cyber Village.

Sanur: Below Sea Level?

One of the more innovative aspects of Sanur's Cyber Village will be the ability to visit from any hotel room in Sanur a live mini-cam connection keeping an eye on Sanur's colorful underwater reef.

Community Television at its Best

In late February a new Cable Television system became operation in Sanur courtesy of the new fiber optic network. Customers on the system can now access tens of local and international television stations as well as special educational programs broadcast especially to the 27 banjars that comprise Sanur community. Down the road plans are being discussed for Sanur TV - a community-based broadcast and information network.

Broad Band Internet Access

Currently going operational throughout Sanur is a high-speed Internet access system that will make surfing the Web at high speed available to most Sanur residents at affordable prices. With Sanur community leaders becoming increasingly cyber-minded, folks in Sanur's popular coffee shops can be overheard eagerly discussion VOIP teleconferences, e-governance, and e-medicine - all aimed at making Sanur Community a better place to live and a destination at which tourist visitors will want to linger.