Utilizing short message service (SMS) as community media platform. Developed bay Angkringan Community Media, Desa Timbulharjo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

1. MK-160:
Media Komunitas 160 Karakter
Community Media (in)
160 Characters
U ti li z ing Sh ort Mes sage S er v ic e (SMS) a s
C ommun it y Media P latf or m

2. Agenda
1. Background
2. Who is ANGKRINGAN?
3. What is MK160? How we do it?
4. What can we learn from our experience?
5. What are our next plans?
6. Recommendations

3. Background
• Community media play important role to provide
information for grassroot community. There are 600
community radio stations (approximately) spread across
Indonesia (Source: COMBINE Annual Report, 2006)
• The rapid growth of mobile phone users in Indonesia has
changed grassroots community media behavior. People in
rural area prefer to exchange information via short
message service (SMS) because it is cheaper and faster
• Indonesia ranks third in most mobile phone
users across Asia Pacific (estimated to 250 million
subscribers) (Source: Association of Indonesian Cellular Telecommunication/ATSI,
2011)

4. Background
• Most mobile phone users in rural area, use their phone to
call and send text message. Number of messages in
the end of 2011 are 260 billion, while data exchange
reach 27 thousand terrabyte.
• The nature of SMS feature is one-to-one
communication. With a little innovation, SMS can be
managed and utilized as a multifunctional platform. SMS
technology can be used as a simple, fast and inexpensive
medium of information.
• The character of these technologies are very suitable to
be developed and implemented by community media.

6. Timbulharjo Village
• Located 7 km South of Yogyakarta city. There are 6.000
household, 20.000 population
• Most of the Timbulharjo residents use mobile phone.
Behavior: send/received voice call and SMS, update
status to Facebook.
• There is Facebook group with more than 1.000
members. Only 5% of total population have internet
connection in their house.

7. What is MK-160?
• Angkringan Community Media’s idea to
optimize the use of short message service
(SMS) as community based information
channel in Timbulharjo
• The nature of SMS feature is one-to-one
communication. However, by developing
particular software, SMS can be used as one-
to-many, many-to-many and/or
many-to-one communication

8. How we do it?
1. We assess & collect data of Timbulharjo residents.
e.g: address, education, mobile number, media
preference, skill, blood type, jadwal ronda etc. Then put
it in MK160’s server
2. We develop SMS application with local IT
developer using open source software. We try out the
software in targeted area to study its capability
3. After all data has collected and the software is ready, we
use MK-160 for information management
4. We will write our experience in a report book,
tutorial and release MK-160 software under
Creative Common License
5. We will train 10 communities to use and utilize
MK160 in their community

9. Administrator
2 3
4 Residents Database as
1 “smart address book”
SMS Server
5
Message Sender Group A (by location, Group B (by location,
gender, age, interest, gender, age, interest,
blood type, ect blood type, ect

10. ANGKRINGAN Newsletter
+622749808XXX will be published by Friday. Send us your
(M Nur Santoso) There is siltation report/information about your neighborhood via
of waterways in Sudimoro intersection SMS to this number. Selected SMS will get
from north to south of the intersection. If heavy prize #SMSAngkringan
rain, water overflows onto the street. Please
inform this to related government official
to dredge waste, instead of dike
heightening.
INFO:
to the residents of Kowen,
particularly those with babies and
young children are expected to come to
village health post, on February 14th,
2013 at 9am.
+628967134XXX
Boss, please tell me how to find
aid? I am a member of very poor family. I
don't have well and toilet and electricity.
Please tell me. (Prawoto)
ANGKRINGAN Newsletter has
been published. Our headline is requirement and
time schedule of chief of village election. Get it now in
your nearest mosque/village security post. its
free. #SMS ANGKRINGAN

11. Attention: To all
member of JAMKESMAS, the newest
version of the card is valid. But you still can use
the older version of it until 28th February
2013 #SMSAngkringan
+628180405XXX
(Ibrahim Prasetyo) JAMKESMAS
does not reach the right target. I hope
Angkringan community participate to
make it reach the right one
+62857431381XXX
(Ibnu Supriyanto) Bro, please
ask our local government official,
why I don't get my identity
card?
+6285747038XXX
I read Angkringan
newsletter and I agree with you
guys.. the newsletter makes me
more informed, although i'm not
in the list of JAMKESMAS. It
doesn't matter

12. To all Timbulharjo
residents, be careful when you pass
Tembi-sudimoro street. There are holes in
+6287839973XXX the street that will cause you accident,
(Tari Rukmawulan) especially in the night.
Yeah, that's right. I have fallen when trying #SMSAngkringan
to avoid the hole..
+6283840444XXX
(Harun Mustofa)
Me too.. I fell yesterday

13. +628157906XXX
Help please, I need AB blood type
for my wife operation tomorrow at
9am in Sardjito Hospital
Urgently needed, AB
Blood type for Mr. Jaka Sutrisna's wife,
Tembi (081579XXX) for medical surgery
tomorrow at 9am in Sardjito Hospital
+6285743666XXX (M Irvan) #SMSKomunitas
You can call Himawan or Mahmud Abdul for AB
good type in Sorogenen.

14. RIP. Chief of village religious affair,
Mr. Muhammad Ali, Saturday at 5.30pm.
+62819144XXX
The decease will be buried on Monday,
ADVERTISMENT. Meatballs and
2pm #SMSKomunitas
Soto, Mr. Suraji, Sanggrahan. Cheap,
halal, healthy. It's delicious. Borax free,
no preservation. Address:
Sangrahan RT 03 Gang Purut
JOB VACANCY. Building construction
supervisor needed. Requirement: Has a lot of
construction worker building, clean and neat
work. Call 0858786XXX
INFO: Open recruitment, farmer
association SENGON BAROKAH. let's joint us.
+628587835XXX Further information, please call Erwandi
Why do education fund allocation 08783835XXXX
distributed to elementary school?
Please give attention . thanks

15. Media Convergence

16. What we have learned
from our experience?
1. SMS technology combined with a database of people,
able to convey information in a very specific
segment (based on location, age, gender, social
class, etc.)
2. The convergence of technology makes
information more effectively (SMS to newsletters,
newsletter to SMS, SMS to twitter, etc)
3. Collecting residents data not only get mobile phone
numbers, but could derive a very rich data (skill,
business type, etc.)

17. What we have learned
from our experience?
Size:1 GB mobile internet = 6,4 milion SMS
1 SMS = Rp. 100
1 GB = Rp. 25.000 6.400.000x100=Rp.640.000.000
1 25.600
mobile internet SMS
4. Compared with mobile internet rates, the cost of
SMS is relatively expensive. However SMS
remains selected because most villagers still use SMS
instead of mobile internet.

18. What we have learned
from our experience?
sender keep all cost based tarrifs
Rp. XX Rp. 0 Rp. XX Rp. 23
provider A provider B provider A provider B
4. Since Juni 2012, there are new regulation -from the
sender keep all to cost based tariffs- forced
mobile operators to change their policy related to free
SMS.
5. This caused the basic assumption of MK160 dramatically
change and cost a lot money to send broadcast SMS
to Timbulharjo residents.

19. What are our next plans?
1. Setting business model to support MK-160
sustainability. e.g: act as local commercial channel
for Timbulharjo resident business, cooperate
with NGO and/or local government to share
information and/or as media center.
2. Explore the possibility to cooperation with
mobile provider in various areas: CSR, business
cooperation etc.

20. Recommendation
1. Short term: use multiple numbers from
different mobile operators to send SMS to
Timbulharjo residents
2. Medium term: cooperate with mobile
provider, and asked the government to
implement special policies for community
SMS. e.g: by applying Universal Service Obligation
(USO).
3. Long term: SMS tariff policy advocacy
for the bottom of the pyramid users.

21. Contact:
Address: Komplek Balai Desa Timbulharjo,
Kecamatan Sewon, Kabupaten Bantul, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia 55185
Email: angkringanmedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @AngkringanMedia @emka160
FB: Media Komunitas Angkringan
Website: www.angkringan.web.id