Cellular firms plan huge investment<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Investment in the country's cellular industry is estimated to
\nreach more than US$1 billion in 2005, as operators move to
\ncapitalize on growing market demand due to the relatively low
\npenetration of fixed-line telephones.<\/p>\n
The two largest industry players -- PT Telekomunikasi Seluler
\n(Telkomsel) and PT Indonesian Satellite Corporation (Indosat) --
\nare set to invest millions of dollars, mainly to build and
\nupgrade their infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\"The market here is still very big. So for the coming years,
\nthere are still a lot of opportunities for business players. And
\nas a mobile operator, our job and focus is to build
\ninfrastructure to be able to collect as many new subscribers as
\nwe can,\" Telkomsel business director Leong Shin Loong said on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Loong said Telkomsel, which has about 50 percent of the total
\nmarket share, expected to invest some Rp 5 trillion ($548.84
\nmillion) this year.<\/p>\n
\"For next year, the figure will likely be up to Rp 6 trillion,
\nand most of that will be spent on infrastructure,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As of August, Telkomsel had some 13 million subscribers, with
\n3.4 million new subscribers registered since the beginning of the
\nyear. Its half-year profit rose by 37 percent from the same
\nperiod last year to about Rp 1.94 trillion.<\/p>\n
Indosat also plans to expand its infrastructure and facilities
\nnext year, with an estimated total investment of $500 million.<\/p>\n
\"We need to expand all of our facilities if we want to meet
\nour target of securing between 32 percent and 33 percent of the
\ntotal market share (from the current 30 percent),\" said Indosat
\ncellular marketing director Hasnul Suhaimi.<\/p>\n
Indosat, with 7.5 million subscribers as of the end of August,
\nhas revised upward its full-year target of subscribers from 8.5
\nmillion to 9.5 million, Hasnul said.<\/p>\n
The company scored a year-on-year 80 percent increase in
\nprofit for the January to June period to Rp 717.60 billion,
\nlargely the result of a 51 percent profit increase in its
\ncellular division.<\/p>\n
There are at least 25 million cellular telephone subscribers
\nnationwide, a figure that is partly boosted by the low
\navailability of fixed-line telephones. Only about nine million of
\nthe country's 220 million people have access to fixed-line
\nphones.<\/p>\n
According to the Indonesian Association of Cellular Telephone
\nOperators, there will be about 28 million cellular subscribers by
\nthe end of the year.<\/p>\n
That figure is projected to skyrocket to about 40 million next
\nyear, mainly spurred by the wider availability of cellular
\nservices and lower rates.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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