Cooperation accords in satellite business<\/p>\n
COCOA BEACH, Florida (JP): Private companies interested in
\ndoing business with Indonesia's telecommunications satellite
\nindustry will have the chance to form cooperation agreements
\n(KSOs) with state-owned PT Telkom.<\/p>\n
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria
\nPurawidjaja told reporters here yesterday that the government has
\nsuccessfully introduced and applied the KSO programs between
\nTelkom, the domestic telecommunications operator, and five
\nprivate firms for the installation of two million fixed-telephone
\nlines during the current Sixth Five Year Development Plan
\n(Repelita VI) period.<\/p>\n
\"There should be numerous KSO possibilities in the satellite
\nbusiness,\" he said after a press conference for the launching of
\nthe Palapa-C1 satellite from Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n
Telkom signed KSO contracts with five joint venture companies
\nlast October for the installation and management of telephone
\nnetworks in Indonesia, outside of the greater Jakarta area and
\nEast Java. Telkom expects to gain a total of Rp 15 trillion
\n(US$6.4 billion) in revenues from the 15-year KSO contracts.<\/p>\n
The director general did not give any further information on
\nKSO possibilities in the satellite business.<\/p>\n
According Djakaria, telecommunication infrastructures are
\npartly comprised of satellites and telephone networks, which do
\nnot necessarily have to be operated by the state-owned
\ntelecommunication companies, Telkom and PT Indosat.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is hoping to secure at least 24 slots for its
\nsatellites, including eight of the Palapa-B generation (four of
\nwhich have been launched), four from the Palapa-C generation (one
\nis to be launched today, the other one in April), four Palapa
\nPacific satellites (one in operation), four Garuda satellites
\n(the first will be launched in 1998) and four Indostar satellites
\n(the first will be launched by Arianespace of France in
\n1997\/1998).<\/p>\n
There are currently four satellite operators in Indonesia
\nincluding Telkom, which owns and operates the Palapa-B series.
\nTelkom has announced that it expected to have the Palapa-B5 in
\norbit by 1999.<\/p>\n
The other three -- each of which is partly owned by either
\nTelkom or Indosat or by both -- are private firms, comprised of
\nPT Satelindo, the owner and operator of three Palapa-C
\nsatellites; PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), which acquired
\nPalapa-B satellites from Telkom and operates them as Palapa
\nPacific satellites; and PT Mediacitra Indostar, which will
\noperate direct broadcasting satellites called Indostar.<\/p>\n
Satelindo is 45 percent owned by PT Bimagraha Telekomindo -- a
\njoint venture between the Bimantara Group, which is controlled by
\nPresident Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo -- and the Artha
\nGraha Group, which is owned by Tomy Winata, a prominent
\nbusinessman with close links to the Armed Forces. The other
\nshareholders are DeTeMobil of Germany (25 percent), Telkom (22.5
\npercent) and Indosat (7.5 percent).<\/p>\n
PSN is 30-percent owned by PT Elektrindo Nusantara, a
\nBimantara-affiliated firm, 40 percent by Telkom, 10 percent by
\nthe company's executives, 10 percent by Hughes of the United
\nStates and 10 percent by Telesat of Canada.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mediacitra's owners include Bambang Trihatmodjo and
\nhis elder sister Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana as well as PT Seruni, a
\nsubsidiary of Amcol Group. Telkom will have a 25-percent stake in
\nMediacitra by 2008. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cooperation-accords-in-satellite-business-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}