Govt approves local switching exchanges<\/p>\n
SENTUL, West Java (JP): The government has approved a
\ntelephone switching exchange produced by PT Elektrindo Nusantara,
\nmaking it the fourth \"official\" product in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It will also make Elektrindo the fourth official supplier of
\nswitching exchanges after Siemens of Germany, NEC of Japan and
\nAT&T (now Lucent) of the United States.<\/p>\n
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said
\nhere Thursday that the Agency for the Assessment and Application
\nof Technology (BPPT) had approved the switching, called SENA, of
\nElektrindo after finding that the product was technologically
\nacceptable.<\/p>\n
\"Any new technology to be applied in Indonesia must be
\nassessed by BPPT. Before approving SENA, the board's chairman
\nB.J. Habibie just had one question, the technology recourse base
\nof the product which is wholly Indonesian,\" he said after
\ninaugurating new telecommunications infrastructure installed by
\nthe state-owned PT Telkom in Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In 1989, three companies, Siemens of Germany, NEC of Japan and
\nAT&T (now Lucent) of the United States, were selected to carry
\nout digital-telephone projects in Indonesia through a tender
\noverseen by BPPT chaired by Habibie who is also state minister of
\nresearch and technology.<\/p>\n
The three companies have since become the country's suppliers
\nof Telkom which cut its 12 different central switching exchanges
\nto just three.<\/p>\n
NEC set up a partnership with the Humpuss Group, which is run
\nby President Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, while
\nAT&T tied up with a company jointly owned by the President's
\neldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and S.A. Habibie, a
\nyounger brother of Minister Habibie. Siemens continues its
\npartnership with the state-owned telecommunications equipment
\nmaker PT Inti which is also chaired by Habibie.<\/p>\n
A partnership with a local company is a prerequisite for
\nforeign companies to operate in the telecommunications sector.<\/p>\n
\"The government does not have to amend any regulation or make
\na new one as SENA has just added the new accepted switching,\"
\nJoop said.<\/p>\n
Telkom's telecommunications facilities inaugurated Thursday
\nincluded telephone centers with 608,488 lines and local networks
\nwith 751,578 lines and 66,160 canal transmissions. Some of the
\nfacilities use Elektrindo's products.<\/p>\n
Elektrindo, which produces the digital central switching
\nexchange SENA, is a telecommunications equipment firm affiliated
\nto the Bimantara Group. The group is controlled by Bambang
\nTrihatmodjo, a son of President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
SENA is the new generation of STK-1000, which has a capacity
\nof 1,000 telephone lines. SENA's capacity is 5,000 lines.<\/p>\n
Both SENA and STK-1000, which are domestically designed,
\nalready meet quality standards set by the Geneva-based
\nInternational Telecommunications Union.<\/p>\n
SENA is an expansion of STK-1000, which had a capacity of
\n1,000 telephone lines.<\/p>\n
Suryatin Setiawan, head of Telkom's research and technology
\ndepartment, said the switching had been developed to be
\ncompatible with Telkom's network.<\/p>\n
\"Elektrindo and Telkom have jointly developed the switching to
\nresult in a qualified domestic product.\"<\/p>\n
Elektrindo has spent between US$6 million and $9 million in
\ndeveloping SENA, according to the company's business development
\nmanager Tjahja Tjugiarto.<\/p>\n
The company plans to improve the switching exchanges to have
\nhigher capacity to compete with foreign products which are now
\nable to provide hundreds of lines, he said. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-approves-local-switching-exchanges-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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