Local cellular operators will earn US$720m in 1997<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Domestic mobile cellular telecommunications
\noperators will earn US$720 million next year because of more
\nsubscribers, a PT Telekomindo executive said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Rudiantara said yesterday there would be between 600,000 and
\n620,000 domestic cellular users by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
\"The figure is predicted to double by the end of 1997,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Telekomindo, which runs the Advanced Mobile Phone System
\n(AMPS), is one of the country's seven cellular operators. The
\ncompany has shares in PT Excelcomindo which operates the Global
\nSystem for Mobile communications (GSM).<\/p>\n
Rudi said the seven cellular operators were projected to earn
\nabout $800 from each of their subscribers next year, excluding
\nrevenue from long distance and international calls which would go
\nto PT Indosat, PT Telkom and PT Satelindo.<\/p>\n
The government estimated there would be about 1.2 million
\nusers by the end of next year, he said. \"But even if there were
\nonly about 900,000 users by the end of 1997, revenue would exceed
\n$720 million.\"<\/p>\n
\"The cellular telecommunications business is very promising in
\nIndonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the cellular handset market would also be more
\npromising next year.<\/p>\n
\"Say a handset costs about Rp 750,000 ($317). Cellular handset
\ndeals would be worth at least $142.65 million for about 450,000
\nnew users in 1997,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government has licensed seven mobile cellular
\ntelecommunications operators: Telekomindo, PT Metrosel Nusantara
\nand PT Komselindo which run AMPS; Excelcomindo, PT Telkomsel and
\nPT Satelindo which serve GSM; and PT Mobile Telephone which runs
\na Nordic Mobile Telephone system.<\/p>\n
Excelcomindo president Julius S. Djohan said yesterday his
\ncompany would enter Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta, North Sumatra and
\nCentral Java after penetrating key markets in Jakarta, Bandung
\n(West Java) and Surabaya (East Java) which it entered last month.<\/p>\n
\"We will invest between $250 million and $300 million in 1997
\nin addition to about $250 million invested this year,\" he said,
\nadding that most of this would be used for infrastructure.<\/p>\n
He said Excelcomindo, which goes under the GSM-XL brand, had
\nabout 6,000 users. \"We expect to have 150,000 users by 1997.\"<\/p>\n
\"To win the country's highly competitive cellular business, we
\nmust focus on customer service. If we promote something special,
\nwe must consequently establish and maintain that service, or our
\nusers will leave us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said domestic GSM operators' main problem was selecting
\ngood spots for base transceiver stations. (icn)<\/p>",
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