Nortel eyes good RI opportunities<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Canadian telecommunications firm Nortel,
\npreviously known as Northen Telecom, plans to expand its business
\ninto Indonesia to tap into the country's growing
\ntelecommunications sector.<\/p>\n
The company's president for Asia and the South Pacific, James
\nC. Deas, said yesterday that Indonesia had become one of the
\nbiggest markets in Asia in terms of telecommunications.<\/p>\n
"We have opened a representative office in Jakarta and plan a
\nsubsidiary," he said.<\/p>\n
Nortel, which makes telecommunications equipment, entered Asia
\nabout 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
"At present, Nortel has five joint venture firms in China. We
\nhave also had business in Japan since eight years ago and in
\nAustralia since seven years ago," Deas said.<\/p>\n
Deas said that Nortel had subsidiaries in most Southeast Asian
\ncountries but not in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The government has allowed only three major telecommunications
\nequipment makers, NEC, Siemens and AT&T to supply the Indonesian
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
With such a policy, it will be almost impossible for other
\ntelecommunications makers to enter the domestic market.<\/p>\n
In the cellular services, the market is more liberal. Vendors
\nlike Motorola, Alcatel and Ericsson are already operating here.<\/p>\n
The 100-year-old Nortel is a Toronto-based firm which makes
\ndata networks, switching, fiber optic transmissions and wireless
\nnetwork equipments.<\/p>\n
"10 percent of our business is in Canada, 50 percent in the
\nUnited States and 40 percent in Asia, Latin America and Europe,"
\nDeas said.<\/p>\n
He said Nortel was also interested in being involved in the
\nplanned Personal Communication Network (PCN), the next generation
\nof digital wireless telephone systems in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The government will probably adopt the Digital Cordless System
\n(DCS-1800) and the Personal Handy-phone Service (PHS) for the PCN
\nproject.<\/p>\n
Three systems<\/p>\n
At present, there are three wireless cellular systems in
\nIndonesia, with seven providers. The three systems are the global
\nsystem for mobile communications (GSM), the advanced mobile phone
\nservice (AMPS) and the Nordic mobile telephone.<\/p>\n
Sources said the government would grant at least 16 new
\nlicenses by the end of the year including two nationwide DCS-1800
\nlicenses.<\/p>\n
There will be 14 PHS and DCS-1800 licenses for each of
\nIndonesia's seven telecommunications regions (Sumatra,
\nKalimantan, Greater Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java
\nand the eastern areas), the sources said.<\/p>\n
Among the bidders are several big business groups including
\nthe five private firms awarded 15-year contracts to run domestic
\ntelephone networks in Indonesia's five different zones.<\/p>\n
The existing GSM providers were also interested in applying
\nfor regional licenses to operate dual-band GSM\/DCS-1800 systems.
\nThe three local AMPS operators will also upgrade their services
\ninto the code division multiple access system. (icn)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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