Telecom tower sharing urged for efficiency<\/p>\n
Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
To make the telecommunications sector more efficient, the
\nIndonesian government should promote and regulate the concept of
\ninfrastructure sharing, in which firms share the costs of
\nbuilding telecommunication towers, a major Malaysian firm says.<\/p>\n
\"Infrastructure sharing will result in a more cost-efficient
\nindustry, as it would require lower capital expenditure,\" Maxis
\nCommunications Bhd. CEO Jamaludin Ibrahim said last week.<\/p>\n
Jamaludin said that in Indonesia building such infrastructure
\nwas among the most challenging parts of the business, with many
\npotential problems occurring during site acquisition.<\/p>\n
Maxis, which is about to enter the Indonesian
\ntelecommunications market through its subsidiary PT Natrindo
\nTelepon Seluler in developing 3G services, said that finding
\nsites to develop tower infrastructure in Indonesia has been a
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are around 20,000 telecommunication towers
\nall over Indonesia. With the ever-increasing growth in the
\nsector, the number was estimated to grow to 43,000 units by 2007.<\/p>\n
The average investment to construct a 30-meter to 72-meter
\ntower was between Rp 600 million (about US$60,000) and Rp 1
\nbillion, while tower-sharing has not been common in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The development of the concept in Malaysia began in 2001, when
\nseveral state governments asked telecommunications firms to share
\ntheir towers to maintain the aesthetic nature of the environment,
\nand to encourage more efficient coverage nationwide as well as to
\nlower costs.<\/p>\n
Aside from that, the policy also aims at reducing the number
\nof towers, thus reducing exposure to radiation to nearby
\ninhabitants.<\/p>\n
The approach is now being implemented by three main
\ntelecommunication companies in Malaysia: Maxis Communications
\nBhd., Celcom Bhd. and DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd. According
\nto its website, Maxis as of last June was sharing nearly 43
\npercent of its towers with other players.<\/p>\n
As an alternative to infrastructure sharing amongst existing
\nservice providers, the concept of a third party provider of
\ninfrastructure facilities is also being promoted. Under this
\nconcept, the third party would build the infrastructure and lease
\ncapacity or space to existing providers.<\/p>\n
Indonesia already has eight third party companies under the
\nTelecommunications Tower Constructors Association (Aspimtel),
\nwhich have built and leased around 1,000 towers as of this year,
\nof which 60 percent were located in Java and Bali.<\/p>\n
The companies intend to triple this number by 2007.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/telecom-tower-sharing-urged-for-efficiency-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }