ACeS chooses Proton to launch its satellite

ACeS chooses Proton to launch its satellite

JAKARTA (JP): PT Asia Cellular Satellite System (ACeS), a
Jakarta-based mobile satellite telecommunications operator, has
chosen a Russian Proton rocket for the launch of its Garuda
satellite.

ACeS's chief executive officer, Adi Rahman Adiwoso, said
yesterday that his company would still hold a series of
negotiations with Russia's Krunichev Enterprise, the Proton
producer, about the launching costs.

"I hope the launching costs will not surpass US$70 million,"
he said after delivering a presentation at the Indonesia Summit
1996 at the Shangri-La Hotel.

ACeS, which started operations in February 1995, is equally
owned by three parties -- PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) of
Indonesia, Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) of the
Philippines and Jasmine International Public Co. Ltd. of
Thailand. ACeS will operate digital telecommunications using four
geo-stationary satellites called Garuda.

PSN, established in 1991, provides satellite-based
communication services within the Asia-Pacific region using six
extended C-band transponders of the Palapa-C satellites. The
company, which is now preparing its initial public offering, will
be the country's first private telecommunications operator to
float its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United
States.

PSN is a joint venture 25.85 percent owned by Telkom, 19.39
percent by PT Elektrindo Nusantara, a subsidiary of the Bimantara
Group, 9.7 percent by PT Primaupaya Lintaswara, 9.38 percent by
PT Skaisnetindo Teknotama, 1.77 percent by PT Mutu Prima Abadi,
8.85 percent by Hughes Space and Communications Inc. of the
United States, 8.85 percent by Telesat Canada and 16.21 percent
by Quoin Financial Corporation of the United States.

ACeS's $1-billion project will allow any person with a hand-
held device to communicate directly with another person carrying
a similar device within the satellite coverage in Asia and,
through ground station gateways and normal public switch
telephone networks, to any person with a cellular or fixed
telephone anywhere in the world.

The satellite's coverage will encompass India, Bangladesh,
Myanmar, China, South Korea, southern Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Indochina and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

ACeS has also signed a contract with Ericsson of the Swedish
Telecom group for the purchase of 250,000 telephone handsets.

Adi said yesterday that his company's first satellite,
manufactured by the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin
Corporation, will be launched in July or August 1998.

The first Garuda satellite, weighing 4,400 kilograms, will be
placed at 123.5 degrees east longitude in a geo-stationary orbit.

"Proton has offered the cheapest price, which is almost half
the price offered by France-based Arianespace," he said.

ACeS last month narrowed down its candidate for satellite
launcher to Proton or Arianespace. Arianespace will launch the
country's Palapa-C2 from satellite Kourou, French Guiana,
tomorrow at a cost of $83.5 million.

Proton is being developed by Krunichev which has already
teamed up with the U.S. Lockheed Martin. Last month, a heavy
Proton D-1-E rocket blasted off carrying a 3,010-kg U.S.-built
communications satellite from the Khrunichev Space Center in
Baikonur of Kazakhstan. In addition to Baikonur, Russian rockets
usually blast off from the northern Plessetsk launching pad.
Russia is also known for its Cyclone-3 rocket which is able to
carry up to six satellites per launch. (icn)