ACeS ready to compete with other regional operators

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian-based multinational satellite telecommunications firm PT Asia Cellular Satellite (ACeS) is optimistic it is ready to compete with other operators in providing satellite-based Personal Communications Services (PCS) in the Asia-Pacific region.

ACeS business development manager Gema Suria said his company was relatively more prepared than other operators in providing PCS in the region.

"We are the most prepared here. We'll be the first regional operator to have a satellite in orbit when we launch Garuda-1 later in October," he told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said other regional operators, including United Arab Emirate firm Etilasat and the Singaporean and Chinese joint venture Asia Pacific Mobile Telecommunications (APMT), were not yet ready to launch their satellites.

Etilasat will launch its Thuraya satellite three years after ACeS launches the Garuda-1 satellite, he said. The Thuraya project will cover southern Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, he added.

"Etilasat will not be our main competitor, though there may be a slight overlap in the coverage areas, such as in India and Pakistan," he said.

ACeS is a joint venture company between Indonesia's PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, which controls 34 percent of ACeS, the United States' Lockheed Martin (30 percent), the Philippines' Long Distance Telephone Company (27 percent) and Thailand's Jasmine International, which holds a 9 percent stake.

The ACeS satellite system is based on the Global System for Mobile Communications standard, and will employ dual-mode handsets -- ACeS-GSM and ACeS-AMPS. The nonexclusive contract for the handsets was awarded to Ericsson of Sweden in September 1996.

ACeS' PCS system will allow any person with a handset to communicate with another person who has a similar handset within the satellite coverage. Also, through ground satellite gateways and normal public telephone networks, it will allow communication with any person with a cellular or fixed telephone anywhere in the world.

ACeS' Garuda-1 satellite, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, will began commercial operation in the first half of 2000, covering dozens of countries in the Asia- Pacific region.

The satellite will be launched on a Proton D-1-e rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch, which was previously scheduled for late last year, was delayed until October due to technical difficulties.

Gema said ACeS was not like to face any challenges from regional operators, particularly because APMT's satellite project was reportedly stranded.

Earlier reports said APMT was forced to delay its satellite project, being handled by American satellite maker Hughes, due to a political-related problem.

"The most competition will instead come from global operators, especially Globalstar and ICO Global Communications, and even Iridium Pacific -- despite of the collapse of Iridium in the U.S -- because the three have been actively penetrating our regional market," Gema said.

ACeS, however, is positive it can weather the competition because it offers better terms and cheaper prices than global operators, he said.

"ACeS will charge less that US$1 per minute for a call," he said, adding that the company has secured 35 roaming agreements with GSM operators in 24 countries worldwide, including the three GSM operators in Indonesia: Telkomsel, Satelindo and Excelcomindo.

He said that to support ACeS' regional coverage, the company planned to launch a second Garuda satellite about three years after Garuda-1 began operations.

ACeS is also prepared to expand its coverage and, if necessary, become a global operator by launching two more Garuda satellites, he said.

"We have booked four satellite slots in orbit," he said. Indonesia has booked a total of 20 satellite slots in orbit. (cst)