ACeS ready to compete with other regional operators
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)