Alcatel provides Telkom with broadband lines

JAKARTA (JP): Telecommunications network provider Alcatel will supply state-owned telecommunication company PT Telkom with 20,000 broadband lines to provide high-speed Internet access for Telkom's customers.

The so-called Asymmetric Digitial Subscriber Line (ADSL) network, which will be part of Telkom's Multi-Media Access (MMA) project, will cover North Jakarta, West Jakarta, Central Jakarta and Tangerang, Alcatel said in a statement on Friday.

Telkom recently launched the MMA program to meet the growing need of its customers in Jakarta and East Java for high-speed Internet access.

The statement said the agreement was signed here on Friday by Telkom president Muhammad Nazif and PT Alcatel Indonesia president Mazen Hamadallah

"Internet users today increasingly demand more than the traditional dial-up connections. They want high-speed and 'always-on' Internet access.

"By employing ADSL in our MMA project, which provides downstream speed of up to two megabits per second, we can cost- effectively provide our customers with a wide range of integrated data, voice and video services," the head of Telkom's MMA project, Syailendra, said.

Alacatel also said that aside from the contract to supply the broadband facilities, it has also been awarded a contract by Telkom to provide a cable TV multimedia network for Jakarta and Surabaya. (tnt)