All major cellular phone operators in the country have tried out 3G
All major cellular phone operators in the country have tried out 3G
Zatni Arbi, contributor, zatni@cbn.net.id
XL, Indonesia's third largest GSM cellular operator with about 5.8 million subscribers, made a splash just before the start of the fasting month.
It became the third Indonesian operator to launch a 3G trial run, following Telkomsel in June and Indosat in August.
The launch event in Jakarta was attended by Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil.
He demonstrated the video call capability of the 3G WCDMA network as he chatted with Malaysian Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik in Kuala Lumpur.
In Bali, Governor Dewa Made Beratha participated in the trial. Two other trail locations were Bandung and Sabah. One of the highlights of the test was the demonstration of the multiparty video conferencing capability of this hot technology.
It is fairly commonly known that state-owned Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) controls 27.3 percent of XL's shares. While this may explain the choice of the international video call via Celcom, TM's cellular operator, the call to Malaysia also demonstrated the seamless interconnection between different operators.
XL's trial also demonstrated once again that the 3G technology standard has matured and interoperability between different vendors' equipment is no longer a problem. Like Celcom, XL uses equipment supplied by Ericsson to deliver services in Jakarta and Bandung.
In Bali, XL uses network equipment supplied by China's Huawei. Telkomsel's 3G trial used equipment provided by Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens, each covering different areas in Jakarta. That also worked smoothly.
The three dominant cellular operators in Indonesia have conducted 3G WCDMA trials to demonstrate their readiness to provide the service. The pilots were very important in convincing the government of their seriousness in implementing the technology.
In 2003, the government granted five 3G licenses to Cyber Access Communication (CAC), Natrindo Telepon Selular, Wireless Indonesia, Telkom and Indosat. The first two companies will use the UMTS 3G WCDMA technology, while the other three will offer services based on CDMA2000 technology. Two years have passed, and the two WCDMA companies have yet to start building their infrastructure.
This lack of progress has prompted calls to the government to revoke these companies' licenses. As this is not a feasible option, especially now that Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecom has acquired 60 percent of CAC's interest and Malaysia's Maxis has bought 51 percent of Lippo Telecom, Natrindo's owner. Canceling the licenses altogether would just damage foreign investor confidence in Indonesia.
The most likely resolution might be to rearrange the allocation of frequency bands. The three existing GSM operators are hopeful that the Indonesian government will award them the frequency bands needed for the provision of 3G services. The new arrangement will be announced next month, and Minister Djalil has hinted that existing operators will get priority.
With all three incumbent operators already demonstrating their capability to offer 3G services, I guess we may be fairly optimistic that next year we can start using the service. I look forward to 3G's arrival because I really want to be able to access Internet wirelessly. The 3G WCDMA can deliver up to 384 Kbps. Later on, when the 3.5G High Speed Downlink Access is available, we will be able to have up to 11 Mbps -- enough for high-definition TV streaming.
However, as Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik reminded us during the call, we need content for 3G services to be of real use. And there are at least two other important factors that will determine the success of the 3G business: affordability and transparency in billing.
Customers would love it if the operators charged them a flat monthly rate with no hidden fees, so that they could easily manage their monthly communication expenses.
In Malaysia, for example, Celcom offers different packages to subscribers. On its website, the operator provides excellent information about the packages in FAQ format. By the way, as the minister said during the chat, one minute of video calling using Celcom's 3G WCDMA service would cost about 23 US cents.
There is another challenge that the hopeful 3G operators will have to tackle. In Singapore, 3G adoption seems to have gotten stuck in neutral after reaching a certain point. The situation is a bit strange, because in Singapore the cost of making a video call is basically the same as making a voice call.
Clearly, after rolling out their commercial services next year, the three operators in Indonesia will have to make concerted efforts to educate the market. Otherwise, 3G WCDMA services will meet the same fate as EDGE.