Cellular phone operators bank on robust market

Cellular phone operators bank on robust market

JAKARTA (JP): Cellular phone operators Telkomsel and
Excelcomindo Pratama predicted the country's improving economy
would pave the way to a sharp increase in cellular phone sales.

Telkomsel general manager Krish Pribadi said here on Friday
cellular phone sales had begun to pick up over the last several
months and would continue to grow over the next year along with
the economy.

He said the number of Telkomsel customers would increase by at
least 100 percent from the current 900,000 thanks to predicted
sharp growth in the cellular phone market.

The recent strengthening of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar
to around 7,000 from over 8,000 earlier in the year has proved of
great benefit to the market.

"The stronger rupiah will make cell phones more affordable to
more Indonesians, and this will not only benefit producers but
also cellular network operators," he told The Jakarta Post
during the launch of the company's HALOinfo service.

Telkomsel has seen the number of its customers increase by 80
percent this year to 900,000. Some 45 percent of these customers
use Telkomsel's prepaid Simpati card, while the other 55 percent
use the postpaid Halo card.

Telkomsel, one of the country's five cellular phone
operators, controls at least 44 percent of the country's cellular
phone market.

Excelcomindo Pratama also expects the coming year to bring
robust growth in the number of its customers, the company's
director Ridiantara said here on Friday.

Company predicted subscribers would increase by about 40
percent to 500,000 next year, from some 320,000 in 1999.

Cellular phone sales in the country surged to 1.81 million
units as of September, from 1.07 million units in 1998. The rise
was partly due to a fall in the prices of cellular phones.

Ridiantara said next year his company would expand its
coverage to North Sumatra and Riau, and increase its capacity in
Jakarta, Bandung and Sumbawa. (06)