Ericsson to provide ACeS phone handsets
Ericsson to provide ACeS phone handsets
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (JP): PT Asia Cellular Satellite System (ACeS), a Jakarta-based telecommunications firm, has signed a contract with the Swedish telecom group, Ericsson, for the purchase of 250,000 telephone handsets.
ACeS's chief executive officer, Adi Rahman Adiwoso, told reporters here that the handsets will be specially designed for his company.
"Ericsson will produce two kinds of handsets, one featuring a combination of the ACeS system and the global system for mobile communication (GSM) system and the other offering a combination of the ACeS system and the advanced mobile phone service (AMPS) system," he said here last week.
Adi was in Cape Canaveral to witness the launch of Indonesia's Palapa-C1 satellite.
ACeS, who began operations in February last year, is jointly owned by three telecommunications firms -- PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) of Indonesia, Philippines Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co. of the Philippines and Jasmine International Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand.
ACeS will operate using four geo-stationary satellites called Garuda.
The project, covering the most important region in Asia, will allow any person with a handheld device to communicate directly with another person carrying a similar device within the satellite coverage and, through ground station gateways and normal public switch telephone networks, to any person with a cellular or normal fixed telephone anywhere in the world.
The satellite's coverage will encompass India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, South Korea, southern Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indochina and the other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Adi said that one of the company's first pair of satellites, manufactured by the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation, will be launched in 1998.
"Either the European consortium Arianespace or Proton of Russia will launch the first Garuda satellite," he said, adding that ACeS's commercial operation is scheduled to start in mid- 1998.
When in service, ACes will face tough competition from Asia Pacific Mobile Telecommunications (APMT), which is developing a similar project, also to begin operation in 1998.
APMT is a consortium of Singaporean and Chinese firms now constructing a $640 million network aimed at providing mobile satellite telecommunications services throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Adi said that the ACeS project, including the 250,000 handsets, two satellites and three gateways located in Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok, will cost US$1 billion.
According to Adi, his company has also signed an agreement with Sumitomo of Japan to provide ACeS services in Japan.
"So, now we have two service providers in Japan, Tomen and Sumitomo," he said, adding that PSN will be ACeS service provider in Indonesia.
Two cellular mobile telecommunications operators in Indonesia, PT Satelindo (which runs GSM) and PT Komselindo (which runs AMPS), have also signed accords with ACeS to improve cellular network systems. (icn)