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)