PT First Media, the broadband multimedia service provider from the Lippo Group, has built four of 10 base transceiver stations (BTS) for WiMAX broadband wireless access after winning a license in August.
"The towers, built in Jakarta and *the satellite cities of* Depok, Bekasi, Bogor and Tangerang, will be in operation soon," First Media corporate secretary Harianda Noerlan told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He declined to comment on media reports that the company had allocated Rp 1 trillion (US$107 million) for the WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) project.
"We're still calculating the budget needed," he said. "We plan to allocate all the WiMAX budget to building BTS and other infrastructure."
He added the funding would come from internal cash flows and bank loans.
In August, eight companies won licenses to operate WiMAX broadband networks in Indonesia.
The winning companies include PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), PT Internux, PT Jasnita Telekomindo, PT Berca Hardayaperkasa, the Indonesian WiMAX Consortium (led by PT Rahajasa Media Internet) and another consortium made up of PT Comtronics Systems and PT Adiwarta Perdania.
"We won the WiMAX tender for Zone I, which encompasses North Sumatra and Aceh provinces, as well as Zone VI and Zone IV, which includes Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Banten," said First Media finance director Irwan Djaja.
WiMAX technology, expected to be operational early next year, is an advanced telecommunications technology providing wireless transmission of data using portable and fully mobile Internet access.
It provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances without having to build costly infrastructure and large numbers of transmission towers.
The technology provides an alternative to cable and digital subscriber lines (DSL) and boasts lower investment costs compared to existing 3G technologies.
Although WiMAX broadband is relatively new here, First Media is optimistic about its prospects.
It is targeting 1 million subscribers in the next four years. It currently has 145,000 subscribers.
The company booked Rp 531 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2009, up from Rp 529 billion in the same period last year.
This came from its Internet business (Rp 237 billion), pay television service (Rp 191 billion), communication data (Rp 49 billion), advertising (Rp 27 billion) and other projects (Rp 27 billion).
"We're targeting Rp 760 billion to Rp 780 billion in revenue by the end of this year," Irwan said, adding the 2010 target was Rp 1.5 trillion.
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