Fixed-wireless won't slow down GSM

Fixed-wireless won't slow down GSM

Tony Hotland, Jakarta

The rapid expansion of fixed-wireless services will not have any
significant impact on the growth of the Global Service for Mobile
Communications (GSM) industry, telecommunications players say.

Indonesian Association of Cellular Telephone (ATSI) secretary
general Rudiantara said GSM and fixed-wireless services that used
the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology targeted
different market segments.

"The technologies have two different (market) segments in
terms of the mobility of users. There are people who travel a lot
and there are people who mostly stay within one area," Rudiantara
told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

The presence of a CDMA-based fixed-wireless service has
provoked predictions about a massive switch from GSM technology
as research has found about 75 percent of GSM users do not have
high mobility.

A fixed-wireless service is a phone service that has limited
cellular mobility within a designated area. It charges a rate
equivalent to that of a fixed-line service.

PT Indosat cellular marketing director of telecommunications
Hasnul Suhaimi said the services could attract differing markets
due to their distinctive strengths and weaknesses.

However, Rudiantara said the fixed-wireless service could
badly affect the growth of GSM in the longer term as long as
there was no revision of the frequency fee.

"The government needs to revise the amount of frequency fees
paid between operating fixed-wireless service and GSMs to keep
both services running healthily," Rudiantara said.

The Usage Right Fee (BHP) is the fee a provider pays to the
government each year for using a radio frequency. It is one of
several costs making up the total cellular fee that is passed on
to customers.

Rudiantara pointed out GSM operators had to pay frequency fees
of 18 to 20 times more than fixed-wireless service providers,
although it was the GSM operators that provided the fixed-
wireless services.

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has Telkom Flexi for
fixed-wireless service and Simpati, Kartu Halo, and Kartu As as
GSM services.

PT Indonesian Satellite Corporation (Indosat) has StarOne as
its fixed-wireless service, and Mentari, IM3, and Matrix for GSM
service.

Rudiantara said the government should bring down the frequency
fee paid for operating GSM frequencies, but only said "the lower
the better" when asked how low the fee should be.

The number of GSM subscribers is estimated at about 22
million, while for fixed-wireless service is less than 2 million
-- with Telkom Flexi dominating the sector.