Mon, 24 Sep 2001

Full-traffic disrupts calls: Mobile firms

JAKARTA (JP): The country's leading cellular phone operators brushed aside allegations that they have failed to increase their network capacity, which has resulted in disturbances during rush hour.

PT Telkomsel and PT Excelcomindo Pratama said over the weekend that the troubles simply occurred due to "full-traffic", not because of the network's inability to deal with the capacity.

They were responding to mounting complaints addressed to the cellular companies as more and more people had encountered difficulties in trying to communicate using their mobile phones, especially during busy hours.

Telkomsel general manager for capacity management Agus P. Simorangkir acknowledged the fact, but insisted they had nothing to do with his company's network capacity.

"We have enough network capacity. In greater Jakarta alone, where we have around one million customers, we're using more than 500 base transceiver stations (BST) to strengthen our frequency," Agus told The Jakarta Post.

With some 2.5 million customers, Telkomsel is the largest cellular phone operator in the country, whose mobile phone users are expected to reach 5.1 million this year.

"I can't speak for other operators, but all our complaints are under control," Agus added.

"When people try to use their cellular phones simultaneously, disturbance may occur. It's just the nature of mobile phones and it is only temporary disruption.

"We just have to keep intensifying our already existing network capacity to bolster the signals," Excelcomindo corporate communications manager V. Elisawati, said on Saturday.

Excelcomindo holds around 20 percent of the domestic cellular market, or close to a million customers.

Rudiantara, Chairman of the Indonesian Cellular Telephone Association (ATSI) also agreed that disturbances during busy hours was a typical characteristic of mobile phones.

"There is no way the mobile phone industry can fully provide 100 percent perfect facilities for mobile users," he told The Post on Saturday.

"It has always been and will be like that for mobile phones."

Rudi said that in Jakarta alone there were at least three sensitive spots during rush hour, namely Blok M, Kota and the city's business district, Sudirman.

There are two digital cellular technologies available in the country, namely the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) which PT Telkomsel, PT Satelindo and PT Excelcomindo Pratama operate under.

Currently, only PT Mobile Selular Indonesia (Mobisel) has received an operating license for the CDMA system at 450 megahertz.

Other technologies include the analog Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) and Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) implemented in Indonesia by Telesera, Metrosel and Komselindo.

Komselindo had also begun its migration to the CDMA system, and operates at 800 Megahertz.(10)