Government increases transponder leasing fees

JAKARTA (JP): The government has increased transponder leasing fees of the country's Palapa satellites by between 18 percent and 84 percent from the price levels set in 1993.

A telecommunications analyst said here yesterday that under a decree signed by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave on April 16, parties will be charged US$1.7 million per year to lease one C-band transponder of the Palapa satellite. The new price is 18.18 percent higher than the previous charge of $1.43 million set in 1993.

The government did not announce the fee increase.

The analyst said that the annual leasing fee for three- quarters of a C-band transponder is set at $1.41 million, up 23.6 percent from $1.14 million in 1993. The leasing fee for a half transponder is $1.02 million per annum, up 20 percent from $858,000 in 1993, while the fee for a quarter transponder is now $565,000 per annum, up 19.95 percent from $471,000 three years ago.

For occasional leasing during prime time, lessees will be charged $14 per minute to use a C-band transponder at between 500 and 700 minutes per month. The price is a 17.27 percent increase from the $11 set in 1993.

The charge for occasional leasing between 250 and 500 minutes per month increased by 30.76 percent to $17 per minute, and for occasional leasing for a maximum of 250 minutes per month rose by 28.57 percent to $18 per minute.

Higher increases occurred for occasional leasing during night time. Lessees will be charged $10 per minute to use a C-band transponder at between 250 and 500 minutes per month, up by 66.66 percent from $6. The charge for occasional leasing for a maximum of 250 minutes per month at night time is $12, up 84.6 percent from $6.50.

The government also sets tariffs for a Ku-band transponder at between $3 million (per transponder) and $9,000 (per 1/1024 transponder).

There are currently two Palapa satellite operators in Indonesia: state-owned domestic telecommunications operator PT Telkom and privately-owned PT Satelindo. PT Telkom operates the Palapa-B2R and Palapa-B4 satellites, while Satelindo operates the Palapa-C1 and Palapa-C2 satellites.

Each of the Palapa-B satellites, which are of the HS-376 model, have 24 C-band transponders capable of carrying 1,000 two- way voice circuits or color television transmission. Meanwhile, each of the Palapa-C spacecraft, a version of the HS-601 model, have 34 transponders, including 24 C-band, six extended C-band and four Ku-band. (icn)