Govt approves Bakrie's rural phone system

Govt approves Bakrie's rural phone system

PETALUMA, California (JP): The Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications has officially approved a rural
telecommunications system developed by PT Bakrie Communications
Corporation (BCC) and the state-owned PT Telkom.

The certificate of the approval was presented by Director
General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria Purawidjaja to
chairman of the Bakrie Group, Aburizal Bakrie, in a ceremony here
Thursday.

The Advanced Rural Telephone System (ARTS) was developed by
BCC and Telkom five years ago in the industrial park of Silicon
Valley, Petaluma, California in the United States, with a total
investment of US$40 million, Ical said.

The copyright of ARTS is 74 percent owned by Bakrie and 26
percent by Telkom.

Ical said ARTS was developed in the U.S. by Nusantara
Communications Inc., one of Bakrie's subsidiaries.

He said that BCC's affiliated firm, PT Multi Kontrol
Nusantara, based in Bandung, West Java, would soon start
operations to produce ARTS.

"We will establish several overseas joint venture companies to
produce ARTS in China and South America. Market positioning for
the system includes 23 nations like Argentina, Thailand, Poland,
Oman, Brazil, China, India and Nigeria," he said.

Uzbekistan ordered 65,000 line ARTS, he added.

He said Nusantara Communications would invest $10 million and
$20 million in 1997 and 1998, respectively, to further develop
ARTS which applies a radio system telecommunications network and
system in rural areas.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, who
witnessed the award ceremony, said that Indonesia needed to
promote its own creations and brands like ARTS.

"However, you have to go internationally with an Indonesian
touch and identification. This is to avoid that ARTS is a
American," he said.

Ical said he had selected Petaluma as Nusantara
Communications's base as "there's a lot of brains here in the
Silicon Valley". (icn)