Govt to license PT Inti as telecoms operator
Govt to license PT Inti as telecoms operator
JAKARTA (JP): The government will license the state-owned
telecommunication equipment manufacturer PT Industri
Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Inti) to act as a digital cellular
telecommunications operator, a minister said yesterday.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave
announced that the license will be presented to Inti due to the
significant growth of its business within the last few years.
"Why shouldn't we award the license to the state-owned
company, which has performed well? In addition to the government,
the company is also owned by the people," he said.
He declined to mention when the license will be awarded.
Inti, based in the West Java capital of Bandung, is one of
ten manufacturing firms overseen by the Agency for the Management
of Strategic Industries, which is chaired by State Minister of
Research and Technology B.J. Habibie. The other nine companies
are electronics manufacturer PT LEN, military equipment
manufacturer PT Pindad, railway equipment producer PT Inka,
aircraft producer PT IPTN, steel manufacturer PT Krakatau Steel,
ship builder PT PAL, explosives manufacturer PT Dahana and
engineering firms PT Boma Bisma Indra and PT Bharata.
Inti's management recently received an ISO-9002 certificate
from the Dutch standardization organization NV Kema. The
certificate was awarded for Inti's digital telephone hub
production lines.
According to Joop, Inti will be allowed to operate one of
developed digital cellular telecommunications systems currently
under government consideration.
Several new generations of digital cellular telecommunications
systems are being applied in the world, including the personal
communication network (PCN), the personal communication service
(PCS) and the personal handy-phone system (PHS).
"A special team is still studying which of the systems will be
appropriate for Indonesia," Joop said.
The government is currently testing the PCN, a system derived
from the Western world, and the PHS, a Japanese-developed system
which is estimated to be cheaper than current cellular models.
Pilot project
Meanwhile, Director General of Post and Telecommunications
Djakaria Purawidjaja refused to give any details about the
licensing plan.
"The schedule is long, we need to set up a pilot project," he
said.
There are currently two analog and one digital mobile cellular
telecommunications systems in operation in Indonesia. The analog
systems include the nordic mobile telephones (NMT) system which
is operated by PT Mobile Selular Indonesia and the advanced
mobile phone system (AMPS), operated by PT Metro Selular
Nusantara, PT Telekomindo Prima Bhakti and PT Komselindo.
The global system for mobile communications (GSM) is run by
three operators, PT Telkomsel, PT Satelindo and PT Excelcomindo
Pratama.
As ruled by the government, each of the seven operators is
partially owned by the state-owned telecommunications companies,
PT Telkom and PT Indosat, or by either of the two firms.(icn)