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)