Govt to tender 11 new cellular licenses
Govt to tender 11 new cellular licenses
JAKARTA (JP): The government will tender 11 licenses Monday to
operate the Personal Communication Network (PCN) which includes
the Digital Cordless System (DCS-1800) and the Personal Handy-
phone Service (PHS).
Five other PCN licenses have been awarded to five firms,
including state-owned PT Telkom, PT Indosat and PT Inti,
secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
Telecommunications, Jonathan L. Parapak, said at his office here
yesterday.
"Interested parties must pay Rp 5 million (US$2,049) for a
pre-qualification document to take part in the tender which is
open until June 13," he said.
PCN is a digital remote telephone system that uses light,
inexpensive handsets with long-life batteries to communicate via
low-powered antennas. The DCS-1800 was developed from the Global
System for Mobile communications (GSM) originally from Europe,
while PHS was developed by Japan.
He said the government would award the 11 new licenses by the
end of this year so operations could start in the first quarter
of 1998.
He said three of the five PCN licenses already awarded were
given to Telkom and PT Cellnet Nusantara to run DCS-1800
nationwide and to PT Indoprima Mikroselindo (Primasel) to run PHS
only in East Java.
"Meanwhile, Telkom, Indosat and Inti are licensed to jointly
operate DCS-1800 only in the greater Jakarta area and PHS only in
East Java," he said of the other two awarded licenses.
Parapak said the 11 licenses were regional.
The government divides the country into seven
telecommunications regions: Sumatra (region I), Greater Jakarta
(region II), West Java (III), Central Java (IV), East Java
(region V), Kalimantan (VI) and the eastern islands (VII).
The 11 licenses include six regional licenses to operate DCS-
1800 in Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Kalimantan
and the eastern areas and five regional licenses to operate PHS
in Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, Kalimantan and the eastern
islands.
Parapak said that if selected, the companies, including
Cellnet and Primasel, would be required to cooperate with Telkom
to provide services in the designated areas, while Telkom was
allowed to invite partners to provide the DCS-1800 nationwide.
Cellnet is a private firm owned jointly by tycoon
Sudwikatmono, a foster brother of President Soeharto, and Siti
Hutami Endang Adiningsih, one of the President's daughters.
Primasel is owned by four parties including Indosat, Inti, PT
Yamabri Komunikasindo, a company affiliated with the armed forces
and Primkopparpostel cooperative.
There are seven cellular operators running three systems in
Indonesia -- the Nordic Mobile Telephone system is operated by PT
Mobisel, the GSM is operated by PT Satelindo, PT Telkomsel and PT
Excelcomindo and the Advanced Mobile Phone System is operated by
PT Metrosel, PT Telesera and PT Komselindo.
The government plans to install eight million telephone lines
by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan period in
March 1999. This includes 6.7 million fixed-telephone lines and a
network capacity for 1.3 million mobile telephones.
Parapak said the government would not cut cellular tariffs
though there would be more than 20 cellular operators in
Indonesia next year.
The PHS service tariff would be similar to fixed-telephone
charges while DCS-1800 would be similar to GSM charges, he said.
(icn)