Grumbles prevail on telecoms services
Grumbles prevail on telecoms services
By I. Christianto
JAKARTA (JP): The five-minute blackout at 1:52 p.m.
in the Senayan area yesterday played havoc with broadcasters who
had already compiled a long list of complaints about the
facilities during the SEA Games.
The effect of yesterday's power cut, the first since the Games
opened on Oct. 11, was exacerbated by the back-up power generator
at the TVRI complex not kicking in. It had been set to come on
0.3 seconds after any blackout.
A senior executive of a foreign broadcasting station, who
asked to remain anonymous, said that if the scale of the services
ranged between one and 10, Chiang Mai had been 10 and Jakarta was
only one.
"It's very poor. I think it's because there are three
different operators working at the event; PT Indosat, PT Telkom
and PT Satelindo. In Chiangmai, the host of the 18th SEA Games
two years ago, there was just one coordinating body, making
everything simpler."
He said that the commentary lines were frequently unclear and
that there was also interference.
"The quality of the commentary lines is very low. This usually
happens from a venue to the International Broadcasting Center."
The natural sound quality during most live transmissions was
also inadequate, he said, with frequent unexpected noises
occurring.
"An official just said for some failures: 'it's beyond our
control'".
An engineer from the private ANteve television station, Eddy,
was also grumbling yesterday. He said that commentary lines often
suddenly cut out during live transmissions.
The telecommunications services during the 19th SEA Games, are
arranged by Telkom for the domestic networks and Satelindo and
Indosat for the overseas centers.
Video transmission tariffs vary enormously, depending on the
duration, kind of satellite and system.
For the Palapa-C satellite for instance, Satelindo charges
US$400 for the first 10 minutes for less than 10 hours digital
system usage (downlink and uplink) and $17 per minute for any
additional usage. The tariffs are $300 and $15 for more than 10
hours usage.
Twenty television stations are covering the Games. They are
leasing booths ranging between 40 square meters and 112 square
meters, creating an atmosphere of emergency studios.
The process of live transmission begins with microwave usage
from a venue to a studio, then to the television pool and then to
a telecast service provider which switches the transmission to
the leased satellite. The satellite arranges downlink to the
home-based TV station.
Television pool executive Prayudhomo said all complaints had
been and would continue to be handled with care.
Telkom executive Saleh Abdurachman said technical problems
might occur if different levels were used on audio equipment.
"We have informed everyone that the allowable level ranges
between minus four and plus two," he said.
State-owned Telkom has installed a variety of
telecommunications networks and facilities to support the Games.
Company director Dadad Kustiwa said last week that Telkom had not
allocated a particular sum or targeted additional income from
providing the facilities.
The telecommunications facilities consisted of broadcasting
transmission services for television and radio stations,
modulation networks for competition data traffic and public
services like telecommunications kiosks, pay phones and
facsimiles.
For overseas broadcasters there are 75 leased circuit channels
(65 lines for telecast and 10 for radio), 12 facsimile lines and
31 lines for telecast. Local broadcasters can use 93 leased
circuit channels, one facsimile line and 24 telecast lines.