GSM 1800 for Telkom, Indosat

GSM 1800 for Telkom, Indosat

JAKARTA (JP): The government will award PT Telkom and PT
Indosat with new licenses as mobile telephone operators for the
GSM 1800 format as part of its plan to turn the two firms into
full network service providers, a government official said.

Secretary-general of post and telecommunications Sasmito
Dirdjo said on Thursday that the new licenses would likely be
delivered in August.

The government will unlikely issue any more licenses in the
near future for the wireless telephone sector, including for the
third generation technology CDMA, he said on the sidelines of the
Indonesian International Telecommunications and Media Information
Technology (IITELMIT) 2000 exhibition in the Jakarta Convention
Center.

The existing GSM operators -- Telkomsel, Excelcomindo and
Satelindo, which operate the GSM 900 -- will not be given the GSM
1800 licenses, Sasmito said, adding that the three are encouraged
to optimize the use of their current frequencies. (cst)